# creating life **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [September 26, 2001, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/creating-life/83995 "2001-09-26T21:32:04Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 5\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![bbs2k](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e495f1/32.png) [@bbs2k](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bbs2k)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2001, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/creating-life/83995/1 "2001-09-26T21:32:04Z")
I was hoping that others out there could help me with this idea. Possibly with their own ideas, stories, or links. I was just wondering what types of experiments and breakthroughs have come around dealing with creating life from non-living materials. In other words, take a group of contents and mix them just right to make any sort of self-replicating organism. Thank you for any help. ---
**Author:** ![manhattan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/manhattan/32/7_2.png) [@manhattan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/manhattan)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2001, 10:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/creating-life/83995/2 "2001-09-26T22:52:27Z")
I think the best folks have come up with have been some amino acids, and then under pretty carefully controlled conditions. Someone will be along shortly with more detail. ---
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2001, 11:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/creating-life/83995/3 "2001-09-26T23:11:16Z")
Here [http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/nr/1998/gels.html](http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/nr/1998/gels.html) MIT researcher looks to Flubber for clues to how life began Physicist makes strides toward creating first synthetic protein [http://www.accessexcellence.com/WN/NM/miller.html](http://www.accessexcellence.com/WN/NM/miller.html) From Primordial Soup to the Prebiotic Beach An interview with exobiology pioneer, Dr. Stanley L. Miller, University of California San Diego [http://www.sciam.com/1999/0799issue/0799bernstein.html](http://www.sciam.com/1999/0799issue/0799bernstein.html) Life’s Far-Flung Raw Materials Life may owe its start to complex organic molecules manufactured in the icy heart of an interstellar cloud ---
**Author:** ![Phlosphr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c68b51/32.png) [@Phlosphr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Phlosphr)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2001, 11:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/creating-life/83995/4 "2001-09-26T23:13:51Z")
Well Baby, We can be as simple as conducting an experiment like this: Take a glass, fill it with orange juice, milk, water even. and leave it uncovered over night or for a couple nights. You will soon see self replicating living organisms. mold. Orange juice, and milk and water certainly are not living, they are certainly organic though. If you are talking about creating life from absolutely nothing, or non-living things. Hmmmmm…Hmmmmmmmm… Check this out, if you are interested in creating life from nothing. Look at supporting life with nothing. [http://www.eco-sphere.com/](http://www.eco-sphere.com/) you may be interested. I thought it was a great Idea! ---
**Author:** ![Kamandi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/5daacb/32.png) [@Kamandi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kamandi)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2001, 11:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/creating-life/83995/5 "2001-09-26T23:38:14Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Phlosphr \* > **Take a glass, fill it with orange juice, milk, water even. and leave it uncovered over night or for a couple nights. You will soon see self replicating living organisms. mold. > Orange juice, and milk and water certainly are not living, they are certainly organic though.** Ah, but the mold you will have cultured will not have been spontaneously generated from the non-living milk, orange juice or water. It will have replicated from a few _living_ organisms already in the fluid.