Most of the class was able to see coacervate formation. Our discussion continued with an examination of Stanley Miller and Harold Urey's work. Basically, they set out to test Oparin's hypothesis. Together they constructed an apparatus to recreate the conditions that may have been present in the early atmosphere. Their experiment produced many organic compounds including some amino acids.
Amino acids are the building blocks of proteins.
As far as we know, no form of life without proteins exists. In an attempt to define some of the characteristics of life we discussed the cell theory. In addition, we compared and contrasted eukaryotic and prokaryotic cells. As part of this discussion, we talked about how eukaryotes may have evolved and Lynn Margulis 's Endosymbiotic theory . We will continue to discuss this theory as we learn more about cells.