Answer to Question #295097 in Zoology for eyn

Question

In the Oparin-Haldane experiment, an electrode was used to induce an electric spark into the apparatus, which converted certain gases into organic small molecules after they were circulated by steam generated by boiling water.

Answer 1

Oparin believed that life developed from coacervates, microscopic spontaneously formed spherical aggregates of lipid molecules that are held together by electrostatic forces and that may have been precursors of cells. Oparin’s work with coacervates confirmed that enzymes fundamental for the biochemical reactions of metabolism functioned more efficiently when contained within membrane-bound spheres than when free in aqueous solutions. Haldane, unfamiliar with Oparin’s coacervates, believed that simple organic molecules formed first and in the presence of ultraviolet light became increasingly complex, ultimately forming cells. Haldane and Oparin’s ideas formed the foundation for much of the research on abiogenesis that took place in later decades.