During the synthesis of organic compounds, it appears that N2 and CO2 were very important while O2 was not. Our results show that the interactions between rock, water, atmospheric gases, and light under present-day atmospheric environmental conditions can lead to the synthesis of organic compounds that are found in living organisms, and that special conditions, such as thunder or the deep bottom of the ocean are not always required for such synthesis.
4. An elementary experiment to create living organisms
4.1. Reaction of minerals to enzymes
From the mineral solution extracted from basalt and olivine, we found that important organic compounds necessary for life, including amino acids, were synthesized readily. Because we had no idea how long the time frame should be for protains to be synthesized in the present-day natural state of environmen, we used enzymes to condense the time frame.
First, we confirmed what would happen when minerals and enzymes reacted with each other. An 80 ppm mineral solution extracted from basalt was added to 200 cc of pure water; then 15 〜 20 mg of lysozymes were added as enzymes. This solution was agitated and allowed to react at room temperature for 24 h. Table 4 shows the analytic results.
Only four types of amino acids were detected: aspartic acid, serine, glycine, and alanine. At the same time, the only nucleic base was adenine. The remainder of the solution consisted of unreacted lysozymes.
