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I am trying to understand the current work on abiogenesis in biology, e.g. primordial soup, the Miller-Urey experiment, etc.

How has our understanding of abiogenesis been revised since the Miller-Urey 'primordial soup' hypothesis?

MattDMo
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ShanZhengYang
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    Start with the references in the Wikipedia page, do some targeted googling, and work from there. – MattDMo Aug 04 '15 at 00:53
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    @MattDMo I realize I can do this. However, this is an academic discussion forum. I would like to hear from academic biologists for the state of the field. That's distinctly different than just googling. I can read biology textbooks too, but the point of this question is to hear from academic biologists. – ShanZhengYang Aug 04 '15 at 03:28
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    This is not a discussion forum, it's a question and answer site. Not everything goes. Matt's comment is very appropriate; not possible when I was studying molecular biology (I read Oparin's The Origin of Life.) But for the history and an intro to where we are now, the references given in Wikipedia are a fine start. You can always ask more specific questions then. Please see the site tour and the help sections for more information about the site, particularly what kinds of questions are on topic here. Thanks! – anongoodnurse Aug 04 '15 at 05:26
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    @anongoodnurse I think "who is currently at the forefront of the field" is a fairly specific question. Also, I don't think it's helpful for learning to close down/vote down such questions because they are borderline discussion questions---this is a bit too pedantic. Stack Exchange was set up for learning, and that's exactly what I'm trying to achieve. – ShanZhengYang Aug 04 '15 at 06:58
  • While your question might be specific, based on the fact that academics are humans its answer will be primarily opinion-based and thus out of scope for this site anyway. Person X might think, they are on the top of the field and their area of expertise is one of the major research topics, but their favourite academic competitor Y might disagree and instead bring herself and her topic in the discussion. And now it is a discussion. Unless there is a publication (from a field like sociology?) which studied the "academics of abiogenesis" there is no scientific answer to your question. – skymningen Aug 04 '15 at 07:47
  • @skymningen Ok, how would you prefer I rephrase this question: "How has our understanding of abiogenesis been revised since the Miller-Urey 'primordial soup' hypothesis?" That is also strictly speaking not an objective scientific question, but it has educational merit. That is the point of Stack Exchange. Not all questions should be homework-esque questions. Also, where else would you suggest I post this question in order to reach academic biologists, if not here? – ShanZhengYang Aug 04 '15 at 09:40
  • @ShanZhengYang The question you pose in your comment is answerable in a way where one can cite the most important (published in high impact factor journals and/or highly accessed/cited) publications. Then maybe you sort them in a timeline and there you have a development. It might not picture everybody's opinion on it, but it will picture how this scientifically developed and the answer can have a objective approach. – skymningen Aug 04 '15 at 10:00
  • @skymningen OK, that sounds reasonable. I've edited above. You are welcome to edit as well. Thank you :) – ShanZhengYang Aug 04 '15 at 12:34
  • My "answer" to this question may interest you: http://biology.stackexchange.com/questions/19316/first-rna-polymerase-mrna/19737#19737 – canadianer Aug 05 '15 at 03:50

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Our understanding of how life began on earth has indeed advanced substantially since Haldane, Oparin, Miller, and Urey. To learn about the latest ideas, I can't think of a better place to start than this excellent video series with Nobel Laureate Jack Szostack, who is currently doing some of the leading work on the subject.

canadianer
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Corvus
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