Miller experiments in atomistic computer simulations

In 1953, Stanley Miller reported on the spontaneous formation of glycine when applying an electric discharge on a mixture of simple molecules, giving birth to modern research on the origins of life. The effect of electric fields on mixtures of simple molecules is presently studied in computer simulations at the quantum level, and Miller results are reproduced for the first time, to our knowledge, in atomistic simulations, as glycine forms spontaneously only in the presence of electric fields. However, this occurs through reaction pathways more complex than believed, identifying formamide as a key compound in prebiotic chemistry. Moreover, electric fields are naturally present at mineral surfaces, suggesting a potentially crucial role in the biogeochemistry of both the primordial and the modern Earth.