Stage 1: Abiotic synthesis of organic monomers * The first stage in the origin of life has been the most extensively studied by scientists. * Can biological monomers form spontaneously? In 1953, Harold Urey and Stanley Miller in University of Chicago devised an experiment that produced small organic molecules.- Stage 2: Abiotic synthesis of polymers * Researchers have observed polymerization of organic monomers in various situations.- Miller and Urey produced amino acids using a simulated early Earth “atmosphere” and primordial sea.- Stage 3: Formation of pre-cells * The isolation of a collection of abiotically created molecules within a membrane. We call these molecular aggregates pre-cells – not really cells, but molecular packages with some of the properties of life.