Shucks, guys, I'm speechless! I expected Joseph to make that objection, not
you two. As you know very well, abiogenesis is not the creation of a living
cell instantaneously from non-living matter. It is an evolutionary process
in which a living cell evolves by steps that start with the creation of
organic precursor molecules from inorganic molecules (the Miller-Urey
experiment), the assembly of those precursor molecules into larger active
molecules (Fox's proteinoids), the association of these active molecules
into proto-cells and finally the natural selection of these proto-cells into
true living cells. At that point, the cells are capable of reproduction, so
abiogenesis is replaced by organic evolution. The fact that "life" as two
appear to define it doesn't occur until the end is irrelevant to the fact
that, until you have a reproducing cell with an independent metabolism,
everything before that is derived abiotically in one form or another.
As for Art's statement that the proteinoid experiments make use of
biotically derived ingredients, he is absolutely correct. Nonetheless, his
statement is irrelevant. The purpose of the proteinoid experiments were to
test an abiotic method of creating proteinaceous molecules with catalytic
activity, and they were successful. The fact that the ingredients, the
experimental setup, even the experimenter were all derived biotically does
not invalidate the fact that Fox was able to create proteinaceous catalysts
without the direct aid of any biological system. In other words, he created
these catalysts abiotically. And the Miller-Urey experiment is an even
better demonstration of modern laboratory abiogenesis, because in that case
the ingredients were inorganic.
As for the question of control, I assume that, clever biochemist though he
was, Fox could not control the physiochemical mechanisms of nature, and
therefore could not force amino acids to polymerize against their will into
catalytic molecules. But since you were a student of his you would know him
better than I would, so I guess I could be wrong.
Kevin L. O'Brien