Genesis of amino acids in the primeval sea. Formation of amino acids from sugars and ammonia in a modified sea medium.

Sugars such as glycolaldehyde, glyceraldehyde, erythrose, ribose, and glucose were heated with ammonia in a modified sea medium. Amino acids such as glycine, alanine, serine, threonine, aspartic acid, and glutamic acid were obtained from the reaction mixture. This provides the basis for a model of the genesis of amino acids in the primeval sea.