Plasma - The Origin of Biota (Life)

Continuing in our series on plasmas, this entry focuses on the Miller-Urey experiment and subsequent related research.
So in 1953, Miller & Urey at the Univ. of Chicago decided to see what would happen if you put water in closed recirculating system modeled (roughly) after pre-biotic earth. The water was boiled in one section, condensed in another, and trickled down between two electrodes producing an electrical spark at regular intervals. Obviously the boiling/condensing was meant to simulate evaporation, cloud formation and rain; whereas the spark was meant to simulate lightning. Also present in the system (other than H2O) were methane (CH4), ammonia (NH3) and Hydrogen (H2).
It turns out that when they let their system run for several days, they found an amazing discovery: Several percent of the carbon molecules initially present as methane had been converted into AMINO ACIDS! And not just one type, but 13 of the presently 22 used to make proteins in contemporary biota... So had Miller & Urey found that "divine spark" which philosophers had sought for centuries?
Well, since then we've found that plasmas (a more controlled version of the electrical spark Miller-Urey used) can produce massive amounts of biotic material from abiotic precursors. And not just amino acids, but many of the components of DNA including guanine!
Exactly why this works is (and probably will remain) a mystery to modern scientists. In fact, all we know is what we get out when the conditions are just right, with no accounting for the mechanism in particular. This is not a surprise to any plasma chemists out there, who understand that this field is essentially a game of statistics rather than strict determinism (sorry Einstein, but the universe most definitely plays dice sometimes); but it is frustrating for the rest of us who would like to draw a useful conclusion from this work.
So here's my tack on it: Plasmas are a natural phenomenon in our universe. Their operation on certain chemical constituents tends to promote the generation of biological (living) material. Thus, it is only natural that we revere, respect, and even fear terrestrial plasmas (e.g., Aurora Borealis, Lightning, the Sun).
But please, save those prone-position supplications for natural plasmas and not your TV...