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New insights into the origin of biological chirality
Author(s) -
Blumenthal Steven J.
Publication year - 1984
Publication title -
bioessays
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.175
H-Index - 184
eISSN - 1521-1878
pISSN - 0265-9247
DOI - 10.1002/bies.950010606
Subject(s) - abiogenesis , chirality (physics) , molecule , selectivity , rna , mechanism (biology) , chemistry , dna , amino acid , rna world hypothesis , stereochemistry , biology , biochemistry , gene , astrobiology , organic chemistry , catalysis , physics , chiral symmetry breaking , ribozyme , quantum mechanics , nambu–jona lasinio model , quark
Life is characterized by a selectivity for asymmetric molecules. A great deal of theoretical and experimental work has yet to explain why living organisms utilize only L‐amino acids in proteins and D‐sugars in RNA and DNA. Also unknown is how a form of life based on asymmetric molecules evolved from an environment containing a racemic mixture of prebiotic molecules. By what mechanism did this selectivity for asymmetric molecules take place?