Paradoxical Mechanisms Uncovered – Chemists Have Filled a Major Gap in the Origin of Life

Scripps Research chemists have proposed a solution to the mystery of why life’s essential molecules occur in only one chiral form, suggesting kinetic resolution as a key mechanism. Their studies demonstrate how prebiotic chemistry could favor one chiral form over another, offering a general theory for the emergence of biological homochirality.

Graduate student Jinhan Yu and postdoctoral research associate Min Deng, PhD, were the first authors of the two studies.“Origin of life” chemistry has been a busy field for much of the past century. Its practitioners have discovered dozens of key reactions that plausibly occurred on the early, “prebiotic” Earth to produce the first DNAs, RNAs, sugars, amino acids, and other molecules that sustain life.

In early tests, the team’s experimental reaction worked, and yielded amino acids that were enriched for one chiral form versus the other. The problem was that the favored form was the right-handed form—the one that biology doesn’t use.

Source: Tech Daily Report (techdailyreport.net)

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