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Extraterrestrial Chirality

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  19 September 2017

Jeremy Bailey
Jeremy Bailey*
Affiliation:
Anglo-Australian Observatory, PO Box 296, Epping, NSW 1710

Abstract

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The homochirality of biological molecules — the almost exclusive use of L-amino acids and D-sugars — is a fundamental property of life, but its origin poses a problem. Recent work has shown an excess of the L enantiomer in amino acids in the Murchison and Murray meteorites, supporting the model, first proposed by Rubenstein et al. (1983) of an extraterrestrial origin for homochirality. This paper discusses the evidence for extraterrestrial chiral asymmetry, the processes which could have led to such asymmetry, and the possible relevance for the origin of biological homochirality on Earth.

Type
Astrochemistry
Information
Symposium - International Astronomical Union , Volume 213: Bioastronomy 2002: Life Among the stars , 2004 , pp. 139 - 144
Copyright
Copyright © Astronomical Society of the Pacific 2004 

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