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How long can left and right handed life forms coexist?

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  04 October 2004

Axel Brandenburg
Affiliation:
NORDITA, Blegdamsvej 17, DK-2100 Copenhagen Ø, Denmark
Tuomas Multamäki
Affiliation:
NORDITA, Blegdamsvej 17, DK-2100 Copenhagen Ø, Denmark

Abstract

Reaction-diffusion equations based on a polymerization model are solved to simulate the spreading of hypothetic left and right-handed life forms on the Earth's surface. The equations exhibit front-like behavior as is familiar from the theory of the spreading of epidemics. It is shown that the relevant time scale for achieving global homochirality is not, however, the time scale of front propagation, but the much longer global diffusion time. The process can be sped up by turbulence and large scale flows. It is speculated that, if the deep layers of the early ocean were sufficiently quiescent, there may have been the possibility of competing early life forms with opposite handedness.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
2004 Cambridge University Press

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