Weak neutral currents and the origin of biomolecular chirality
- Center for Statistical Mechanics and Thermodynamics, The University of Texas, Austin, Texas 78712 (United States of America)
It has long been known that Earth{close_quote}s biochemistry is overwhelmingly dissymmetric or chiral.{sup 1{endash}4} In model chemical systems{sup 5{endash}7} that spontaneously evolve to a state dominated by either the {ital L} or the D emantiomer parity violation in {beta}-decay and that attributable to weak neutral currents (WNC) in molecules{sup 8,9} is thought to be too small to have any significant influence on the emergent chirality.{sup 10,11} Other conceivable systematic chiral influences are generally even weaker.{sup 12{endash}14} We show here that there is a simple and extremely sensitive mechanism by which a minute but systematic chiral interaction, no stronger than the WNC interaction in amino acids, can, over a period of {approximately}15,000 yr, determine which emantiomer will dominate. Such a mechanism is especially interesting when considering the origins of terrestrial biochemistry, particularly in view of the work by Mason and Tranter,{sup 15} who found that it is the terrestrially dominant L amino acids that are favoured by the WNC interaction. {copyright} {ital 1996 American Institute of Physics.}
- OSTI ID:
- 453342
- Report Number(s):
- CONF-9502169--
- Journal Information:
- AIP Conference Proceedings, Journal Name: AIP Conference Proceedings Journal Issue: 1 Vol. 379; ISSN 0094-243X; ISSN APCPCS
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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