Asymmetry In Biological Homochirality

Chirality, or handedness, is a fundamental physical characteristic, which spans the length scales ranging from elementary particles to the chiral asymmetry of spiral galaxies. The way in which chirality in chemistry, or molecular handedness, may have emerged in a primitive terrestrial environment, and how it can be triggered, amplified, and transferred, are deeply challenging problems rooted in both fundamental scientific interests and the technological potentials for science and society. Chirality constitutes a unifying feature of the living world and is a prime driving force for molecular selection and genetic evolution in biology. In this book, we offer a selection of five distinct approaches to this problem by leading experts in the field. The selected topics range from protein chirality and its relevance to protein ageing, protein aggregation and neurodegeneration, entropy production associated with chiral symmetry breaking in closed systems, chiral oscillations in polymerization models involving higher-order oligomers, the mirror symmetry breaking in liquids and its implications for the development of homochirality in abiogenesis, the role of chirality in the chemical sciences, and some philosophical implications of chirality.

In 1978, Fred Hoyle proposed that interstellar comets carrying several viruses landed on Earth as part of the panspermia hypotheses. With respect to life, the origin of homochirality on Earth has been the greatest mystery because life cannot exist without molecular asymmetry. Many scientists have proposed several possible hypotheses to answer this long-standing L-D question. Previously, Martin Gardner raised the question about mirror symmetry and broken mirror symmetry in terms of the homochirality question in his monographs (1964 and 1990). Possible scenarios for the L-D issue can be categorized into (i) Earth and exoterrestrial origins, (ii) by-chance and necessity mechanisms, and (iii) mirror-symmetrical and non-mirror-symmetrical forces as physical and chemical origins. These scenarios should involve further great amplification mechanisms, enabling a pure L- or D-world.

"How did life originate and why were left-handed molecules selected for its architecture?" This question of high public and interdisciplinary scientific interest is the central theme of this book. It is widely known that in processes triggering the origin of life on Earth, the equal occurrence, the parity between left-handed amino acids and their right-handed mirror images, was violated. The balance was inevitably tipped to the left – as a result of which life's proteins today exclusively implement the left form of amino acids. Written in an engaging style, this book describes how the basic building blocks of life, the amino acids, formed. After a comprehensible introduction to stereochemistry, the author addresses the inherent property of amino acids in living organisms, namely the preference for left-handedness. What was the cause for the violation of parity of amino acids in the emergence of life on Earth? All the fascinating models proposed by physicists, chemists and biologist are vividly presented including the scientific conflicts. The author describes the attempt to verify any of those models with the chirality module of the ROSETTA mission, a probe built and launched with the mission to land on a comet and analyse whether there are chiral organic compounds that could have been brought to the Earth by cometary impacts. A truly interdisciplinary astrobiology book, "Amino Acids and the Asymmetry of Life" will fascinate students, researchers and all readers with backgrounds in natural sciences. With a foreword by Henri B. Kagan.

Biological Chirality describes this occurrence, its history, and early research around the topic. The work covers analytical methods for observing the phenomenon, providing current techniques and practice and discussing the asymmetric morphology of certain living organisms, such as the position of the heart and liver in humans and the exceptions to biological homochirality seen in D-Amino Acids. In addition, it explores the requirement of enantioselectivity prepared pharmaceuticals to address enantioselectivities biomolecules, a major challenge in today's organic chemistry. Finally, the work considers the possible origin of biological homochirality, as well as the outlook for future research in this area. Describes the history of biological chirality research, its possible origins, and future exploration areas Discusses asymmetric exceptions in morphology and D-Amino Acids Explores the critical implications of enantioselective biomolecules for preparative organic chemistry with a goal of developing effective pharmaceuticals

Following on from Advances in BioChirality, Progress in Biological Chirality provides a unique summary and review of the most recent developments in the field of biochirality. Living organisms use only one enantiomer of chiral molecules in the majority of biologically important processes. The exact origin and mechanisms for this surprising selectivity are not yet known. This book discusses current research aimed at identifying the scientific reasons that may contribute to this phenomenon. Progress in Biological Chirality takes an interdisciplinary approach to this exciting field, covering a wide range of topics, such as, theory, palaeontology and food technology, to name but a few. This book presents findings via a broad spectrum of scientific approaches making it an excellent overview of Biological Chirality, suitable for postgraduate students, practitioners and researchers in the field of chemistry, biochemistry, biology, palaeontology, and food science with an interest in Chirality. This book contains 32 chapters written by Authors, who are leading authorities in the field Presents the most recent research taking place in this highly challenging field Contains both reference material for the specialist and provides an overview for those who are interested in the fundamental problems of biology and chemistry

Few times an unsolved issue in science has dealt with a larger number of approaches or theories intending to shed light on it and few times this has been done from so different, often orthogonal perspectives. This book covers a hot topic, one of the unsolved problems not just in chemistry, but in science

Chirality is a fundamental, persistent, but often overlooked feature of all living organisms on the molecular level as well as on the macroscopic scale. The high degree of preference for only one of two possible mirror image forms in Nature, often called biological homochirality is a puzzling, and not yet fully understood, phenomenon. This book covers biological homochirality from an interdisciplinary approach - contributions range from synthetic chemists, theoretical topologists and physicists, from palaeontologists and biologists to space scientists and representatives of the pharmaceutical and materials industries. Topics covered include - theory of biochirality, origins of biochirality, autocatalysis with amplification of chirality, macroscopic (present) biochirality, fossil records of chiral organisms - paleochirality, extraterrestrial origin of chirality, exceptions to the rule of biological homochirality, D-amino acids, chemical transfer of chirality, PV effects, and polarised radiation chemistry.

Amplification of Chirality presents critical reviews of the present position and future trends in modern chemical research. The book contains short and concise reports on chemistry. Each is written by the world renowned experts. Still valid and useful after 5 or 10 years, more information as well as the electronic version of the whole content available at: springerlink.com.