|
|
Article: Rocks May Have Given a Hand to Life.(calcite may have absorbed amino acids, leading to a bonding into peptides)(Abstract)
- Article from:
- Science News
- Article date:
- May 5, 2001
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2001 Science Service, Inc. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
|
A long-standing mystery about the origin of life has a new possible solution.
The puzzle is that amino acids, the constituents of proteins, occur in two chemically identical forms that have structures mirroring each other like two gloves. Most chemical processes yield left- and right-handed amino acids in equal amounts yet life forms contain left-handed amino acids almost exclusively. New findings show that a mineral common on the ancient Earth might have segregated the mirror-image versions.
Much speculation has focused on extraterrestrial influences behind early life. Some scientists suggest that extra left-handed amino acids arrived on meteorites as ...