Left-Handed Life

A meteorite fragment found forty years ago in Australia has an unusually high number of non-biological amino acids that are "left-handed" - a surprising finding because almost all other non-living amino acids and proteins are as likely to be "right-" as "left-handed." The findings may explain the left-handed origins of biological amino acids on Earth.

SOURCE: Meteorite photo by Chip Clark, The Smithsonian Institution, hands by Photodisc | GRAPHIC: The Washington Post - October 6, 2008

This Story Rock Offers Mirror-Image Clues to Life's Origins Article \| For more than 150 years, scientists have known that the most basic building blocks of life -- chains of amino acid molecules and the proteins they form -- almost always have the unusual characteristic of being overwhelmingly "left-handed." The molecules, of course, have no hands, but they are almost... Left-Handed Life		TOOLBOX E-Mail This Save/Share + Digg Facebook Reddit Twitter myspace SOURCE: Meteorite photo by Chip Clark, The Smithsonian Institution, hands by Photodisc \| GRAPHIC: The Washington Post - October 6, 2008 ¬es=A meteorite fragment found forty years ago in Australia has an unusually high number of non-biological amino acids that are 'left-handed' - a surprising finding because almost all other non-living amino acids and proteins are as likely to be 'right-' as 'left-handed.' The findings may explain the left-handed origins of biological amino acids on Earth." onclick="if ( typeof otto != 'undefined' ) { }" onmouseover="changebg2('delicious')" onmouseout="resetbg2('delicious')" target="new">del.icio.us SOURCE: Meteorite photo by Chip Clark, The Smithsonian Institution, hands by Photodisc \| GRAPHIC: The Washington Post - October 6, 2008 \'),\'newstrust\'+(new Date()).getMilliseconds(),\'dependent=no,scrollbars=yes,resizable=yes,alwaysRaised=yes,status=yes,directories=yes,location=yes,menubar=yes,toolbar=yes,width=430,height=750,modal=no\'));ntw.focus();'" onclick="if ( typeof otto != 'undefined' ) { }" onmouseover="changebg2('newstrust')" onmouseout="resetbg2('newstrust')">NewsTrust Stumble It! COMMENT 0 Comments Your browser's settings may be preventing you from commenting on and viewing comments about this item. See instructions for fixing the problem. Discussion Policy CLOSE Comments that include profanity or personal attacks or other inappropriate comments or material will be removed from the site. Additionally, entries that are unsigned or contain "signatures" by someone other than the actual author will be removed. Finally, we will take steps to block users who violate any of our posting standards, terms of use or privacy policies or any other policies governing this site. Please review the full rules governing commentaries and discussions. You are fully responsible for the content that you post. Who's Blogging » Links to this graphic
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