chirality Archives

Helicity asymmetries of the primordial (left panel) and late-time (right panel) density fields for parity asymmetric (blue curves) and symmetric (red curves) simulations. The shaded regions indicate the standard deviation (1σ) of the ensemble-average. The red markers highlight the asymmetries exceeding a statistical significance of 3σ. - [astro-ph.CO]

Probing Primordial Chirality in the Matter Distribution

by Keith CowingJuly 31, 2026July 31, 2026

[astro-ph.CO] Whether parity symmetry was violated in the early universe remains one of the fundamental open questions in cosmology. If so, it may leave an intrinsic handedness in the large-scale […]

Time evolution of the probability distribution of the system for different temperatures as labeled and for fixed parameters: V=106 km3 , L=10 53 erg/s, r=0.01 AU, Grac=26.30 kJ/mol. The vertical axis is enantiomeric excess, and the horizontal axis is time in Myr scale. -- [astro-ph.HE]

Astrochemistry

Supernova Neutrinos And The Origin of Biomolecular Homochirality

by Keith CowingJuly 16, 2026July 16, 2026

[astro-ph.HE] We investigate the role of parity-violating interactions between supernova neutrinos and chiral molecules in nearby interstellar molecular clouds as a potential source of biomolecular homochirality.

Two-dimensional intensity map of the time-dependent mass spectrum of the reaction of C3H6O+ with NH3. The reactant ion C3H6O+ appears at m/z = 58 and the primary product ion NH3 + appears at m/z = 17. Minor secondary products are observed at m/z = 34, 60, 75, and 90. The plot was made was collecting mass spectra at trapping times ranging from 100 ms to 2700 ms in 200 ms intervals. The plot also includes the mass spectra collected at the trapping time of 50 ms. -- astro-ph.GA

Astrochemistry

Charge Transfer From Ammonia Neutralizes Propylene Oxide Cations: Implications For The Astrochemistry Of Chiral Molecules

by Keith CowingJuly 2, 2026July 2, 2026

[astro-ph.GA] To date only one chiral species, propylene oxide, has been observed in the interstellar medium but little is known about the chemistry that leads to a detectable abundance of […]

The Murchison meteorite fell in Australia in 1969, breaking into numerous fragments. It belongs to the carbonaceous chondrite group of meteorites. These meteorites are considered to be particularly pristine. © MPS / T. Klawunn

Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Fossils & Paleontology, Habitable Zones, Mars, Origin & Evolution of Life, Press Release, Tricorders & Sensors

Mars Mission: A Stress Test For The Search For Life

by Keith CowingJune 20, 2026June 20, 2026

Billions of years ago, environmental conditions on Mars were significantly more hospitable than they are today. Our neighbouring planet was likely warm, humid, and surrounded by a dense atmosphere.

Geometry-dependent collective stereochemical organization under varying compatibility and fluctuation conditions.

Astrochemistry, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biophysics, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Interstellar, Status Report

Spatial Confinement And Boundary Constraints Governing Biological Chirality: A Simulation Study

by Keith CowingJune 2, 2026June 2, 2026

Biological systems exhibit marked molecular asymmetry, with proteins based predominantly on L-amino acids and nucleic acids and carbohydrates largely composed of D-sugars.

Adsorption of crystals of a biological chiral molecule onto a gold-coated cobalt surface. Larger crystals of one specific form of the molecule (left) tend to accumulate on this surface to a greater degree than those of its mirror-image form (right). In the left image, the crystals reach heights of about 1.2 nm, whereas in the right image they do not exceed 0.8 nm. The physical advantage of one form over the other in accumulating on the magnetic surface suggests that, in a competitive setting, it would become the dominant (“winning”) form. -- Weizmann Institute of Science

Astrochemistry, Astronomy & Telescopes, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biophysics, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Interstellar, Press Release

A Glimpse At The Origins Of Life Through A Deceptive Mirror

by Keith CowingMay 29, 2026May 29, 2026

Imagine looking at yourself in the mirror, only to find that your reflection is governed by different laws than you are: Identical movements produce different outcomes, and what seems like […]

Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biophysics, Magnetic Fields, Electromagnetism, bioelectricity,, Nanotechnology & SynBio, Origin & Evolution of Life, Press Release

What If The Direction Of A Magnet Could Shape The Building Blocks Of Life?

by Keith CowingMay 21, 2026May 21, 2026

In a new discovery researchers from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and the Weizmann Institute of Science have found that something the direction of a magnetic field can influence how […]

Dr. Kevin Hand works with the Minos chamber at NASA JPL's Ocean Worlds Laboratory -- NASA

Astrochemistry, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biophysics, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Interstellar, Status Report

Detecting Fundamental Chiral Biosignatures in the Ultraviolet Polarization Spectrum

by Keith CowingMay 11, 2026May 11, 2026

Chiral molecules are ubiquitous and necessary for life as we know it. In extant life, the amino acid and sugar constituents of proteins and biopolymers consist of only one enantiomer.

Calculated total spin vector and its direction. Spin polarization illustrated by S (blue arrow) for a spin-orbit perturbed p-like excited state in the molecule studied in (8). A weak magnetic field along the x axis is applied to resolve the states. Here, the z axis points at the viewer. Reproduced from (19).-- Science Advances

Astrochemistry, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biophysics, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Panspermia, Status Report

Understanding Life And Homochirality

by Keith CowingApril 29, 2026April 29, 2026

Two fundamental questions have puzzled scientists for more than 150 years. “How did life become homochiral?” and “why was this specific handedness selected?”

Overview and performance of the LUMOS framework for biogenicity assessment. a, The LUMOS (Life Unveiled using Molecular Orbital Signatures) framework integrates amino acid abundance measurements with quantum chemical descriptors to evaluate biogenicity. First, the abundance of a set of amino acids is estimated, followed by the computation of molecular descriptors (e.g., HOMO–LUMO gap). These descriptors are then weighted by abundance using statistical features such as weighted variance. The resulting value is used to assess the confidence in biogenicity, informed by additional contextual data and environmental provenance. b, Heatmap of P(B|E), the confidence that a sample is biotic (B) given the observed weighted variance (evidence E) as a function of the number of amino acids measured. The prior P(B) is taken as 0.01. Color intensity reflects the biogenicity probability as determined by Bayesian inference applied to simulated distributions of biotic and abiotic samples. c, Criteria met by the LUMOS framework for distinguishing biotic from abiotic amino acid systems. -- astro-ph.EP

Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biophysics, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Origin & Evolution of Life, Status Report

Distinguishing Life From Non-life Via Molecular Frontier Orbital Energy Gaps

by Keith CowingFebruary 25, 2026February 26, 2026

Amino acids (AAs) are a key target in the search for life beyond Earth due to their extensive role in the machinery of all known life, persistence over geologic timescales, […]