![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]](https://i0.wp.com/astrobiology.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/Supernova-Neutrinos.png?resize=1200%2C715&ssl=1)
[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.
enantiomer
Posted inNanotechnology & SynBio
Ecological Constraints To Mirror Life
[bioRxiv] Our biosphere exhibits remarkable diversity yet is constrained by universal organizational principles, including molecular homochirality.
Posted inAstrochemistry, 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
Biological systems exhibit marked molecular asymmetry, with proteins based predominantly on L-amino acids and nucleic acids and carbohydrates largely composed of D-sugars.
Posted inAstrochemistry, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biophysics, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Status Report
Stereoselective Phosphorylation of d-Ribose as a Driver of Life’s Homochirality
Life demonstrates remarkable homochirality of its major building blocks: nucleic acids, amino acids, sugars, and phospholipids. Phospholipid bilayer vesicles (liposomes) are formed at the water/air interface from Langmuir layers and […]
Posted inAstrochemistry, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biophysics, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Interstellar, Status Report
Detecting Fundamental Chiral Biosignatures in the Ultraviolet Polarization Spectrum
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.
Posted inAstrochemistry, Astrogeology, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biophysics, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Nanotechnology & SynBio, Origin & Evolution of Life, Status Report
Prebiotic Formation Of Enantiomeric Excess D-amino Acids On Natural Pyrite
D-amino acids, found in excess in a minority of organisms and crucial for marine invertebrates, contrast with the more common L-amino acids in most life forms.
Posted inAstrochemistry, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biophysics, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Comets and Asteroids, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Interstellar, Meteorites & Asteroids, Origin & Evolution of Life, Press Release
Astrochemistry: The Mystery of Life’s Handedness Deepens
The mystery of why life uses molecules with specific orientations has deepened with a NASA-funded discovery that RNA — a key molecule thought to have potentially held the instructions for […]
Posted inAstrochemistry, Astrogeology, Astronomy & Telescopes, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biophysics, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Meteorites & Asteroids, Status Report
On The Correlation Between the Enantiomeric Excess of L-isovaline and the Level of Aqueous Alteration in Carbonaceous Meteorites
A positive correlation was observed between the enantiomeric excess (ee) of L-isovaline (L-iVal) and the degree of aqueous alteration (AqA) of carbonaceous meteorites. The origin of this remarkable phenomenon has […]