Homochirality
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Homochirality refers to the property of a group of molecules having the same chirality. A substance is said to be homochiral if all the constituent units are molecules of the same chiral form[1] (enantiomer). Life requires polymers with all building blocks having the same chiral form, such as DNA and RNA having only 'right-handed' sugars and proteins being formed only by 'left-handed' amino acids.[2] Homochirality is a unique property of living matter and gradually disappears after the death of living matter. Homochirality presents a challenge to materialists who need to explain the origin of life via purely natural mechanisms.
References
- ↑ Dembski, William A (2008). The Design of Life: Discovering Signs of Intelligence in Biological Systems. Dallas: The Foundation for Thought and Ethics. p. 227. ISBN 978-0-9800213-0-1.
- ↑ Sarfati, Jonathan (2008). By Design. Australia: Creation Book Publishers. p. 175. ISBN 978-0-949906-72-4.
Related references
- Origin of life: the chirality problem by Jonathan Sarfati. TJ 12(3):263–266. December 1998
- Evolution Hopes You Don't Know Chemistry: The Problem with Chirality by Charles McCombs, Ph.D.
- Homochirality, a Puzzle in Biology that Remains Unsolved by Evolution News & Views May 12, 2012
