Chirality and Cosmic Origin of Life

Abstract

Chirality or the property that distinguishes lefthandedness from righthandedness is an important aspect of the universe, starting from neutrinos, which are lefthanded. Fifteen years ago the author had proposed that life on the earth was formed through a dual process -- several key ingredients being transported from outer space to the earth by comets or meteorites and these in turn interacting with compounds already cooked up in the earth's seas. Several recent observations point to the fact that the amino acids brought out to the earth by meteorites are lefthanded, as in terrestrial life forms. Experiments in the laboratory however throw up equal numbers of lefthanded and righthanded amino acids, what are called racemic mixtures. Not only would the latest observations endorse this dual mode theory of the origin of life, but on the other hand it would point to the key trigger for life processes itself. This is because racemic mixtures are not optically active, unlike the handed or chiral constituents. It is this activity of harnessing solar radiation and converting it into chemical energy, and storing this in the sugar bonds, as in photosynthesis, that characterizes life.