Asri-unix.1383
net.space
utzoo!decvax!cca!Cabral@SUMEX-AIM@sri-unix
Mon May  3 00:19:03 1982
Handed amino acids
  Perhaps this is well known to most space buffs, but it struck
me as fascinating that even right-handed amino acids were previously
known.  Most chemical processes that produce handed molecules statistically
produce equal amounts of the left and right handed varieties.  The
notable exceptions are instances where some agent biases the formation
of one type over the other.  Biological systems are of course quite
adept at this, but they themselves are chiral (handed)
and so they are propogating their own chirality.  Another potential agent
could be circularly polarized light, but if that was responsible I would
be curious to learn of the mechanism whereby it is produced in space.
I can think of a few far-fetched schemes, but they aren't very
plausible.  If a meteorite with purely right-handed amino acids
were found, an extension that supposed the existence of one with
purely left-handed amino acids seems safe to me. Therefore the spectacular
discovery would have been finding the purely right-handed amino acids.
Is it possible that the original discovery of amino acids was a
racemic mixture (both left and right handed molecules in equal
amounts) ?
                     Art
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