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From: werner@aecom.UUCP
Newsgroups: sci.bio
Subject: Re: Human asymmetry
Message-ID: <1013@aecom.UUCP>
Date: Tue, 7-Apr-87 01:56:56 EST
Article-I.D.: aecom.1013
Posted: Tue Apr  7 01:56:56 1987
Date-Received: Sat, 11-Apr-87 07:29:14 EST
References: <1003@aecom.UUCP> <586@batcomputer.tn.cornell.edu> <2190@PUCC.PRINCETON.EDU>
Distribution: sci
Organization: Albert Einstein Coll. of Med., NY
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<2190@PUCC.PRINCETON.EDU>, 6065833@PUCC.PRINCETON.EDU (Una Smith) writes:
> In article <1003@aecom.UUCP>, werner@aecom.UUCP (Craig Werner) writes:
>  
> >Chemists cannot tell prochiral centers apart, but enzymes can.
>  
> Not true; they can deduce their chirality by looking at the structure
> of derivatives of those molecules.

	Let me phrase this statement another way.

                                    H
	A prochiral center such as XCH has 2 Hydrogens that are identical.
				    Y
	With a three dimensional model, it is easy to point to one in
the pro-R and another in the pro-S,  however, no reaction done by a 
chemist will differentiate between those two.  Enzymes,however, will,
pluck one 100% of the time, and the other, none. No mixture of
enantiomers for enzymes - the same cannot be said of chemists.
	Note that a prochiral molecule is not chiral.  Hence, there
is no chirality to deduce.

	As for the rest of Una Smith's followup to my article, it's
not worth my time to comment...

-- 
			      Craig Werner (MD/PhD '91)
				!philabs!aecom!werner
              (1935-14E Eastchester Rd., Bronx NY 10461, 212-931-2517)
     "The proper delivery of medical care is to do as much Nothing as possible"