Did Cosmic Rays Shape Life Forever?
“The Chiral Puzzle of Life” could be explained through cosmic rays, answering one of the most important questions in chemistry and biology.
Long before animals roamed the Earth, before the first bacteria, and even before the development of DNA, tiny molecules found they could make simple copies of themselves.
Cosmic rays pouring down from space constantly bombarded those molecules as they replicated, and developed over time. These particles, raining down from distant stars and galaxies, could have played a significant role in the what would become the chemistry of life.
Mirror, Mirror, on the Wall…
Molecules can take on various shapes as they form during reactions. Some of these molecules can be mirror images of molecules having the same number and types of molecules, but bound together in different shapes.
Some of these shapes can be mirror images of each other, similar to the way hands are opposite images of each other. They line up if faced palm-to-palm or back-to-back, but they cannot be placed evenly upon one another with both hands up or down.
When chemicals take on similar mirror shapes, they are known as chiral molecules. This chirality of molecules is sometimes known as handedness, due to its relation to human hands. This property of chiral…
