| Literature DB >> 11536670 |
Abstract
All biomolecules are of one hand--but what determines which hand? Why is life based on L-amino acids and D-sugars rather than D-amino acids and L-sugars? We believe the symmetry-breaker could be the weak force, which causes enantiomers to differ very slightly in energy. In this paper we present our calculations of this parity-violating energy difference (PVED) for a range of important biomolecules, and in nearly all cases it is indeed the 'natural' enantiomer which is the more stable.Entities:
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Year: 1995 PMID: 11536670 DOI: 10.1007/bf01581582
Source DB: PubMed Journal: Orig Life Evol Biosph ISSN: 0169-6149 Impact factor: 1.950