Abstract We point out an intrinsic weakness in the reasoning that adduces a statistical fluctuation as the origin of a left-handed, prebiotic stereoisomeric asymmetry which might have been the initial asymmetry that led to the left-handed asymmetry of proteins observed now on Earth. The argument in favor of a statistical fluctuation as the source of the asymmetry depends implicitly on the assumption of a very small number of terrestrial sites at which polymerization leading to protein formation took place. On the other hand, the probability that a left-handed prebiotic asymmetry produced by a specific mechanism was efficacious would have increased linearly with the number of terrestrial sites. Thus, on the basis of the greater likelihood of a large number of possible polymerization sites in the prebiotic era, a random fluctuation is deemed to be a much less probable source of a stereoisomeric asymmetry than a specific mechanism, particularly the mechanism that follows from the parity violating weak interaction.


    Zugriff

    Zugriff über TIB

    Verfügbarkeit in meiner Bibliothek prüfen

    Bestellung bei Subito €


    Exportieren, teilen und zitieren



    Titel :

    Statistical fluctuation versus specific mechanism and the origin of the left-handed asymmetry of proteins


    Beteiligte:
    Mann, A. K. (Autor:in) / Primakoff, H. (Autor:in)

    Erschienen in:

    Origins of life ; 13 , 2 ; 113-118


    Erscheinungsdatum :

    1983




    Medientyp :

    Aufsatz (Zeitschrift)


    Format :

    Print


    Sprache :

    Englisch



    Klassifikation :

    BKL:    44.71 Verkehrsmedizin
    Lokalklassifikation TIB:    535/3908/4290




    Non-magnetic left-handed composite

    Podolskiy, V.A. / Narimanov, E.E. | IEEE | 2005


    New Electromagnetic Absorbers Composed of Left-handed and Right-handed Materials

    Fang, W. / Xu, S. | British Library Online Contents | 2008


    Left-handed properties of disordered metamaterials

    Zharov, A.A. / Shadrivov, I.V. / Kivshar, Y.S. | IEEE | 2005


    Parametrical study of left-handed or right-handed propagation by stacking hole arrays

    Beruete, M. / Navarro-Cía, M. / Campillo, I. et al. | British Library Online Contents | 2007