Book Details

Amino Acids and the Asymmetry of Life : Caught in the Act of Formation

Publication year: 2008

ISBN: 978-3-540-76886-9

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This book describes how the basic building blocks of life, the amino acids, formed. After a comprehensible introduction into stereochemistry, the author addresses the inherent property of amino acids in living organisms, namely the preference for left-handedness. What was the cause for violation of parity of amino acids in the emergence of life on Earth? All the fascinating models proposed by physicists, chemists and biologist are vividly presented including the scientific conflicts.


Subject: Earth and Environmental Science / Protein Science / Bioorganic Chemistry / Astrobiology / Biogeosciences / Space Sciences (including Extraterrestrial Physics, Space Exploration and Astronautics) / Biochemistry, general / Amino acid / Chirality / Origin of Life / Parity / Photochemistry / Prebiotic chemistry / Rosetta Mission / amino acids / astrobiology / proteins / the origin