Re: origin of biological chirality?

On Sun, 18 Aug 2024 00:08:49 +0100, the following appeared
in talk.origins, posted by Ernest Major
<{$to$}@meden.demon.co.uk>:

A study has found that lipid membranes can be selectively permeable to
one or the other sugar or amino acid enantiomer. The study used membrane
models inspired by the membranes of modern organisms, so is not directly
relevant to abiogenesis. However it still raises the possibility that
membrane selectivity was the source of chirality in biological
molecules. One possible issue is does this effect require chiral
membrane lipids; if so it only move the question of the origin of
chirality from sugars and amino acids to lipids.
>

ISTM that this is similar to the "matter/antimatter"
imbalance; neither is inherently more "natural" than the
other, but one became more prevalent. And IIRC, the m/am
imbalance is now assumed to be a matter of chance in the
original ratio. I could; of course, be mistaken in that;
it's been years since I followed it even casually.

>
https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2024.04.23.590732v2.full.pdf
>

--

Bob C.

"The most exciting phrase to hear in science,
 the one that heralds new discoveries, is not
 'Eureka!' but 'That's funny...'"

- Isaac Asimov