There is an interesting recent discovery concerning the inexplicable one-handed chirality bias that nature has and indeed would have been necessary for organic life to have begun at all.
When molecules form, the presence of an electro-magnetic field orientates the atoms to the same polarity, this polarity is what determines the right- or left-handed chirality in the molecule’s structure.
Inorganic molecules that have chirality occur naturally 50/50 right- or left-handed. But all living cells have a definite bias for one chirality and it’s opposite molecule will not work (and can be harmful). This suggests to me that lightning strikes on early Earth not only fused some elements to form molecules, it set the polarity of all the molecules in the area to be the same, perhaps giving the one-handed chirality bias that nature requires. Just an idea anyway, enjoy the video!
Premiered on 7 Jun 2025
Most organic molecules have a mirror-image twin. Yet life only uses one and not the other. The reason for this asymmetry is one of the greatest mysteries of biology. From Louis Pasteur to cutting-edge quantum experiments, here is the science behind nature’s broken mirror.