Amino Acids And The Asymmetry Of Life

Author : Uwe Meierhenrich
Publisher : Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN 13 : 3540768866
Total Pages : 255 pages
Book Rating : 4.69/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Amino Acids and the Asymmetry of Life written by Uwe Meierhenrich and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2008-08-15 with total page 255 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "How did life originate and why were left-handed molecules selected for its architecture?" This question of high public and interdisciplinary scientific interest is the central theme of this book. It is widely known that in processes triggering the origin of life on Earth, the equal occurrence, the parity between left-handed amino acids and their right-handed mirror images, was violated. The balance was inevitably tipped to the left – as a result of which life's proteins today exclusively implement the left form of amino acids. Written in an engaging style, this book describes how the basic building blocks of life, the amino acids, formed. After a comprehensible introduction to stereochemistry, the author addresses the inherent property of amino acids in living organisms, namely the preference for left-handedness. What was the cause for the 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. The author describes the attempt to verify any of those models with the chirality module of the ROSETTA mission, a probe built and launched with the mission to land on a comet and analyse whether there are chiral organic compounds that could have been brought to the Earth by cometary impacts. A truly interdisciplinary astrobiology book, "Amino Acids and the Asymmetry of Life" will fascinate students, researchers and all readers with backgrounds in natural sciences. With a foreword by Henri B. Kagan.

Author : G. Lubec
Publisher : Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN 13 : 9401122628
Total Pages : 1210 pages
Book Rating : 4.27/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Amino Acids written by G. Lubec and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2012-12-06 with total page 1210 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: There is little wonder in the fact that the investigation of amino acids is of fundamental interest to scientists from so many diversified fields. If amino acids were only basic constituents of enzymes as well as structural and other proteins, this property alone would elevate them to real scientific importance. Added to this role, however, is their ability to serve as building blocks for the production of many classes of secondary metabolites. They can support the biosynthesis of a myriad of natural products including nonprotein amino acids, cyanogenic glycosides, phar macologically active alkaloids, certain phenols, purines and pyrimidines, nucleic acids, condensed tannins, lignins and other metabolites. The approximately twenty or so amino (and imino) acids that comprise proteins are well known; less familiar are what is now approaching 600 nonprotein amino acids that have been isolated and characterized from plant, fungal or animal sources. Investigations of the protein amino acids have proven of outstanding value in enhancing our understanding of a variety of physiological and neurological topics that affect human health and well being. Amino acids are used to probe inhibitory and excitatory transmission receptors in the brain. They contribute to our understanding of epilepsy, development of anti-epileptic drugs, production of novel y-arninobutyric acid uptake inhibitors, and acute and chronic neurodegenera tive disorders.

Author :
Publisher : ScholarlyEditions
ISBN 13 : 1464924139
Total Pages : 218 pages
Book Rating : 4.32/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Basic Amino Acids: Advances in Research and Application: 2011 Edition written by and published by ScholarlyEditions. This book was released on 2012-01-09 with total page 218 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Basic Amino Acids: Advances in Research and Application: 2011 Edition is a ScholarlyEditions™ eBook that delivers timely, authoritative, and comprehensive information about Basic Amino Acids. The editors have built Basic Amino Acids: Advances in Research and Application: 2011 Edition on the vast information databases of ScholarlyNews.™ You can expect the information about Basic Amino Acids in this eBook to be deeper than what you can access anywhere else, as well as consistently reliable, authoritative, informed, and relevant. The content of Basic Amino Acids: Advances in Research and Application: 2011 Edition has been produced by the world’s leading scientists, engineers, analysts, research institutions, and companies. All of the content is from peer-reviewed sources, and all of it is written, assembled, and edited by the editors at ScholarlyEditions™ and available exclusively from us. You now have a source you can cite with authority, confidence, and credibility. More information is available at http://www.ScholarlyEditions.com/.

Author : Albert Guijarro
Publisher : Royal Society of Chemistry
ISBN 13 : 1847558755
Total Pages : 160 pages
Book Rating : 4.56/5 ( download)

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Download or read book The Origin of Chirality in the Molecules of Life written by Albert Guijarro and published by Royal Society of Chemistry. This book was released on 2008-11-04 with total page 160 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book provides an interdisciplinary review of one of the great unsolved mysteries that has fascinated scientists for over 150 years: the origin of chirality in biomolecules. It was Pasteur who first initiated the search for a deterministic theory to explain the 'handedness' of biomolecules. His theory, that a 'dissimetric' force was involved, was correct in essence but he never saw the fruits of his labour. Current thinking tells us that asymmetry in the universe has its origins in the forces that unfolded after the Big Bang and, more specifically, the weak force. Being 'left handed', the weak force imprinted its signature on the evolving Universe. However, at the molecular level, the weak force does not provide a straightforward explanation of biomolecular homochirality. In fact, it is yet to be proved beyond doubt that a causal link exists at all. Many alternative theories have been put forward, some of them resting on solid ground, but all lacking definitive experimental evidence to back them up. Some postulate that the handedness of molecules in the biosphere arose by chance but this is hard to test. Others rely on discovering life on similar planets and making comparisons with Earth. Alternative theories have emerged from a range of backgrounds including geology, biology, chemistry, physics and astronomy. Current advances in fields as diverse as space exploration, prebiotic chemistry and high-energy physics may help to provide an answer. Important pieces of information will come from observations at the two frontiers of science: outer space and the subatomic world. Observation of distant planets, galaxies, and even actual sampling of celestial objects from beyond the solar system are projects currently underway. At the other end of the spectrum, there are experiments that study the elemental properties of matter, such as symmetry, and interactions with the fundamental forces. All these efforts will render their fruits soon. This volume unifies all the theories of the origin of biomolecular homochirality together in one source. The various chapters focus on chance mechanisms, physical forces such as the 'weakinteraction', fluid dynamics, amplification of chirality, the organic contents of meteorites and comets and, finally, the physical view of an intrinsically asymmetric universe. This complete, interdisciplinary review of an intriguing subject condenses a large and disparate range of contributions from journals in almost every scientific field. The various theories have been organized, interrelated and explained in a unified way. One of the book's strengths is its extensive use of graphic material to aid understanding the many subjects covered. It is fundamental, comprehensive and structured to be accessible for educational purposes.

Author : Bruce Alberts
Publisher :
ISBN 13 : 9780815332183
Total Pages : 0 pages
Book Rating : 4.81/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Molecular Biology of The Cell written by Bruce Alberts and published by . This book was released on 2002 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Author : Michiya Fujiki
Publisher : Buy this from MDPI Books
ISBN 13 : 3039217224
Total Pages : 318 pages
Book Rating : 4.29/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Possible Scenarios for Homochirality on Earth written by Michiya Fujiki and published by Buy this from MDPI Books. This book was released on 2019-11-14 with total page 318 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In 1978, Fred Hoyle proposed that interstellar comets carrying several viruses landed on Earth as part of the panspermia hypotheses. With respect to life, the origin of homochirality on Earth has been the greatest mystery because life cannot exist without molecular asymmetry. Many scientists have proposed several possible hypotheses to answer this long-standing L-D question. Previously, Martin Gardner raised the question about mirror symmetry and broken mirror symmetry in terms of the homochirality question in his monographs (1964 and 1990). Possible scenarios for the L-D issue can be categorized into (i) Earth and exoterrestrial origins, (ii) by-chance and necessity mechanisms, and (iii) mirror-symmetrical and non-mirror-symmetrical forces as physical and chemical origins. These scenarios should involve further great amplification mechanisms, enabling a pure L- or D-world.

Author : Oliver Botta
Publisher : Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN 13 : 0387775161
Total Pages : 373 pages
Book Rating : 4.66/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Strategies of Life Detection written by Oliver Botta and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2008-07-18 with total page 373 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book collects papers presented at a workshop taking an interdisciplinary look at methods designed to detect life on other planets. It serves as a reference to scientists and instrument developers working in the field of in-situ and remote life detection.

Author : Michel Fleck
Publisher : Springer
ISBN 13 : 3319062999
Total Pages : 574 pages
Book Rating : 4.90/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Salts of Amino Acids written by Michel Fleck and published by Springer. This book was released on 2014-07-08 with total page 574 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Over the last decades, amino acids have been found to be of importance in many fields of science. Apart from their biological function, this family of organic compounds has been employed in the synthesis of a vast variety of salts, with impact on areas such as materials science, pharmaceutical or physical research. This covers a wide range, from the discovery of important ferroelectrics or non-linear optical materials to nutrients, flavor enhancers or drugs. This book describes amino acids and their salts with cations, anions and inorganic compounds from a chemical, physical and crystallographical point of view. Additional data on structural properties, crystal growth and the relation of structure and physical properties of amino acid salts is discussed.

Author : Jesse Philip Greenstein
Publisher :
ISBN 13 :
Total Pages : 842 pages
Book Rating : 4.98/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Chemistry of the Amino Acids written by Jesse Philip Greenstein and published by . This book was released on 1961 with total page 842 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Author : Pedro Cintas
Publisher : Springer
ISBN 13 : 3642376266
Total Pages : 318 pages
Book Rating : 4.69/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Biochirality written by Pedro Cintas and published by Springer. This book was released on 2014-07-08 with total page 318 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Early History of the Recognition of Molecular Biochirality, by Joseph Gal, Pedro Cintas Synthesis and Chirality of Amino Acids Under Interstellar Conditions, by Chaitanya Giri, Fred Goesmann, Cornelia Meinert, Amanda C. Evans, Uwe J. Meierhenrich Chemical and Physical Models for the Emergence of Biological Homochirality, by son E. Hein, Dragos Gherase, Donna G. Blackmond Biomolecules at Interfaces: Chiral, Naturally, by Arántzazu González-Campo and David B. Amabilino Stochastic Mirror Symmetry Breaking: Theoretical Models and Simulation of Experiments, by Celia Blanco, David Hochberg Self-Assembly of Dendritic Dipeptides as a Model of Chiral Selection in Primitive Biological Systems, by Brad M. Rosen, Cécile Roche, Virgil Percec Chirality and Protein Biosynthesis, by Sindrila Dutta Banik, Nilashis Nandi