title: Electroweak enantioselection and the origin of life.
abstract: All biomolecules are of one hand--but what determines which hand?  Why is life based on L-amino acids and D-sugars rather than D-amino acids and L-sugars?  We believe the symmetry-breaker could be the weak force, which causes enantiomers to differ very slightly in energy.  In this paper we present our calculations of this parity-violating energy difference (PVED) for a range of important biomolecules, and in nearly all cases it is indeed the 'natural' enantiomer which is the more stable.
authors.affiliation: School of Biological and Molecular Sciences, Oxford Brookes University, Oxford, England.
authors.forename: A J
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: MacDermott
mesh_terms: D000596:Amino Acids / Q000737:chemistry; D055592:Biophysical Phenomena; D001703:Biophysics; D002241:Carbohydrates / Q000737:chemistry; D003460:Crystallization; D055590:Electromagnetic Phenomena; D019418:Evolution, Chemical; D019143:Evolution, Molecular; D008968:Molecular Conformation; D015394:Molecular Structure; D000069497:Origin of Life; D011108:Polymers / Q000737:chemistry; D013237:Stereoisomerism
chemical_list: D000596:Amino Acids; D002241:Carbohydrates; D011108:Polymers