Tiny nanocubes help scientists tell left from right
Thursday, June 27, 2013 - 09:01
in Biology & Nature
(Phys.org) —In chemical reactions, left and right can make a big difference. A "left-handed" molecule of a particular chemical composition could be an effective drug, while its mirror-image "right-handed" counterpart could be completely inactive. That's because, in biology, "left" and "right" molecular designs are crucial: Living organisms are made only from left-handed amino acids. So telling the two apart is important—but difficult.