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Nature 452, 161-162 (13 March 2008) | doi:10.1038/452161a; Published online 12 March 2008
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Physical chemistry: Did life grind to a start?
J. Michael McBride1 & John C. Tully1
Abstract
Many solids can adopt two mirror-image crystal forms, and often grow as mixtures of both. A curious mechanism of crystal growth might explain why some mixtures convert into one form when subjected to grinding.
If Alice had been a biochemist, she would have found an even more unfamiliar world on the far side of the looking-glass. In principle, the molecules of life can adopt two mirror-image forms (often described as left- and right-handed), which from a chemical perspective are equally likely to exist.
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