Mirror molecules.

• Autores: Sarah Everts
• Localización: Scientific American, ISSN 0036-8733, Vol. 308, Nº. 5, 2013, págs. 78-81
• Idioma: inglés
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• Resumen

  • The article discusses a class of right-handed molecules that are mirror images of amino acids, which are left-handed molecules. The author notes that biologists did not think right-handed amino acids existed in species other than bacteria, adding that Platypus venom is an example of this exception. Topics include the molecular structure of amino acids, which are the building blocks of proteins, how left-handed amino acids (L-amino acids) became predominate over right-handed ones (D-amino acids), exceptions to the left-handed rule for natural amino acids, such as in some neurotransmitters in the brain, and D-amino acids as a main constituent of poisons in a wide range of organisms.