Voyage of the Stars

Because in a biosphere with a majority of dextral enzymes, the most basic biomolecules will also be dextral.

Just like amino acids, it is well known that in living organisms, the biological activities of left-handed amino acids and right-handed amino acids are different. Only left-handed amino acids usually exist in organisms on earth, while right-handed amino acids rarely occur. This is because enzymes and other enzymes in earth organisms can only recognize and catalyze left-handed amino acids, but not right-handed amino acids.

In other words, if a person consumes too much d-amino acids, they will not be absorbed by the body, causing health problems.

It is said that dextral amino acids rarely appear in living organisms on earth, but it does not mean that they do not exist. In fact, dextral amino acids exist in the human body.

The left-handed and right-handed amino acids also have different physiological functions. L-handed amino acids are the basic units of proteins and have many physiological functions such as promoting growth, maintaining tissue structure and metabolism.

D-amino acids play different roles in the body's metabolic processes and are usually used as drugs or nutritional supplements.

In other words, these two pieces of bad news have different impacts on different aspects of human society.

In science, there is no doubt that there is a positive impact.

The reason is that the earth's biosphere where humans live is mainly left-handed, and the chemical properties of right-handed amino acids are significantly different from those of left-handed amino acids. Theoretically, right-handed amino acids can also form a biosphere, but it will never be like the earth's biosphere.

In the past, humans had fantasized about what a left-handed biosphere would look like, but they had never seen it. Now they have seen it. The biosphere of this planet dominated by right-handed enzymes is so vibrant and magical.

Of course, the most basic life molecules that make up this planet are not right-handed amino acids, but another right-handed macromolecular structure, this scientist has confirmed.

However, the research significance is still very important, even more important than the left-handed biosphere.

In other ways, the impact has been less kind.

People used to think that after encountering such a living planet, and after the research on it is fruitful, and humans adapt to this biosphere, there will be a lot of meat on the table in the human cafeteria.

There are so many plants on the planet, there must be suitable plants that can be used as ingredients or something. The mouth that has been fading out more than a few birds can finally be satisfied.

Unexpectedly, it turned out to be a left-handed DNA biosphere and a right-handed enzyme world.

The left-handed biosphere here refers to the biosphere composed of organisms with a left-handed DNA structure. This kind of biosphere is called a right-handed world because it uses dextrophilic enzymes. The DNA of organisms on earth is all right-handed, so it is called a right-handed biosphere. Almost all right-handed biospheres use left-handed enzymes, so it is called a left-handed world.

Levorotation does not mean left rotation, and dextrorotation does not mean right rotation, but refers to left-right rotation of chirality.

In this way, people's food dreams were shattered.

Don't eat dextrorotated food randomly, it will kill you, unless humans have the technology to transform themselves starting from DNA into organisms that can utilize dextrorotated food.

Thinking about the famous ‘Thalidomide Incident’, you will know how serious the consequences of eating dextrorotary food are.

In 1957, the German Grennansu Pharmaceutical Factory developed a drug called thalidomide, also known as thalidomide. Scientists at that time discovered that it could control mental stress during pregnancy and significantly suppress the pregnancy reactions of pregnant women. Once a pregnant woman takes this drug, pregnancy reactions such as nausea and vomiting will disappear immediately, and it has a hypnotic effect, which is called a miracle. medicine. Therefore, this drug is also called ‘Thalidomide’.

However, within three years, many deformed babies with abnormal hands and feet appeared across West Germany. Dr. Lenz later investigated this malformed fetus and published the article "The cause of the malformation is thalidomide" in 1961.

Studies have shown that within one or two months of pregnancy, mothers who take thalidomide will give birth to deformed babies. These deformed babies have shorter hands and feet than normal people, and some even have no hands and feet at all, just like seals.

Its mechanism is that it acts on genes. This drug blocks the transmission of life's genetic code in expressing instructions such as the length of hands and feet, five fingers, etc.

As of 1963, there were 12,000 cases of deformed children born due to taking this drug in countries such as West Germany, the United States, the Netherlands, and Japan.

Scientists discovered that the cause of the disaster was actually the chiral carbon structure of thalidomide, and the right-handed form can reduce morning sickness. The L-body not only has no medicinal activity, but can also cause malformations during fetal development.

The chemical formula of this substance is exactly the same, except that it also has a left-handed structure and a right-handed structure. Because people at the time were ignorant of this optical isomer, the medicine contained both left- and right-handed components, which led to this tragedy.

Therefore, we must clearly distinguish between left-handed and right-handed things. Human beings cannot easily eat such a large biosphere.

Of course, there must be some answer to the universe and some true meaning of life.

As long as humans can thoroughly study this left-handed biosphere dominated by dextral enzymes, they will inevitably reach a higher level in the field of life sciences.

Perhaps, the strengthening potion that humans are searching for is hidden in the true meaning of this left-right rotation.

So, this is a discovery that makes scientists happy but foodie people unhappy.

"Is there any explanation for the formation of the left-handed biosphere?" Yue Yuan's face was filled with joy. He was also a foodie, but he was more concerned about the scientific progress of mankind.

After he asked the question, he turned to look at Yi Kai, who was pouring water into his mouth, and thought to himself: With such a magical biosphere, wouldn't it be possible to strengthen the potion to overtake in corners and do it in front of the acceleration buffer?

Yi Kai tightened the cap of the water bottle in his hand, stuffed the water bottle into his trouser pocket, and replied: "From the perspective of biological evolution, I think the basic structure of life on this planet at the beginning should be half left-handed and right-handed. Later, as time went by, perhaps some events occurred that changed the planet's environment.

Such as various mass extinctions in the history of earth's evolution, etc. After experiencing these events, the environment of the planet suddenly became unsuitable for organisms with right-handed DNA, so organisms with left-handed DNA gained the upper hand.

Once this ecological balance is broken, it will be out of control. The greater the population of the big ones, the greater the probability of poisoning the small ones. Therefore, the fewer the small ones. As time goes by, there will no longer be food for right-left-handed DNA creatures on the planet. Since then, only left-handed DNA organisms are left. "

"Just like there are only right-handed DNA structure organisms on our earth, left-handed and right-handed should be an evolutionary probability. Because although the earth is mainly made of left-handed amino acids, there are also a small number of right-handed amino acids. Our human body has right-handed amino acids. .

I think this is probably a small coexistence relationship formed by left-handed and right-handed amino acids competing with each other during billions of years of evolution. This is also the reason why we do not die directly after eating right-handed amino acids, and sometimes even have therapeutic effects. , because those right-handed amino acids that can poison us have died out billions of years ago. "

Well, just like cyanobacteria and red algae, fungi and archaea have formed a symbiotic relationship in the long process of evolution. Hearing what Yi Kai said, the story of the evolution of ancient life on earth emerged in Yue Yuan's mind.