Researchers in Washington, D.C., now report that calcium carbonate,
or calcite, can adsorb an excess of left-handed amino acids onto some
of its crystal faces and of right-handed amino acids on other faces.
Robert M. Hazen and Timothy R. Filley of the Carnegie Institution
of Washington and Glenn A. Goodfriend of George Washington University
report their results in the May 8 Proceedings of the National Academy
of Sciences.
"It is very exciting," says Max Bernstein of NASA's Ames Research Center
and the SETI (Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence) Institute, both in Mountain
View, Calif. "Such results provide a plausible scenario by which... amino acids
could be separated from their mirror images, potentially solving a vexing problem
of prebiotic chemistry."
http://www.sciencenews.org/20010505/fob1.asp
And in Naples, prof. D'Argegno and prof. Geraci broke
a meteorite (4.5*10^9 years old ?) and took out many
archeo-bacteria, having a (primitive) Dna. These
archeo-bacteria revive and also move in water.
A big story from Naples University, today.
http://www.corriere.it/edicola/index.jsp?path=INTERNI&doc=PIETRA
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