The Origin of Biological Homochirality

The fact that sugars, amino acids, and the biological polymers they construct exist exclusively in one of two possible mirror-image forms has fascinated scientists and laymen alike for more than a century. Yet, it was only in the late 20th century that experimental studies began to probe how biological homochirality, a signature of life, arose from a prebiotic world that presumably contained equal amounts of both mirror-image forms of these molecules. This review discusses experimental studies aimed at understanding how chemical reactions, physical processes, or a combination of both may provide prebiotically relevant mechanisms for the enrichment of one form of a chiral molecule over the other to allow for the emergence of biological homochirality.