The Search for Extraterrestrial Homochirality

A characteristic hallmark of biology on Earth is its homochirality. That is, proteins on Earth are constructed with L amino acids, and not with their D mirror images. The team proposes to develop and deploy, in-situ, a small polarimeter to detect optical rotation as a homochiral signature for extinct life on Mars. This instrumentmust be complemented by others, capable of detecting organic and non-equilirium isotope ratios, to positively establish the biological rather than geochemical origin of candidate samples.

U.K Based researchers involved in this project

A. J. MacDermott: (link to personal webpage)

L. D. Barron: (link to personal webpage)

A. F. Drake

R. J. Emery

M. Glazer

G. O. Hyde

S. Moorbath

M. G. Russel

P. G. H. Sandars

M. C. W. Sandford

G. E. Tranter

R. D. Wolstencroft

J. C. Zarnecki

M. Sims

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