Nebula-Relay Hypothesis: The Chirality of Biological Molecules in Molecular Clouds

TL;DR

This paper explores how the ultra-low temperature environment of molecular clouds could have contributed to the formation of chiral biological molecules, supporting the Nebula-Relay hypothesis of life's origin.

Contribution

It proposes that molecular clouds' cold conditions may facilitate chiral biomolecule formation, linking astrophysical environments to the origin of life's molecular handedness.

Findings

Ultra-low temperatures in molecular clouds promote chiral polymer formation.

Supports the Nebula-Relay hypothesis connecting stellar environments to life's origins.

Suggests molecular clouds as a site for prebiotic chiral molecule synthesis.

Abstract

The chiral puzzle of biological molecules is thought to be closely related to the origin of life and is still a mystery so far. Previously, we proposed a new model on the origin of life, Nebula-Relay hypothesis, which assumed that the life on Earth originated at the planetary system of the Sun's predecessor star and then filled in the pre-solar nebula after its death. As primitive lives existed in the pre-solar nebula for a long time, did the chiral biomolecules form during this period? We explore such a possibility in this work and find that the ultra-low temperature environment of molecular clouds is beneficial to generating the chiral polymer chain of biological molecules.