Detected in space the first molecule that is “left-handed” and “right hand” at the same time – Hipertextual

Credit: B. Saxton, NRAO / AUI / NSF, from data obtained by N.E. Kassim, Naval Research Laboratory, Sloan Digital Sky Survey.

Before becoming Heisenberg, Professor Walter White taught at the series Breaking Bad . In one of his lectures, the teacher he went over the concept of chirality explaining that, if we look at our hands, we see that are almost equal, but not superimposable. This property is also seen in the world of chemistry. Known as chiral molecules are those that can be “right-handed” and “left-handed” at the same time. A study published in the journal Science , has found the first chiral molecule in interstellar space. Their discovery opens the door to understanding some fundamental characteristics that explain life on Earth.

Walter White popularized the concept of chiral molecule in Breaking Bad

the team of scientists used extremely sensitive radio telescopes to determine propylene oxide cloud of gas and dust Sagittarius B2 . “It is the first molecule detected in the interstellar space has the property of chirality, a leap forward pioneer in understanding how prebiotic molecules are produced in the universe and the effects it could have on the origin of life” Brett McGuire says, chemist National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO). “Propylene oxide is one of the most complex molecules found so far in space,” adds Brandon Carroll, the California Institute of Technology Pasadena.

The property said Walter White

the discovery of the first chiral molecule in space is an important advance in the field of astrochemistry . He explains to Hipertextual Dr. José Cernicharo , a researcher at Institute of Materials Science of Madrid (ICMM-CSIC) , “Propylene oxide is a new molecule derived from a molecular compound previously detected in space, the oxirane CH2OCH2, which is a cyclic molecule “. The particular chiral molecule now is obtained by replacing one of the hydrogens of the methyl oxirane by a CH3 group, which is what gives it the property of chirality. In the words of Cernicharo, “it is an interesting result that shows the enormous chemical complexity in space”.

Propylene oxide is the first chiral molecule detected in the space

to date there have been more than 180 molecules in space. However, none of these had chirality, a feature that allows equal in physical and chemical properties of molecules, present a different behavior in polarized light. Thus it is possible to distinguish two types of enantiomers , which popularly be called “right-handed” and “left-handed”. The optical characteristics of a molecule is chiral, contrary to what we might think, very important.

Credit: B. Saxton (NRAO / AUI / NSF).

thalidomide , as explained Walter White in Breaking Bad , shows the importance of chirality in our life daily. During the sixties a mixture of enantiomers was marketed without knowing how “right hand” was a teratogen, ie produced malformations in newborns. In the case of one of the drugs most commonly used against Parkinson’s levodopa , you can only be given the “left-handed” type, since the opposite form is biologically inactive. Finally, the amino acids forming part of our proteins, for example, are “left-handed”.

The property of chirality, for example, sets a drug safe and effective one that it is not

the detection of this first chiral molecule is important to characterize and determine how these structures are built and what their abundance in space step. In view Cernicharo, “it is still premature to draw conclusions about the role that this molecule may play in prebiotic chemistry.” All we can say, taking into account the conclusions of the work in Science , “is that the material forming protoplanetary disks around newly formed stars, there are a lot of important molecular species prebiotic chemistry. ” Propylene oxide has detected a small abundance, so we need more studies to understand the impact that could have astrobiology propylene oxide or oxirane methyl . The “right-handed” or “left-handed” molecules that explained Walter White out of his kind of fiction to reach space. The memory of this series, which also helped us to learn about the science of morals or history of poisons, returns strongly with this peculiar discovery.