My Question
I knew very little about homochirality. I heard about it in the media because of this year’s Nobel Prize. Can you explain homochirality in simpler terms? And is there a connection to our topic: balance in living beings?
The Answer
Short answer: Homochirality means “one-handedness” at the molecular level. Life on Earth uses almost exclusively one of two mirror-image forms – and maintains this imbalance with enormous effort. When this balance is disturbed, it leads to tumour formation and premature death. This is exactly the principle of our model: life is the maintenance of an imbalance – and the return to the “natural” balance means collapse.
Detailed explanation:
Many molecules of life exist in two mirror-image forms, like a left and a right hand. They are chemically almost identical but not spatially congruent. In inanimate nature, these molecules normally arise as a 50:50 mixture of both hands.
The astonishing fact: Life uses almost exclusively one of these two forms:
- Amino acids (building blocks of proteins) are left-handed (L-form)
- Sugars (building blocks of DNA/RNA) are right-handed (D-form)
That life prefers only one hand has been a mystery for over 100 years. Research suggests: The cause lies in physical processes that amplify minimal imbalances. A recent Nobel Prize was awarded for reactions in which a tiny excess of one hand amplifies itself – a kind of autocatalysis. Other approaches even suggest electron spin or circularly polarised light from space as original triggers.
The disturbance of balance leads to chaos:
When this balance is disturbed – that is, when the “wrong” hand is increasingly incorporated – a “heterochirality syndrome” arises. Studies on fruit flies show: Cells lose their function, leading to increased tumour formation, disrupted cell death, and premature death of the organism.
The Connection to My Model
| My Model | Homochirality |
|---|---|
| BALANCE | Life maintains an imbalance – against the natural tendency toward a 50:50 ratio |
| The two poles | Left-handed vs. right-handed – life chooses one pole and holds it |
| The four scales | Homochirality is a fundamental scale – it must stay in balance |
| Health | Only the “right” hand is incorporated – the system functions |
| Illness | The “wrong” hand accumulates – order collapses |
| Death | The system can no longer compensate for the imbalance – collapse |
My Conclusion
Homochirality shows: Life is the maintenance of an imbalance. The “natural” balance – the 50:50 distribution – would be death. Life actively works against it. It is like a tightrope walker who must constantly correct to avoid falling.
This is the deepest confirmation of my model: Balance is not a state – it is an achievement. It is the constant work against decay. And when this work stops, the system returns to the “natural” balance – death.
🕊️ The Dove would say:
“Life is a tightrope walker – it dances on a wire over the abyss. It does not fall because it moves constantly. Whoever stands still, falls.”