Day 36 of 365
February 5
⚗️
Chemistry Chirality in Chemistry
Chirality describes molecules that are mirror images of each other but can't be superimposed, like your left and right hands. These 'enantiomers' can have drastically different properties - one might smell like spearmint while its mirror image smells like caraway. The thalidomide tragedy occurred because one enantiomer treated morning sickness while its mirror image caused birth defects.
💡 Did you know?
All amino acids in living organisms are left-handed, while all sugars are right-handed - nobody knows why life chose these specific versions!
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