Анна Крылова. Загадка хиральности в живой природе: от одинокой улитки до квантовой химии

Anna Krylov. The Mystery of Life's Handedness: From a Lonely Snail to Quantum Chemistry (Загадка хиральности в живой природе: от одинокой улитки до квантовой химии) Chirality is everywhere in nature, from snail shells to our own hands. It is also a defining feature of the molecules of life. Many molecules come in two forms (called enantiomers) that are mirror images of each other, just like our left and right hands. Chemically speaking, they are identical. Yet life overwhelmingly uses only one form: left-handed amino acids in proteins and right-handed sugars in DNA and RNA. This remarkable preference is called homochirality. But how did it came to be? And why did life choose one hand over the other? I will discuss recent insights into this old problem that came from the studies of the chirality induced spin selectivity (CISS) effect. Хиральность встречается в природе повсюду — от раковин улиток до наших собственных рук. Она также является определяющей характеристикой молекул, из которых состоит жизнь. Многие молекулы существуют в двух формах (называемых энантиомерами), которые представляют собой зеркальные отражения друг друга — подобно нашим левой и правой рукам. С химической точки зрения они идентичны. Тем не менее, в живых организмах почти всегда используется только одна из этих форм: «левые» аминокислоты в составе белков и «правые» сахара в составе ДНК и РНК. Это удивительное предпочтение называют гомохиральностью. Но как она возникла? И почему жизнь отдала предпочтение именно одной из форм? В своем рассказе я рассмотрю новые подходы к решению этой давней загадки, появившиеся благодаря изучению эффекта спиновой селективности, обусловленной хиральностью (CISS-эффект). Scientific publications: J. Gauss, J.H. Soh, C. Seibel, N. Sahoo, and A.I. Krylov Chirality-induced spin polarization: Some fundamental ingredients Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys. https://doi.org/10.1039/d6cp01848c (2026). Y. Paltiel, D. Goldberg, N. Yuran, S. Yochelis, J.H. Soh, C. Seibel, J. Gauss, S. Zilberg, S.F. Ozturk, J. Fransson, A.I. Krylov, and R. Naaman. Dynamic breaking of mirror symmetry in spin-dependent electron transport through chiral media causes enantiomeric excesses Science Advances 12, eaec9325 (2026); ttps://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/sciadv.aec9325 Coverage in popular press: 1. Why does life prefer one 'hand' over the other? New study points to electron spin, phys.org 2. A Strange Quantum Effect May Explain One of Biology’s Greatest Mysteries, SciTech Daily 3. Scientists Solved the 150 Year-Old Mystery of Why Most of Your Molecules Are Right-Handed, Popular Mechanics Anna Krylov is a USC Associates Chair in Natural Sciences and Professor of Chemistry at the University of Southern California, Los Angeles. She also holds guest professorship appointments at the Tel-Aviv University and the Hebrew University of Jerusalem; previously, she held visiting professorships in Germany, Spain, and the Netherlands. Krylov received professional training from Moscow State University, the Hebrew University in Jerusalem, and the University of California, Berkeley. Krylov's research focuses on theoretical and computational quantum chemistry. Krylov has published 300+ scientific papers and delivered more than 300 invited talks and university seminars. Her work was recognized by numerous awards, including the Plyler Prize for Molecular Spectroscopy & Dynamics (APS), Barry Prize (AASL), Kolos medal (Polish Chemical Society and Warsaw U), and Gamow medal (RASA). Krylov is an elected member of the American Academy of Sciences and Letters, American Academy of Arts and Sciences, International Academy of Quantum Molecular Science, and an elected foreign member of the Academia Europaea. Krylov is a president-elect of RASA. Krylov is also an outspoken advocate of freedom of speech and academic freedom. She is a founding member of the Academic Freedom Alliance and a member of its academic leadership committee. Her paper "The Peril of Politicizing Science," which launched a national conversation among scientists and the general public on the growing influence of political ideology over STEM, has received over 110,000 views. Krylov’s writings have been translated into French, Polish, Russian, and Estonian.