‘Chirality’ refers to a property of molecules that come in two distinct varieties – a ‘right-handed’ and ‘left-handed’ form. At first glance, this concept may seem like an esoteric bit of knowledge relevant only to lab chemists. However, the fact takes on a new meaning when you consider that, while chemical reactions tend to produce a 50:50 chiral mix of these molecules, the building blocks of life come in a single (or homochiral) form – and indeed must for life as we know it to operate. That’s all to say, at the core of the origin of life is a mystery of homochirality.
This film from the science documentary series Chemistry Shorts explores how the groundbreaking experiments of two Harvard University scientists, S Furkan Ozturk and Dimitar Sasselov, may have cracked the case of how the ‘prebiotic soup’ generated homochirality – and in doing so, made life possible. Balancing the chemical nitty-gritty of it all with the larger existential questions their work probes, the film makes for a riveting dive into a potential breakthrough on one of science’s most enduring mysteries.
Director: Page Buono
Website: Chemistry Shorts
videoMathematics
After centuries of trying, we’ve yet to arrive at a perfect way to map colour
20 minutes
videoAnimals and humans
One man’s quest to save an orphaned squirrel, as narrated by David Attenborough
14 minutes
videoBiology
Butterflies become unrecognisable landscapes when viewed under electron microscopes
4 minutes
videoBiology
‘Save the parasites’ may not be a popular rallying cry – but it could be a vital one
11 minutes
videoEvolution
The many ways a lizard tongue sticks, grasps, pinches and plops – in slo-mo
6 minutes
videoBiology
Starlings swoosh like brushstrokes across the sky in this dazzling short
3 minutes
videoEcology and environmental sciences
The tree frog die-off that sparked a global mystery – and revealed a dark truth
15 minutes
videoEcology and environmental sciences
GPS tracking reveals stunning insights into the patterns of migratory birds
6 minutes
videoNeuroscience
This intricate map of a fruit fly brain could signal a revolution in neuroscience
2 minutes