A new spin on life's origin?

A research team at The University of Tokyo has reproducibly synthesized staircase-like supramolecules of a single handedness, or chirality, using standard laboratory equipment. By gradually removing the solvent from a rotating solution containing non-chiral precursors, they were able to produce helixes that twist preferentially in a particular direction. This research may lead to new and cheaper drug production methods, as well as finally addressing one of the lingering quandaries about how life began.