Mirror image molecule test developed, as described in ScienceNOW 12 May 2006. Many organic molecules, such as amino acids exist in two forms that are identical chemically but are mirror images of the one another in shape, just as right and left hands are mirror images in shape. Because they behave the same chemically they are very difficult to tell them apart, but for molecules that are used in medicines it is important to know, because they can have different effects on the body.

A team of scientists led by Eric Anslyn of the University of Texas, Austin, has invented a method for telling right and left handed molecules apart by making copper containing compounds that amino acids can fit into like a key in a lock. Some are designed for right handed amino acids to fit into, and others for left handed amino acids. When an amino acid fits neatly into one of these molecules they change colour. Some scientists have pointed out that taste receptors on the tongue can also tell right and left handed molecules apart. Instead of a colour change the left and right receptor molecules in the taste buds cause an electrical signal to be sent to the brain, which interprets the signals as different tastes, e.g. a right handed molecule may taste sweet but the left handed one tastes bitter.

Editorial Comment: Designing molecules with the precision needed to fit the left and right shaped molecules, and produce some measurable change in the receptor molecules, took creative design by intelligent chemists with a good understanding of how molecules work and who are outside the system. Therefore, it is absurd to claim the molecules that form the taste receptors on the tongue made themselves, rather than being designed and made by the Creator. (Ref. biomimmicry, chiral, bio-engineering)

Evidence News 31 May 2006