Calcite is one of the minerals that has been shown to catalyze an important biological reaction, the formose reaction, and may have had a role in the origin of life. Interaction of its chiral surfaces (see Form) with aspartic acid molecules results in a slight bias in chirality; this is one possible mechanism for the origin of homochirality in living cells.
Calcite is one of the minerals that has been shown to catalyze an important biological reaction, the formose reaction and may have had a role in the origin of life Interaction of its chiral surfaces (see Form) with aspartic a,cid molecules results in a slight bias in chirality; this is one possible mechanism for the origin. of homochirality in living cells.