By Pesach Benson and Omer Novoselsky • April 23, 2026
Jerusalem, 23 April, 2026 (TPS-IL) — The mystery of why life prefers one molecular “hand” over its mirror image may be closer to an explanation rooted in quantum physics, a finding That Could eventually influence everything from pharmaceuticals to next-generation electronics.
A new Israeli study suggests that a tiny quantum property of electrons, known as “spin,” may help explain why biology consistently uses only one version of many molecules instead of their mirror-image counterparts.
Many biological molecules come in two mirror-image forms, called enantiomers. In standard chemistry, both forms should behave the same and appear in equal amounts. But in living systems, that is not the case. Life almost always uses one version only: amino acids are typically left-handed, while sugars are right-handed. This pattern, known as homochirality, has puzzled scientists for more than a century.
A team of Israeli researchers led by Prof. Yossi Paltiel of Hebrew University of Jerusalem found that the answer may lie in how electrons move through these molecules. Electrons have a property called spin, which influences how they interact with matter. The study found that when electrons pass through chiral molecules, their spin behaves differently depending on which mirror-image form they encounter.
The findings were published in the peer-reviewed Science Advances.
“Life is homochiral. This is not trivial, as in standard chemistry getting both mirror molecules has the same chance,” Paltiel told The Press Service of Israel. “Our study asks why nature is chiral and how the symmetry is broken. The current paper suggest that electron spin interactions may explain both effects.”
Tiny Spin Differences Matter
Although the two versions of a molecule have the same energy in static conditions, they do not behave identically during dynamic processes such as electron transport and chemical reactions. The findings show that these differences can affect how efficiently each form participates in reactions involving electrons. Over long periods of time, even very small differences in efficiency could matter. The researchers suggest that if one molecular form consistently performs slightly better under these conditions, it could gradually become dominant. This could help explain how biology ended up favoring one “hand” of molecules across all known life.
The findings combine theoretical work, experimental results, and calculations of electron behavior in chiral systems. They point to a previously underappreciated role for quantum effects in processes that are fundamental to biology.
Paltiel told TPS-IL the research “has applications in the drug market, green energy, and improving conductors for the chip industry.”
In pharmaceuticals, the discovery could help improve how medicines are designed and produced. Many drugs exist in two mirror-image forms, but usually only one is effective in the human body. If electron spin can influence which molecular form becomes dominant, it may become possible to produce the correct version more efficiently and with greater precision.
In electronics and semiconductor technology, the findings may help address one of the industry’s growing challenges: heat management in increasingly small and powerful chips. The study suggests that materials designed with “chiral” properties influenced by electron spin could improve how heat and electrical signals are controlled. Paltiel told TPS-IL that this idea is already being explored commercially, saying a startup linked to the research is working on “chiral coatings and chiral metals that address heat management in the semiconductor industry.”
In energy and materials science, the mechanism could lead to new ways of designing more efficient materials for chemical reactions and energy transfer. Because the effect is tied to how electrons move through matter, it may help improve catalysts and conductive materials used in a range of technologies, including green energy systems. More broadly, it suggests a shift in approach, where scientists can design materials not only based on chemical structure but also on how electron spin interacts with molecular shape.
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