Optical activity and dissymmetry in living systems

This brief review describes a characteristic property of living systems–dissymmetry. The progression of phenomena beginning with dissymmetry in the simple chiral molecules that make up living organisms and leading to the manifestation of dissymmetry in psychology is examined. The advantages contributed by dissymmetry in simple molecules to the more complex formations, which originate from and are composed of these molecules and which bring about organization in living systems, are indicated. The theory of chirodiastaltic interactions, as an agent of this organization, is examined. The possibility of initiating and maintaining dissymetry in the form of chiral purity of matter with the participation of autocatalytic and nonequilibrium thermodynamic processes is analyzed. The current hypotheses that explain the emergence of dissymmetry during the evolution of life are reviewed. The fluctuation hypotheses and assumptions concerning the influence of weak constant factors are examined and the corresponding schemes for evolution are presented.