Rotating polarized light to the right or clockwise; a substance with this property.
From dextro- 'right,' rotare 'to turn,' and -tory suffix. The standard modern chemistry term since the mid-1800s for optical rotation direction.
DNA spirals to the right (it's dextrorotatory), and this handedness is one reason life on Earth probably started from a single origin—if it had spiraled left, chemistry would be completely different!
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