Mirror life and why we should avoid creating it
The authorities need to implement safeguards and temporary bans on creating fully functional mirror organisms.
In Marina Bay, Singapore, the Helix Bridge was inspired by the double helix of DNA, yet it is left-handed by design, unlike the right-handed DNA found in living organisms. Most essential molecules of life, such as DNA, RNA, amino acids, sugars, and lipids, display chirality, which is the property of being chiral. An object is chiral if it cannot be superimposed on its mirror image, similar to our left and right hands.
Life on Earth predominantly favors one configuration over the other, known as homochirality, with proteins built from left-handed amino acids and most key sugars being right-handed. The reasons behind this specific dominant configuration remain a scientific mystery. The enzymes that bind and break down molecules, the receptors on our cells, and key aspects of our immune system are highly shape-specific, often unable to recognize or act on mirror-image molecules.
While mirror-image biological molecules have been created for decades and show promise in creating drugs and biomaterials resistant to degradation, a group of prominent scientists published a Policy Forum article in Science warning about the risks of creating "mirror life" - mirror-image organisms capable of reproduction and expansion.
The scientists, who work at the forefront of synthetic biology and mirror-image biological molecules, estimate that the capability to create mirror-life is at least a decade away and would require significant technical advancements and large-scale investment. Policymakers and the scientific community view this lead time as an opportunity to develop appropriate safeguards alongside scientific progress, rather than attempting to impose them retrospectively.
However, a mirror-life bacterium, if accidentally or deliberately released from the laboratory, could survive and thrive in our world due to its metabolic disadvantage and limited recognition by the immune systems of plants, animals, and humans. The lack of an adequate immune response would significantly reduce the efficacy of antibiotics, which are chiral, potentially leading to severe or lethal infections across many species.
While mirror life is not imminent, the rapid progress in synthetic biology and AI raises concerns about the timing of necessary safeguards.
Written by urgent.news from Straits Times's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
