‘Mirror bacteria’ could have a devastating impact on life on Earth if research into creating it continues, according to a group of scientists who have issued a stark warning
A group of scientists have issued a stark warning over “mirror bacteria” that poses an “unprecedented risk” to life on Earth.
Molecules such as DNA or amino acids are described by scientists as being structured like human hands – the left and right hands look similar, but are crucially different. This “handedness” is what allows molecules to perform specific biological functions. But it also means it is possible to build “mirror” versions of organisms by ditching the “right-handed” DNA of life on Earth, using “left-handed” DNA instead.
The capability to make “mirror bacteria” in a lab remains at least a decade away, but a group of scientists are already warning of the disasters that could come if research into mirror life continues unchecked. They outlined their concerns in an article published in Science on Thursday.
As mirror bacteria do not exist in human nature, humans and other animals would likely have no immunity to them. If laboratory containment were to fail, the scientists concluded “infections could be severe”.
“A synthesized mirrored microbe wouldn’t just be essentially invisible to animals and likely plants but also other microbes, including viruses that could attack and kill it,” Vaughn Cooper, a microbiologist from the University of Pittsburgh, US, said. “This form of life has never existed or evolved. Consequently, all biological interactions would be different or likely wouldn’t work.”
Although the threat posed by mirror bacteria is currently speculative, the scientists are calling for scientific progress to align with public safety. Dr Kate Adamala, a synthetic biologist at the University of Minnesota and co-author on the report, had been working on mirror cells until last year but ditched her work after studying the risks, The Guardian reports.
“We should not be making mirror life,” she said. “We have time for the conversation. And that’s what we were trying to do with this paper, to start a global conversation.”
The scientists involved in the study included experts in immunology, plant pathology, ecology, evolutionary biology, biosecurity, and planetary sciences. They are calling for a halt to research into developing mirror bacteria, while allowing research on mirror molecules that might have medical value to continue.