Mirror life refers to synthetic organisms with reversed molecular chirality, featuring left-twisting DNA and right-twisting proteins opposite to all known life. Homochirality—consistent handedness of DNA and proteins—is universal in Earth's biology. Reversing that fundamental property could produce unknown biochemical interactions and ecological consequences. Leading scientists, including Nobel laureates and more than 150 researchers and ethicists, have warned that mirror life could be globally disastrous and might even eradicate existing life if pathogenic. Proposals include choosing not to build mirror life and passing laws to prevent development while the risk remains uncertain but potentially catastrophic.
Mirror lifeforms contain DNA structures that are the mirror image to all known organisms. In all life on Earth, the DNA double helix is right-handed, meaning its strands, a sugar-phosphate backbone, twist to the right. (If you make a thumbs-up with your right hand, the vertical axis would be aligned with your thumb, while your fingers represent the curl of the spiral.) The opposite is the case for proteins, the building blocks of cells, which are left-handed.
The scary thing is that we can't say for sure - but many biologists fear the worst. In December, a group of leading figures in the field, including two Nobel laureates, published a massive technical report warning that the consequences of mirror life "could be globally disastrous," possibly even wiping out all life if the new organisms prove pathogenic to existing life, like us humans.
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