‘Mirror life’: This synthetic form could end humanity, scientists warn
Scientists have called for a halt on ‘mirror life’ microbe research, believing it to pose ‘unprecedented risk’ to life on earth.
Technology to create ‘mirror life’ does not exist yet, and it may be quite some time before humankind cracks it, but the potential destruction it could bring is so enormous, that scientists are already calling for a ban before it is too late.
John Glass, synthetic biologist, who helped make the first living cell with a synthetic genome, wrote in Financial Times some days back “We should choose not to build mirror life and pass laws to ensure nobody can. The question is not whether we are able to prevent this threat — it is whether we will act while we still can.”
What is ‘mirror life’ and why is it dangerous?
‘Mirror life’ involves synthetic organisms that have DNA structures mirroring those in known organisms. For life forms on earth, the DNA double-helix is right-handed, which means that its strands – which is a sugar-phosphate backbone – twist to the right. For proteins, the building blocks of cells, these strands are left-handed.
So, what happens if the DNA twists to the left, and protein to the right? The scary part is that humans don't know for sure. And, while the FT opinion comes more recently, scientists have been ringing the alarm bells as far back as 2024. In December a technical report from a group of scientists, including two Nobel Laureates, noted that consequences of ‘mirror life’ could be ‘globally dangerous’ and might even wipe out all life, if the new organisms are pathogenic to existing life – like humans.
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These concerns were echoed in June this year, again. Glass also noted that the Alfred P Sloan Foundation, an influential non-profit that funds scientific research, has unequivocally said that they will not be supporting efforts to create mirror organisms.
Most scientists are of the opinion that the technology to create mirror life is at least a decade away, if not three. However, the risks are so high that it warrants early warnings. “Once it is possible to build a mirror cell, it would be comparatively easy to engineer many more kinds of mirror bacteria — the simplest form of mirror life,” Glass wrote, adding, “If this is achieved and Pandora's box opens it could pose extraordinary risks.”
He explained that immune systems, to the best of our knowledge, produce very weak antibody response against ‘mirror molecules’, if any. “Having even one immune deficiency can cause a patient to die of overwhelming bacterial infections; a mirror bacterial infection might be like having many immune deficiencies at once,” Glass wrote.
Mirror bacteria could also resist predation by organisms which normally keep bacteria in check. This could let them run rampantly unchecked through entire ecosystems. “Contaminated areas could become irreversibly uninhabitable, compromising our agriculture and natural world. Huge numbers of people, animals and plants could be wiped out, with some driven to extinction,” Glass said.
Does ‘mirror life’ technology have any benefits?
Despite its destructive potential, mirror life technology comes with its set of advantages when it comes to the field of medicine. Emerging forms of mirror proteins can be used to make more effective drugs that survive in the body longer. Glass noted that a balance needed to be struck between what kind of research could continue, and what needs to be shut down.
“This will require precision about what research can continue and what should cease,” Glass observed, adding, “we have realized these dangers well before the point of no return.”
Where does ‘mirror life’ research stand in US and the world?
The US Congress noted that limited federal funding had gone into ‘mirror life’ R&D. In 2019, the US National Science Foundation gave two grants linked to mirror life seeking "to design, construct, and safely deploy synthetic mirror cells in which all of the key molecules—nucleic acids, proteins, carbohydrates, and lipids—exist in chiral states opposite to their natural forms."
These were given to the University of California, San Diego, and Yale University and totaled almost $ 4 million. Congress further noted “European Union and People's Republic of China have also expressed interest in mirror life research but CRS was unable to verify funding totals.”
