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Warning of ‘unprecedented risk’, scientists say mirror bacteria ‘should not be created’

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Dozens of scientists have identified “mirror life,” specifically “mirror bacteria,” which “pose an ecological risk” and possibly “could cause widespread fatal infections in a significant proportion of plant and animal species.” They are calling in uncertain terms for the research that is being produced to be halted. Including humans. ”

A group of 38 scientists, including Nobel laureates and other experts, described the “mirror life” ( He mentioned research on mirror image biomolecules). In December.

One of the scientists, Kate Adamara, a synthetic biologist at the University of Minnesota, had been working on creating mirror cells but “changed her mind last year” after studying the risks, according to the Guardian.

“We shouldn’t live like mirrors,” she told the outlet. “We have time for dialogue, and that’s what we were trying to do with this paper: start a global dialogue.”

To that end, the authors of the commentary say that by 2025 Mirror Life will It will convene discussions on risks and related topics.

Scientists say the ability to create mirror-like life forms will probably be more than a decade away and will require huge investments and technological advances. In other words, the world has an opportunity to “preempt risks before they materialize.”

When broken down into simple terms, Mirror Life sounds like something out of science fiction. All biomolecules that make up life have a “dominant hand.” “Right-handed” nucleotides make up DNA and RNA, and proteins are formed from “left-handed” amino acids.

“So when you’re talking about mirror life, it’s like a ‘what if’ experiment. “What would happen if we built life using right-handed proteins instead of left-handed proteins? They don’t exist in nature, but we call this mirror-image or mirror-image life.” biochemistry professor Michael Kay explained.

Some scientists, like Kaye, are interested in the medical potential of mirror therapy, but Kaye says mirror therapy has a more cost-effective way to treat chronic diseases. Both he and the author of a recently published commentary are concerned about the potential threat. It is caused by mirror bacteria.

“Our analysis suggests that mirror bacteria may broadly evade many immune defenses in humans, animals, and plants. Chiral interactions are central to immune recognition and activation in multicellular organisms. “The effect would be impaired by mirror bacteria,” the scientists said.

Basically, as Kay says, mirror bacteria are unlikely to be subject to the same limitations as normal bacteria, such as the human immune system and antibiotics.

Scientists have warned that further development of this research could open a Pandora’s box, saying: “Unless convincing evidence emerges that mirror lifeforms pose no special danger, even if “We believe that mirror bacteria and other mirror organisms should not be created, even with artificial biocontainment measures.” ”

The authors argue that scientific research aimed at creating mirror bacteria should not be allowed, and potential funders should not support research related to mirror bacteria.

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