Scientists are sounding new alarms about man-made organisms whose constituent molecules are mirror images of what’s found in nature and could pose unprecedented risks to humans, animals, and the environment.
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Why it matters: While the ability to create “mirror life” is probably at least a decade away, researchers already have synthesized mirror-image biological systems that could be used in the development of new drugs.
The concern is that mirror bacteria could evade many natural immune defenses of humans, animals, and plants, infecting host organisms and replicating unchecked, an international group of 38 prominent researchers wrote in Science….
