The Dangers of Mirrored Life

In a report in Science Policy Forum, more than 30 leading scientists(sidenote: Including Jack W. Szostak, John Glass, Kate Adamala, Michael Kay George Church, and Craig Venter, many of whom originally had aspirations of helping create mirrored life.) from ten countries are calling on the broader community to confront the risks of mirrored life: “Although we were initially skeptical that mirror bacteria could pose major risks, we have become deeply concerned”.

It accompanies a 300-page technical report which argues such organisms could quickly spread across the world, fatally infect humans, and “directly drive vulnerable plant and animal species to extinction.”

I had the opportunity to co-author an explainer article in the excellent Asimov Press, with Niko McCarty. We discuss what it would take to create ‘mirrored life’, the risks from an outbreak of mirrored bacteria, potential countermeasures, and what the world should do about all this.

Read the article on Asimov Press →

Read the article on Substack →