The scientific community is calling for an important discussion on the dangers of life forms created by ‘mirror-image molecules’, because of the serious risks these creatures can cause to global health.
These mysterious creatures are not yet real, but the authors think we should take a long look in the mirror before we pass through them.
“Driven by the need to know and use common sense, some researchers had begun the work of creating life forms composed entirely of mirror-image biological molecules, “38 experts Science commentary.
“Such glass creatures can form from known life, and their creation needs careful consideration. “
All life as we know it comes from ‘right-handed’ nucleotides in our DNA and RNA, and ‘left-handed’ amino acids that come together to make proteins.
This phenomenon is called homochirality. We don’t know exactly why it exists, but this description of our biosphere’s chemical reaction leaves no room for alternatives.
Adding to the confusion, mirror-image alternatives to our amino acids and nucleotides exist. That has led some researchers to wonder if a new type of life based on these altered molecules could be created.
Such a reaction would start small, for something like bacteria.
There are a few reasons why researchers are interested in creating these amazing bacteria. Creating molecules from scratch is a difficult task that pharmaceutical companies may want to transfer to bacteria, but to produce mirror-image molecules, they need mirror-image viruses.
In 2016, Harvard geneticist George Church was part of a team that created a mirror version of DNA polymerase, the molecule that coordinates the copying and transcription of DNA into RNA.
Back then, the Church was interested in progress, describing it as a “terrible experience” that would one day bring him closer to creating a mirror image cell.
Now he is among 38 scientists who are warning about it.
The fact that the body can’t break down the proteins of this glass-version was initially considered a selling point, but the incompatibility with ‘natural’ life is what worries scientists.
““There is a reasonable threat that the life cycle of the glass can go unchecked, because it cannot be controlled by any of the natural mechanisms that prevent the bacteria from growing,” explains biochemist Michael Kay of the University of Utah.
“These are things like bacteria that help keep them under control, antibiotics and the immune system, which are not expected to work on a living organism, and digestive enzymes. ”
This back-and-forth life form can be limited by its own incompatibility. Our molecular nature allows us to adapt to the molecular structure of the organisms we break down for food, and it is possible that glass bacteria struggle to survive without food that reflects their structure.
But many of the scientists behind the new paper agree that we can’t play with such unknowns, even if the threat is far from imminent.
“It takes a lot of effort to build a creature like that,” says Vaughn Cooper, a biologist from the University of Pittsburgh. “But we need to stop this progress and have a structured, inclusive discussion about how to manage this effectively.
“There is some exciting science that will be born because of this technology that we want to facilitate. We don’t want to limit that promise of synthetic biology, but building a glass bacterium is not worth the risk.”
The paper is drawn in Science, with an accompanying technical report published by Stanford University.