Mirror bacteria

Ella108

What are the potential dangers or implications of mirror life bacteria, as discussed in recent news reports? What are your thoughts on this?

https://www.theguardian.com/science/2024/dec/12/unprecedented-risk-to-life-on-earth-scientists-call-for-halt-on-mirror-life-microbe-research

Quantum Erasure

Never heard of it. would it be like prion proteins?

prion misfolded protein that induces misfolding in normal variants of the same protein, leading to cellular death. Prions are responsible for prion diseases, known as transmissible spongiform encephalopathy (TSEs), which are fatal and transmissible neurodegenerative diseases affecting both humans and animals

Ella108

I don't think so, they ( mirror bacteria) are a theoretical concept at the moment, although if synthesised in labs, could pose risks. Prions on other hand are protein anomalies occuring naturally

Leg End Reject

Mod: @Ella108, your linked article is paywalled, could you please provide more information to generate discussion or this will be closed?

aero2k

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122963601#Comment_122963601

I can read it - it's free, I think.

Jim_Hodge

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122964566#Comment_122964566

Only free if you accept their full suite of cookies. So, for me, firewalled.

aero2k

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122964580#Comment_122964580

I didn't get a request to accept anything, though I might have inadvertently accepted on a previous occasion. They usually ask for a donation.

fly_agaric

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058384508/mirror-bacteria

Surely this is impossible to discuss sensibly without being an expert, or in the field or something? Reading 1 brief article won't do.

I will say it seems there's obvious dangers of a loss of control when you are working with things that can replicate themselves + are effectively "alive" (taking that step from synthesising complex molecules with the opposite handedness to usual in nature, to creating working bacteria from them).

SpoonyMcSpoon

Intuitively this seems like bollox and would make a good sci fi story in a movie or book.

Ella108

So far it is fictional ( they don't exist in reality, at the moment)

Ella108

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122963601#Comment_122963601

I didn't realise it could be paywalled, I was able to open the link and read through the article ( although annoyingly there are few ads in between )

Here's how it begins:

" World-leading scientists have called for a halt on research to create “mirror life” microbes amid concerns that the synthetic organisms would present an “unprecedented risk” to life on Earth.

The international group of Nobel laureates and other experts warn that mirror bacteria, constructed from mirror images of molecules found in nature, could become established in the environment and slip past the immune defences of natural organisms, putting humans, animals and plants at risk of lethal infections....."

Esel

Bertie will be on the case, talking about 'cloak and mirrors'…

fly_agaric

Just noticed there is a link provided in the article to the report, and to a paper on the topic. May as well post (as they will provide far more details than the article alone).

https://purl.stanford.edu/cv716pj4036

Confronting risks of mirror life

AMKC

OK here goes,

Basically mirror bacteria is synthetic bacteria made in a lap by humans but if this got into humans or animals it could be devastating as the receptors in our cells would not work with these so our bodies immune system would not be able to fight them and we would all be fooked. You think Covid was bad. Imagine that 10,000 times worse. That is what this would be. So ye vad. Some things should be left alone.

Leg End Reject

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122968664#Comment_122968664

Mod: If this is fictional it is not a current affair so I'm locking this.