"This week in Manchester, UK, scientists will be deliberating whether to restrict research that could eventually enable 'mirror life' - synthetic cells built from molecules that are mirror images of those found in the natural world. Over the past year, many scientists have voiced concerns over experiments that might lead to the creation of such cells, suggesting that they would pose an enormous risk to human health and the environment."
"Proteins are built from left-handed amino acids, and DNA twists like a right-handed screw, for example. Studying MI versions of such molecules could help to unpick how this handedness emerged, some researchers say. And because the body's enzymes and immune system might not as readily recognize right-handed amino acids or left-handed DNA, such molecules could resist degradation - making them useful as therapeutic drugs."
Scientists are considering limits on research that could produce mirror life: synthetic cells made from mirror-image biomolecules. Many biomolecules are chiral, and creating mirror-image versions could illuminate the origin of biological handedness and yield therapeutics because mirror molecules can resist enzymatic degradation. A precedent exists: the FDA approved an MI-containing peptide, etelcalcetide, in 2017. Concerns center on risk: fully synthetic mirror cells might evade immune recognition, resist degradation, proliferate uncontrollably in bodies, or spread through environments. Deliberations focus on balancing potential scientific and medical benefits against substantial health and ecological risks.
Read at Nature
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