Overview

• Synthetic biologist John Glass used a Financial Times op-ed to urge laws that prohibit creating mirror-life organisms that invert the chirality of DNA and proteins.
• Researchers warn such organisms could evade immune defenses and overwhelm ecosystems if they spread, with risks described as potentially globally disastrous.
• A December technical report by leading figures, including two Nobel laureates, and a June meeting of more than 150 experts at Institut Pasteur amplified the hazard assessments.
• Institutional stances are mixed, with the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation refusing to fund creation of mirror organisms while the U.S. National Science Foundation awarded two related grants in 2019 totaling nearly $4 million to UC San Diego and Yale.
• Scientists say practical mirror-life capabilities are likely at least a decade away, even as some mirror proteins show medical promise that heightens the need for precise governance.