Re:It may soon be possible to create "mirror life"
by rickintoplace on Thursday October 08, 2026 @12:27PM
(#50007884)
On why we shouldn't:
- bacterial populations are being regulated by bacteriophages (viruses) or predators. They have spent millions of years evolving to hunt standard chiral life and wouldn't be physically able to digest or hunt mirror bacteria.
- the same is true of our immune system. Our pattern-recognition receptors only work for non-mirror molecules and wouldn't recognize a reversed molecular fingerprint. You may be able to engineer antibiotics and phages, but a vaccine would require a creative approach.
- the claim "yes but mirror bacteria would starve since they wouldn't find mirror food to eat in nature or in our bodies" doesn't hold up, because there are enough achiral (non-handed) nutrients in the soil, our blood and our gut that mirror bacteria could eat.
- bacterial populations are being regulated by bacteriophages (viruses) or predators. They have spent millions of years evolving to hunt standard chiral life and wouldn't be physically able to digest or hunt mirror bacteria.
- the same is true of our immune system. Our pattern-recognition receptors only work for non-mirror molecules and wouldn't recognize a reversed molecular fingerprint. You may be able to engineer antibiotics and phages, but a vaccine would require a creative approach.
- the claim "yes but mirror bacteria would starve since they wouldn't find mirror food to eat in nature or in our bodies" doesn't hold up, because there are enough achiral (non-handed) nutrients in the soil, our blood and our gut that mirror bacteria could eat.