A ‘SECOND TREE OF LIFE' COULD WREAK HAVOC, SCIENTISTS WARN

Summary from the TLDR newsletter

Scientists will be able to create a microbe that could cause an unstoppable pandemic within a few decades. 38 prominent biologists have issued a warning and called for a ban on research that could lead to the synthesis of such an organism. The molecules that serve as the building blocks of DNA and proteins typically exist in one of two mirror-image forms, but living cells rely on just one form. A 'mirrored' cell would have proteins that are much harder to break down as natural enzymes are targeted at un-mirrored proteins. Scientists have already created mirror proteins and are experimenting with them to create longer-acting drugs. Creating mirror cells would mean creating a second tree of life.