FRINGE SCIENCE
Scientists Devise Test for Mirror Life Before Any Such Creature Exists
Researchers in Scotland and England propose using circularly polarized light to spot organisms built from reversed molecules, none of which are known to have been made.
GLASGOW, SCOTLAND — Scientists at the University of Strathclyde and Durham University have proposed what they believe is the first method for detecting "mirror life," a hypothetical form of biology that has not yet been created, according to a report in The Debrief.
Mirror life, the report explains, would be built from molecules whose spatial orientations are reversed relative to those found in known organisms. On Earth, proteins are assembled from left-handed amino acids, while DNA and RNA contain right-handed sugars. Mirror organisms would turn these arrangements around. The article notes that no self-replicating mirror organisms are known, and that the technology to make them does not yet exist.
Even so, researchers have voiced concern. According to the report, they have warned that such organisms might interact unpredictably with fragile ecosystems and could evade some of the immune defenses that ordinarily keep microorganisms in check. A Stanford University technical report cited in the article describes "potentially serious and wide-ranging risks" to humans, animals, plants and the environment. Some have called for limits on research that could lead to their production.
The new study, published in Royal Society Open Science, outlines a detection system based on circularly polarized luminescence, an optical effect that carries information about molecular handedness. Fluorescent probes would bind to structures inside cells and, when stimulated, emit circularly polarized light, producing what the authors believe could become a molecular fingerprint separating conventional life from its mirror image. The team suggests using several probes aimed at different cellular components to reduce false results.
The authors say the method could be developed and tested on ordinary biological materials, sparing researchers the need to build dangerous mirror organisms. Existing laboratory instruments, including specialized microscopes, cameras and plate readers, might be adapted for the task.
The article is careful to note that the approach has not yet been demonstrated as a complete detection assay. The team describes it as a precaution, and writes that it could help screen for biohazards and ensure compliance with any future international legislation against mirror-life research.