A strain of bacteria seen under an electron microscope
Sheet The Guardian On December 13, leading world scientists called for a halt to research into creating reflective bacteria, out of concern that these synthetic microorganisms pose “unprecedented risks” to life on earth. .
A group of Nobel Prize-winning scientists from many countries and other experts warn that reflective bacteria, created based on the mirror images of molecules in nature, can exist in the environment and overcome the immune systems of natural organisms, putting humans, animals and plants at risk of deadly infections.
Although it could take at least a decade to create a mirror bacteria, a new risk assessment has raised such serious concerns about these microorganisms that the group of 38 experts called on The scientist discontinued efforts toward this goal and asked sponsors to clarify that they would no longer support this research.
“The threat we are talking about is unprecedented,” said Professor Vaughn Cooper of evolutionary biology at the University of Pittsburgh (USA).
“Reflective bacteria are likely to evade many immune system responses in humans, animals and plants, causing deadly infections with the potential to spread out of control,” he warned.
The team of experts includes Dr. Craig Venter, the American scientist who led the effort to sequence the human genome in the 1990s, and Nobel Prize winners Professor Greg Winter at Cambridge University (UK). ) and professor Jack Szostak at the University of Chicago (USA).
Many of life’s molecules can exist in two distinct forms, each a mirror image of the other. The DNA of all living organisms is made up of “right-handed” nucleotides, while proteins, the building blocks of cells, are made up of “left-handed” amino acids. It’s unclear why nature works this way.
Scientists created large reflective molecules to study more closely. Some have even taken small steps toward building truly reflective bacteria, though building an entire organism from reflective molecules currently remains out of reach.
