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Almost 40 scientists from around the world, including two Nobel laureates, have called for a halt to the development of synthetic organisms consisting of of inverted molecules and can be catastrophic danger for all living things on Earth.
At the molecular level, the building blocks of DNA, RNA, and proteins have the most common right- and left-handed structures. While the structure of proteins is twisted to the left, the structure of DNA is — twisted to the right. In laboratories around the world, scientists are working to create synthetic microbes that will mirror the structure of the main building blocks of life in real organisms.
This is expected to revolutionize the treatment of many diseases and production without harmful emissions. However, the high risk that such microorganisms could turn from helpers to enemies has led some scientists to warn against further development of artificial mirror microorganisms. In a nearly 300-page report, the scientists explicitly state that the development of synthetic mirror microbes must be stopped before it is too late.
«The threat we are talking about is unprecedented. Mirror bacteria are likely to evade many reactions of the human, animal and plant immune systems and in each case cause deadly infections that will spread uncontrollably», — warns microbiologist at the University of Pittsburgh, professor Vaughn Cooper.
The symmetrical arrangement of molecules is of key importance. Almost every living organism consists of left-handed proteins and right-handed DNA. In particular, the human immune system is finely tuned to detect pathogens with this particular configuration. Mirror bacteria with an inverted structure can slip past the immune system undetected.
The potential danger concerns not only humans, as all living organisms, including plants and animals, have the same molecular architecture. Synthetic mirror microorganisms can pose a threat to agricultural plants and livestock Not vulnerable to viruses and protected from predators such as amoebas, mirror microorganisms can begin to dominate many links in the food chain.
Researchers have already succeeded in creating individual mirror molecules. Some of them are expected to be used to treat incurable diseases. However, the creation of a full-fledged mirror microbe is still out of reach. Meanwhile, according to scientists, it will take about 10 more years to achieve this.
«This could be far worse than any problem we’ve faced before, and far beyond our ability to mitigate», — explains Nobel Laureate and Professor of Chemistry at the University of Chicago Jack Shostak.
Scientists warn that just one leak from the laboratory into the environment can lead to disaster, as artificial microorganisms will develop and spread unpredictably mutating and adapting to external conditions. Some scientists, in particular, Dr. Kate Adamala from the University of Minnesota, have already stopped conducting such studies.
«We say: «We are not going to do that». We have time to talk. And that’s what we’ve tried to do in this article — start a global dialog», — Keith Adamala emphasized.
However, how can we ensure that the rest of the scientific community agrees to do so? The researchers call for the development of guidelines, similar to those of were adopted in the Tianjin in 2021. Safety guidelines will prevent dangerous research with artificial mirror microorganisms.
«We believe that mirror bacteria and other mirror organisms should not be created, even those that are subject to engineered biological defense measures», — the scientists concluded.
Without active regulation and global cooperation, humanity could face a threat more serious than ever before: an untreatable pandemic and a world overrun by synthetic life. There is a well-founded risk that this could break down all the natural defenses of both the body and ecosystems.
The results of the study are published in the journal Science
Source: ZMEScience
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