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0 pointsninininino1y ago0 comments

I don't think anyone is worried about mirror proteins by themselves, they are worried about someone assembling a self-replicating/self-propagating mirror life, no? In which case, the fear is that you can't just run around ozone-ing every little colony of chiral-mirror version of cyanobacteria under every rock in remote Siberia or wherever.

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throwawaymaths1y ago

1. > Should work be started on developing mirror immune system cells, just in case?

2. by way of direct response to your question. mirror nutrients (like scavenged AAs, even for autotrophs) are liable to be very scarce so they'll have one hell of a disadvantage makimg it on this world.

roywiggins1y ago

Not if you engineer your mirror bacterium to eat normal nutrients to get them started. Or they scavenge enough non-chiral molecules to eat that they get the opportunity to evolve the capability on their own.

throwawaymaths1y ago

building from non chiral molecules is prototrophy, not scavenging. anyways, existing lifeform already scavenge mirror molecules (especially d-ala since thats used in cell walls) so they are already competing in a quite saturated environment with highly adapted organisms.

notfed1y ago

I'm really curious to know the details here. What is the minimal set of dependencies for the simplest autotroph?

Clearly there was an original self-replicating cell and it was successful, so assuming we constructed the necessary proteins, why do you think it would be difficult the second time?

jtwaleson1y ago

This is the big question about abiogenesis. If it was easy then life in the universe could be very common. If it is exceedingly difficult, we might be alone.

What is the smallest set of molecules needed to self-replicate, and how common are the ingredients (& nutrients)? I believe all of this is completely unknown, but I havent looked into the research for years now.

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throwawaymaths1y ago

1. > Should work be started on developing mirror immune system cells, just in case?

roywiggins1y ago

throwawaymaths1y ago

notfed1y ago

I'm really curious to know the details here. What is the minimal set of dependencies for the simplest autotroph?

Clearly there was an original self-replicating cell and it was successful, so assuming we constructed the necessary proteins, why do you think it would be difficult the second time?

jtwaleson1y ago

This is the big question about abiogenesis. If it was easy then life in the universe could be very common. If it is exceedingly difficult, we might be alone.

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j / k navigate · click thread line to collapse