Mirror Life Worries (opens in new tab)

(science.org)

45 pointsetiam6mo ago20 comments

20 comments

Please future humans, do not build mirror life.

Thanks.

From the point of view of a newly created colony of opposite-handed bacteria, it would be facing an entire planet of really well established mirror life.

stravant6mo ago

Ever heard of invasive species?

That's the problem. Mirror life may not be a problem for the biosphere in the long run but it could totally be a problem for humans in the short run.

1 more reply

blibble6mo ago

yes it seems unlikely that it would be able to outcompete everything already on earth

if it did I would have thought it would have appeared in the past 5 billion years or so

3 more replies

stiiv6mo ago

For a great sci-fi treatment of the dangers of mirror life, see Fantastic Four 5-6 (2023) by Ryan North. Yes, that Ryan North, and no, it's not your "typical" comic book.

pavel_lishin6mo ago

I've heard that his Hulk run is also excellent.

Anyway, Peter Watts' Rifters series is another excellent take on the genre, although it's not mirror life per se. (And it's ... not a happy read.)

hermitcrab6mo ago

Question to any biologists. Do we need to worry about mirror viruses or just mirror bacteria?

Thorondor6mo ago

A mirror virus would not be able to infect normal cells. Viruses depend on (chiral) host cell machinery such as ribosomes to reproduce.

hermitcrab6mo ago

Thank you.

ajuc6mo ago

Hopefully mirror antibiotics are earlier in the tech tree than mirror life.

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20 comments

nakedrobot26mo ago

Please future humans, do not build mirror life.

Thanks.

card_zero6mo ago

From the point of view of a newly created colony of opposite-handed bacteria, it would be facing an entire planet of really well established mirror life.

stravant6mo ago

Ever heard of invasive species?

That's the problem. Mirror life may not be a problem for the biosphere in the long run but it could totally be a problem for humans in the short run.

1 more reply

blibble6mo ago

yes it seems unlikely that it would be able to outcompete everything already on earth

if it did I would have thought it would have appeared in the past 5 billion years or so

3 more replies

stiiv6mo ago

For a great sci-fi treatment of the dangers of mirror life, see Fantastic Four 5-6 (2023) by Ryan North. Yes, that Ryan North, and no, it's not your "typical" comic book.

pavel_lishin6mo ago

I've heard that his Hulk run is also excellent.

Anyway, Peter Watts' Rifters series is another excellent take on the genre, although it's not mirror life per se. (And it's ... not a happy read.)

hermitcrab6mo ago

Question to any biologists. Do we need to worry about mirror viruses or just mirror bacteria?

Thorondor6mo ago

A mirror virus would not be able to infect normal cells. Viruses depend on (chiral) host cell machinery such as ribosomes to reproduce.

hermitcrab6mo ago

Thank you.

ajuc6mo ago

Hopefully mirror antibiotics are earlier in the tech tree than mirror life.

j / k navigate · click thread line to collapse