For people with two hands, one is usually dominant. On a molecular level, life takes this to the extreme. All of the DNA in earthly living things twists to the right, whereas the protein building blocks favor a kind of left-handed chemistry. But in recent years, scientists have worked toward a kind of mirror version of life. The technology to make mirror life likely won't exist for at least a decade. Still, a group of concerned scientists published a 299-page technical report calling for a stop to the science. New York Times science columnist <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/by/carl-zimmer">Carl Zimmer</a> explains how a mirror microbe could wreak havoc on life on Earth in the future. Check out the <a href="https://purl.stanford.edu/cv716pj4036">full technical report</a> and Carl's <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2024/12/12/science/mirror-life-microbes-research.html">full article</a>.Curious about other controversial research? Email us at <a href="mailto:shortwave@npr.org">shortwave@npr.org</a>. Listen to every episode of Short Wave sponsor-free and support our work at NPR by signing up for Short Wave+ at <a href="http://plus.npr.org/shortwave">plus.npr.org/shortwave</a>. Learn more about sponsor message choices: <a href="https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices">podcastchoices.com/adchoices</a> <a href="https://www.npr.org/about-npr/179878450/privacy-policy">NPR Privacy Policy</a>

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