For people with two hands, one is usually dominant. On a molecular level, earthly life takes this to the extreme. All of the DNA in living things twists to the right, whereas the protein building blocks favor a kind of left-handed chemistry. The rules of life are based on this chemistry. In recent years, scientists have worked toward a kind of mirror version of life. Currently, the technology doesn't exist to make mirror life at the cellular level — and likely won't for at least a decade. Still, a group of scientists is concerned enough about the possibility that they've published a <a href="https://purl.stanford.edu/cv716pj4036"target="_blank" >299-page technical report</a> calling for a stop to the science. In this encore episode for our Tech Camp series, host <a href="https://www.npr.org/people/1082526815/regina-g-barber"target="_blank" >Regina Barber</a> talks to <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/by/carl-zimmer"target="_blank" >Carl Zimmer</a>, a science reporter at The New York Times, about his reporting on mirror cells — and why creating them could lead to devastating consequences for life on Earth. Check out Carl's <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2024/12/12/science/mirror-life-microbes-research.html"target="_blank" >full article</a>. Curious about other controversial research? Email us at <a href="mailto:shortwave@npr.org"target="_blank" >shortwave@npr.org</a>. Support public media with NPR+ and enjoy perks for over 25 podcasts like this one. This show’s perks include sponsor-free listening. Learn more at <a href="http://plus.npr.org/"target="_blank" >plus.npr.org</a>. See <a href="https://pcm.adswizz.com">pcm.adswizz.com</a> for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences. <a href="https://www.npr.org/about-npr/179878450/privacy-policy">NPR Privacy Policy</a>

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Mirror cells could threaten life on Earth. Why are we building them?

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