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January 27, 2025
Mirror Life: Biosafety/Biosecurity Oversight Considerations
Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) is the molecule that carries
genetic information of an organism. This genetic code is
composed of nucleotide bases (adenine [A], thymine [T],
cytosine [C], and guanine [G]) assembled from right to left
into base pairs in the form of a double helix. An emerging
field of science referred to as mirror life would flip the
construction of DNA to its mirrored form, or left to right,
changing how the molecule interacts with other molecules.
Researching mirror life could expand general knowledge
about biology and potentially lead to better drug
development while also presenting risks. Mirror life is not
technically feasible at this time. According to some
scientists, it is still more than 10 years away and would
require extensive investment of time and money to
overcome technical barriers.
In December 2024, a group of international scientists
published a technical report and an accompanying article in
the journal Science that called for a moratorium and public
dialogue on whether, or how, to pursue research related to
mirror life. Some researchers, however, are not convinced
that raising alarms and calling for moratoriums are prudent
so far in advance of establishing the technical feasibility of
as well as any documented threats posed by mirror life.
Mirror life raises questions regarding the risks and benefits
of certain types of research and development (R&D). These
questions may interest Congress as it continues to explore
the biosafety and biosecurity implications of
biotechnologies and the broader life sciences, including
what types of R&D programs should receive federal
support and what oversight mechanisms, if any, may be
needed.
Wh at Is Mrror Life?
Many of the key molecules common to all living organisms
are chiral. Chiral molecules have what is referred to as
handedness; they can take either of two forms that are
identical in chemical composition but appear as mirror
images of one another. Think of the right hand versus the
left hand-no type of rotation would enable a person to
superimpose one over the other. While proteins, sugars,
lipids, and nucleic acids can exist in either of two mirror-
image configurations, organisms primarily use only one of
these two configurations, which may affect cellular
function. If a mirror bacterium (a bacterium whose DNA
mirrors that of its natural counterpart) were to be
constructed, it may interact with natural and pharmaceutical
immunity defenses in profoundly different ways, which has
raised concerns.
Why Conduct Mirror Life R&D?
Beyond increasing basic scientific understanding, one
potential purpose for research on mirror life is for drug
development. Drug molecules are susceptible to
degradation and undesirable immune reactions (e.g.,
allergic reactions or autoimmunity), which can reduce their
efficacy. Mirrored drug molecules may retain similar
programmability and functionality with enhanced stability
and efficacy.
Limited federal funding has been awarded to mirror life
R&D. In 2019, the U.S. National Science Foundation
awarded two grants related to mirror life seeking to design,
construct, and safely deploy synthetic mirror cells in which
all of the key molecules-nucleic acids, proteins,
carbohydrates, and lipids-exist in chiral states opposite to
their natural forms. These two awards, given to the
University of California, San Diego, and Yale University,
totaled nearly $4 million. The European Union and
People's Republic of China have also expressed interest in
mirror life research but CRS was unable to verify funding
totals.
Feasb ity
There are substantial technical barriers to creating mirror
life. The authors of the technical report suggest that it is not
possible with current technology and would require large
investments of time and money to overcome the scientific
and technical hurdles. Specifically, they estimated that
creating mirror life within a decade would require efforts
and funding equivalent to those of the Human Genome
Project, which ran for about 13 years and cost nearly $3.8
billion.
A first step to creating a mirror organism would be to create
a regular living cell (synthetic cell) from nonliving
precursors, which is not yet possible. Though this research
is currently under way, it is being pursued for purposes
other than the creation of mirror life. If a synthetic cell can
be built, it is believed that similar approaches could be used
to create mirror cells from mirror components. Several
companies already offer both regular and mirror DNA
oligos (short strands of synthetic DNA or RNA). Advances
in artificial intelligence (AI) may help in reducing technical
hurdles for creating mirror life by improving DNA,
ribonucleic acid (RNA), and other genome design tools. See
CRS Report R47849, Artificial Intelligence in the
Biological Sciences: Uses, Safety, Security, and Oversight.
Potenta skS
Two main risks of creating mirror life have been identified.
Mirror life could evade many aspects of human, animal,
and plant immunity, potentially causing life-threatening
infections. For example, whereas the human body's
immune system would likely recognize the natural form of
a bacterium and institute a response, its mirror form may go
undetected. If introduced into the environment, a mirror](ViewImageLocal?handle=hein.crs/govesgd0001&div=1&collection=&method=preview&ext=.png&size=3)