{"id":7882,"date":"2026-08-10T08:07:47","date_gmt":"2026-08-10T08:07:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bestusamoverss.com\/?p=7882"},"modified":"2026-08-10T08:07:47","modified_gmt":"2026-08-10T08:07:47","slug":"mirror-cells-could-threaten-life-on-earth-why-are-we-building-them","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bestusamoverss.com\/?p=7882","title":{"rendered":"Mirror cells could threaten life on Earth. Why are we building them?"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

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.<\/p>\n

Read more Why is Trump paying to stop wind farms?<\/a><\/p>\n

The rules of life are based on this chemistry.<\/p>\n

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 \u2014 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 299-page technical report calling for a stop to the science.<\/p>\n

Read more The view from the proving grounds for next-generation nuclear reactors, Atomic City, Idaho<\/a><\/p>\n

In this encore episode for our Tech Camp series, host Regina Barber<\/u> talks to Carl Zimmer<\/u>, a science reporter at The New York Times, about his reporting on mirror cells \u2014 and why creating them could lead to devastating consequences for life on Earth.<\/p>\n

Read more Demi Vollering wins Tour de France for the 2nd time<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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.<\/p>\n

The rules of life are based on this chemistry.<\/p>\n

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 \u2014 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 299-page technical report<\/a> calling for a stop to the science.<\/p>\n

In this encore episode for our Tech Camp series, host Regina Barber<\/a> talks to Carl Zimmer<\/a>, a science reporter at The New York Times, about his reporting on mirror cells \u2014 and why creating them could lead to devastating consequences for life on Earth.<\/p>\n

Check out Carl’s\u00a0<\/strong>full article<\/strong><\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Curious about other controversial research? Email us at\u00a0<\/em>shortwave@npr.org<\/em><\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n

Support public media with NPR+ and enjoy perks for over 25 podcasts like this one. This show\u2019s perks include sponsor-free listening. Learn more at <\/em>plus.npr.org<\/em><\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[73],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7882","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-short-wave"],"yoast_head":"\nMirror cells could threaten life on Earth. Why are we building them? - Best USA Movers<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/bestusamoverss.com\/?p=7882\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Mirror cells could threaten life on Earth. Why are we building them? - Best USA Movers\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"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 \u2014 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 299-page technical report calling for a stop to the science.In this encore episode for our Tech Camp series, host Regina Barber talks to Carl Zimmer, a science reporter at The New York Times, about his reporting on mirror cells \u2014 and why creating them could lead to devastating consequences for life on Earth.Check out Carl's\u00a0full article.Curious about other controversial research? Email us at\u00a0shortwave@npr.org.Support public media with NPR+ and enjoy perks for over 25 podcasts like this one. This show\u2019s perks include sponsor-free listening. 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