'Mirror life' technology worries Doomsday Clock scientists. This is why

Scientists have advanced the Doomsday Clock's hands closer to midnight, introducing a theoretical biological technology known as 'mirror life' as a significant new threat to humanity's existence. This symbolic clock, established by the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists, measures the perceived proximity of global self-destruction.

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This might be as close to an existential threat of a biological sort as we have considered so far.

The inclusion of mirror life marks the first time a biological technology of this nature has been considered a primary driver for moving the clock's hands. David Relman, a microbiologist at Stanford University and a member of the advisory board, described it as potentially the most significant existential threat of a biological sort considered to date.

Mirror life refers to synthetic bacteria that could grow with virtually no hindrance. These organisms would be chemically identical to naturally occurring bacteria but possess a different geometric structure, a property known as 'chirality.' While all life on Earth uses one specific 'handedness' for its molecules (DNA is 'right-handed,' and most proteins are 'left-handed'), mirror life would utilize the opposite 'handedness.'

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This thing would grow, but it wouldn't be constrained.

While mirror proteins have shown promise in medical treatments due to their resistance to immune responses, an entire cell constructed from such molecules could be catastrophic. Although initial attempts might yield weak cells, subsequent generations could become highly efficient. A mirror bacterium could consume environmental nutrients and multiply without facing resistance from existing life forms, potentially leading to the displacement or extinction of numerous species and disrupting fundamental geochemical cycles that sustain the planet.

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The result of that would be death or displacement of many, many species of life on the planet, and even potential disruption of the basic geochemical cycles that maintain the environment.