Universitat Pompeu Fabra

Scientists Call for Global Moratorium on 'Mirror Life' as Doomsday Clock Factors in Synthetic Biology Threat

- The Bulletin of Atomic Scientists included mirror life as a threat for the first time in 2026, moving the Doomsday Clock four seconds closer to midnight to 85 seconds, the closest ever. - Thirty-eight scientists, including two Nobel laureates, called for a research halt in December 2024, with 96 experts from more than 20 countries endorsing a moratorium by April 2025. - Mirror life consists of synthetic organisms built from molecules with reversed chirality that would be invisible to immune systems, posing a potentially irreversible and catastrophic ecological risk. - Some researchers, including Ricard Solé and Andrew Ellington, argue mirror organisms would struggle to compete with natural life, questioning whether a total ban is warranted.