Scientists propose method for detecting mirror life — ScienceDaily

Researchers at the University of Strathclyde and Durham University have proposed a method for detecting hypothetical “mirror life” — organisms built from molecules whose spatial arrangement is the reverse of the biological molecules of ordinary life on Earth. As ScienceDaily reports, the approach is based on analysing light signals that may reflect a sample’s molecular “handedness.”

Mirror life does not currently exist and remains a theoretical concept. At the same time, some scientists consider the possible artificial creation of such organisms a biological risk: they may interact unpredictably with ecosystems and could potentially evade certain natural defence mechanisms in humans, animals and plants.

Molecules’ light signal

The proposed technology uses circularly polarised luminescence — a phenomenon in which light has different properties depending on the direction of its rotation. Such a signal can provide information about chirality, that is, the spatial structure of molecules. Chiral molecules may have the same composition and order of atomic bonds but differ in their three-dimensional structure — similar to left and right hands.

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The scientists propose using fluorescent probes that attach to specific structures inside cells. After binding, they are expected to generate characteristic circularly polarised luminescence signals. The combination of such signals may serve as a kind of molecular fingerprint that will help determine whether a sample corresponds to ordinary terrestrial biology or its hypothetical mirror variant.

Further testing is needed

The authors stress that one fluorescent probe may not be enough: this could lead to false results. They therefore propose combining several probes targeting different cellular structures.

The study was published in the journal Royal Society Open Science. According to the authors, the principle of the method can be tested on ordinary biological samples without creating mirror organisms. At the same time, a specialised system for detecting mirror life itself has not yet been demonstrated experimentally — its reliability must be confirmed by further research.