Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security Director Joins Other Experts in Science Commentary to Highlight Potential Risks of ‘Mirror Bacteria’

December 12, 2024 – An international team of senior scientists, including the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security’s director, has published a commentary in Science calling for caution and collective action to address the potential risks posed by the development of mirror bacteria—synthetic organisms in which all molecules have reverse chirality (ie, are “mirrored”).

Researchers are exploring the creation of mirror-image bacteria whose reversed molecular structures could enable them to evade immune defenses and natural predators. Although still projected to be at least a decade away, this technology, if developed, could pose unprecedented risks to humans, animals, and plants.

“This work demonstrates that mirror bacteria, if created, could spread widely and irreversibly, with the potential for extraordinary mortality of humans and many other species,” said Tom Inglesby, MD, director of the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security and one of the commentary’s coauthors. Inglesby “strongly urge[s] scientific institutions globally to foreswear the creation of mirror bacteria, and for civil society, the broader scientific community, and policy leaders to work together to prevent this work from proceeding.”

In the commentary, and an accompanying 300-page technical report, the authors call for scientific dialogue and actions that would ultimately prevent the creation of mirror bacteria. These recommendations come from 38 experts across nine countries, including two Nobel Prize winners and leading voices in synthetic biology, immunology, plant pathology, ecology, evolutionary biology, and planetary sciences.

Read the full commentary in Science.