Caveat Creator
An Existential Threat- a short research note.
In Caveat Resurrector we discussed the inherent dangers in bringing back extinct life forms. In this short note we will look at a far greater risk posed in creating a new form of life.
“Unless compelling evidence emerges that mirror life would not pose extraordinary dangers, we believe that mirror bacteria and other mirror organisms, even those with engineered biocontainment measures, should not be created. We therefore recommend that research with the goal of creating mirror bacteria not be permitted, and that funders make clear that they will not support such work. Governance of a subset of enabling technologies should also be considered to ensure that anyone attempting to create mirror bacteria will continue to be hindered by multiple scientifically challenging, expensive, and time-consuming steps.”
These extraordinary recommendations are from a very recent report published in Science.org. December 12th, 2024.
https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.ads9158
Please read the article to get an idea of the enormity of the potential danger and the alarm of the scientists who wrote the warning.
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Good god I don't need this right now! Trying to stay positive! Seems like as tech advances its only a matter of time..............
Oh golly, Michael, one more terrifying thing to add to the list of this moment in time. I guess the good part of being as old as we are is that we won't live long enough to have to watch this sort of thing play out in our lives. But oh the children.