The Dark Side of Biology They Won't Teach You in School

Video Description

In December 2024, a group of 38 scientists came together to warn the rest of mankind about a seemingly-innocent but deadly threat… mirror life. Born from the fundamental asymmetry that underpins many molecules on Earth, mirror life is a rapidly-developing area of research that scientists say we must put a stop to now – or suffer the consequences. But what actually is mirror life? Why has this gotten the science community so worried? And what would really happen if we crossed this biological milestone? ▀▀▀▀▀▀ Subscribe to the channel! https://youtube.com/@AstrumEarth Sign-up to our Patreon for early access to Astrum Earth content: https://bit.ly/4aiJZNF ▀▀▀▀▀▀ Check out the other Astrum channels for videos about space and astronomy: Astrum: https://youtube.com/@astrumspace Astrum Extra: https://youtube.com/@astrumextra Astrum Podcast on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/6jPRrbq3o3dpvBb173ZTKi?si=a90d3efe3b704c83 Astrum Infographic Artwork: https://electrify.art/collections/astrum Astrum Displate Posters: https://astrumspace.info/Displates Astrum Merch: https://astrum-shop.fourthwall.com/ Join us on the Astrum discord: https://discord.gg/TKw8Hpvtv8 ▀▀▀▀▀▀ References: “Technical Report on Mirror Bacteria: Feasibility and Risks”, via stanford.edu https://bit.ly/mirrorlifereport “‘Unprecedented risk’ to life on Earth: Scientists call for halt on ‘mirror life’ microbe research”, via theguardian.com https://bit.ly/haltmirrorresearch “‘Mirror life forms’ may sound like science fiction, but scientists warn they could be deadly to humans and destroy the environment”, via theconversation.com https://bit.ly/mirrorlifeforms “Mirror-image T7 transcription of chirally inverted ribosomal and functional RNAs”, via science.org https://bit.ly/xu_zhu “Reprogramming the genetic code”, via nature.com https://bit.ly/delatorre_chin “Thalidomide and the Importance of Stereochemistry”, via oregonstate.edu https://bit.ly/thalidomidedrug “Invasive Alien Species”, via iucn.org https://bit.ly/invasivealienspecies “What is Xenobiology?”, via thenakedscientists.com https://bit.ly/xenobiology ▀▀▀▀▀▀ Credits Narrator: James Stewart Producer: Alex McColgan Writer: Edie Abrahams Video Editor: Celal Kaçar Researcher: Edie Abrahams Thumbnail Designer: Peter Sheppard Senior Production Coordinator: Jana Pšenková Channel Manager: Georgina Brenner Creator: Alex McColgan ▀▀▀▀▀▀ #AstrumEarth #Astrum #mirrorlife