It could revolutionize human health — or it could spell our doom. It really depends on who you ask. I’m not talking about potentially risky biodefense lab research, but something that doesn’t yet exist: mirror life.

Here’s a refresher on normal biology: the cells in our bodies are composed of the building blocks of life. Nucleotides and sugars make up our DNA, which provides the blueprint for cells and codes for proteins that carry out key biological functions. In all of life, these biomolecules have a specific “handedness.” (Bear with me here.)

A mirror image is possible, the way your left and right hands are mirror images of each other. But mirror life can’t evolve from existing life in nature. If it eventually emerges, it’s because we’ve created it.

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