From Guy Cox, Sydney, Australia
Much of the worry about “mirror life” seems to be predicated on the assumption that our immune system wouldn’t recognise it. I’m not convinced. But we can test this since, as your story tells us, we can already synthesise proteins with a mirror-image structure to the ones in our bodies. It would be simple enough, and totally safe, to see if these artificial proteins can elicit an immune response. If they can, maybe our fears are overblown (1 March, p 34).
