May 16, 2025
Bulletin interne de l'Institut Pasteur
Save the date: Symposium on Risks from Mirror Life on June 12, 2025
The Institut Pasteur is pleased to invite you to the first public international meeting considering the implications of developing mirror life, on June 12, 2025 from 3 to 5.30pm in the Duclaux lecture hall (limited seating - more details to come as the event approaches) and online.
This international conference addressing the potentially unprecedented risks of mirror life is organized in partnership with the Mirror Biology Dialogues Fund. The conference marks the first in a series of global meetings planned throughout 2025 and 2026 to explore pathways for research and policy to mitigate the potential risks of mirror life.
In December 2024, a commentary in Science described potential risks from the creation of mirror bacteria—bacteria in which all biomolecules are the mirror-image versions of natural ones. The article, authored by a group including many who had previously intended to develop such organisms, explains how the risks of mirror bacteria could be unprecedentedly severe, and that mirror bacteria could plausibly be created in the coming decades. It calls for further discussion to chart a responsible path forward.
In line with this recommendation, the Institut Pasteur is hosting this public symposium to communicate current scientific understanding of mirror life feasibility and risks, and of the conversation now beginning to further understand and mitigate these risks.
The Institut Pasteur was founded by Louis Pasteur, who first identified the importance of molecular chirality in biology—discovering that most biomolecules exist in just one of two possible mirror-image forms.
The modern Institut builds on Pasteur’s humanist ideals and legacy of scientific inquiry. It is home to deep expertise in microbiology and immunology and has a long history of public engagement and contribution to societal issues, underpinned by a strong commitment to research integrity, responsible and ethical science, and building public trust as detailed in the Pasteur 2030 Strategic Plan.
This symposium is supported by the Mirror Biology Dialogues Fund (MBDF).
Program
• Introductory remarks - David Bikard, Head of the Synthetic Biology Unit, Institut Pasteur
• The international conversation on mirror life - Filippa Lentzos, Associate Professor in Science & International Security in the Department of War Studies and the Department of Global Health & Social Medicine at King’s College London
• Feasibility and potential pathways towards mirror life - John Glass, Professor, leader of the JCVI Synthetic Biology Group, and La Jolla, CA Campus Director at the J. Craig Venter Institute (JCVI)
• The immune risks of mirror bacteria in humans, animals and plants - David Relman, Professor in Medicine, Professor of Microbiology & Immunology at Stanford University
• The risks of mirror life to the ecosystem - Deepa Agashe, Associate Professor, National Centre for Biological Sciences, Bangalore, India
• Closing remarks - Yasmine Belkaid, President, Institut Pasteur
Organizing committee
Yasmine Belkaid (Institut Pasteur), Margaret Buckingham (Institut Pasteur), David Bikard (Institut Pasteur), John Glass (JCVI), David Relman (Stanford University), James Smith (JCVI/MBDF)