兰德-防止镜像生物产生的政策选择（英）-2025.3_35页_509kb

Expert Insights on Preventing Mirror Organism Creation

Summary

The creation of mirror organisms (living systems composed of mirror-image molecules) poses unprecedented risks to global health, agriculture, and ecosystems. According to scientists like Adamala et al., mirror life could evade natural defenses, resist human therapies, and lead to catastrophic consequences if weaponized. Progress is being made toward constructing mirror organisms by institutions like the Scripps Research Institute and George Church's lab.

Policy Recommendations:

1. Executive Actions:

   • Immediate Pause: U.S. government should pause federally funded research on mirror organisms.
   • DURC/PEPP Extension: Extend the Dual-Use Research of Concern and Pathogens with Enhanced Pandemic Potential (DURC/PEPP) policy to mirror biology.
   • Select Agent Designation: Designate mirror organisms as select agents under the U.S. Code to restrict their possession and use.

2. Regulatory Measures:

   • Export Controls: Use existing export control regulations to limit materials and technologies that could aid in mirror organism development.
   • U.S. Code Regulation: Ban possession, use, and development of mirror organisms via U.S. Code provisions.

3. Legislation:

   • Enact laws mirroring the ban on variola virus (Smallpox) to make killing or altering microorganisms without emergency authorization illegal.

4. International Engagement:

   • Bilateral/Multilateral Diplomacy: Promote global norms and treaties against mirror organism development, similar to the Biological Weapons Convention (BWC) and Environmental Modification Convention (ENMOD).
   • UN Security Council Action: Urge resolutions demanding limitations on mirror organism construction and seeking UN enforcement through Chapter VII.

5. Countermeasures Research:

   • Allow research on defenses against mirror life only post-release, requiring actionable innovations not tied to their construction.

6. Risk Mitigation:

   • Pause countermeasure development until potential use of mirror organisms is identified. Communicate concerns and publicize recommendations to foster societal discussion.

Conclusion
Early international cooperation and binding legal measures are critical to prevent catastrophic risks. A multilateral treaty or norms could ban mirror organism development, leveraging resolutions like the Montreal Protocol to address global threats. The U.S. must lead through domestic and international actions to halt research and develop defenses while mitigating unintended releases.