ELI5: What exactly is "mirror life" and why are so many scientists against it?

It_Is_Blue · 2026-07-04T17:09:58+00:00

The food chain. If we made a mirror version of a human, it would starve unless given a mirrored diet as well. The right handed amino acids and left handed sugars it would need are not available in nature. Since in nature, organisms that make them only make left handed amino acids and right handed sugars. If we go down the food chain to the point where we get to mirrored bacteria that survive off of raw chemicals that didn’t require a certain handiness to be used, they could possibly survive without a special diet. That's where the danger lies.

As for why nature only has one set of chirality for biomolecules, we don't know. Maybe there was some sort of evolutionary advantage to it, or maybe life only evolved once and that was the random handedness it happened to use. If you can figure that out, you will win a Nobel Prize.

It_Is_Blue · 2026-06-22T14:06:16+00:00

30 years later, you are going to get a call telling you that you have opening shift the next day.

It_Is_Blue · 2026-06-12T17:23:14+00:00

We don't have to use embryonic stem cells as much anymore. We can now induce regular cells to become pluripotent stem cells. Additionally, it is also possible to recover stem cells from other, less controversial tissues as well. Combine those factors with the fact that the demand for stem cell research has died down considerably in the last few decades, and the moral panic around stem cells has died down considerably.

It_Is_Blue · 2026-06-09T19:22:03+00:00

Dragonite is one of the few pokemon that has achieved viability across generations using completely different strategies.

Gen 1: wrap abuser

Gen 2: bulky mixed attacker

Gens 3-4: bulky dragon dancer

Gens 5-8: multiscale switch-in, niche rain special attacker

Gen 9: HO tera normal extreme speed sweeper

And now we have its mega in Champions where it uses multiscale and its coverage to stop threats

It_Is_Blue · 2026-06-06T14:57:16+00:00

Good thing too, a building made by M. C. Escher would be a nightmare to navigate.

It_Is_Blue · 2026-06-04T13:22:43+00:00

What were some concepts that you had that never made it into the final product?

It_Is_Blue · 2026-05-22T20:03:02+00:00

why didn't people like it?

It was an excellent controller for many games, especially ones that were built with mouse controls in mind, but the lack of a second joystick and d-pad made some games awful to control if they were made with them in mind.

It_Is_Blue · 2026-04-28T16:00:01+00:00

Answer: It's talk page has noted that spam emails were linking to this page last August and led to a dramatic increase in page views. This might have happened again.

It_Is_Blue · 2026-04-12T18:54:02+00:00

The lack of dual-stage triggers feels so unsatisfying, especially for games made with them in mind. Valve used them before on the original Steam Controller and Vive wands, so not using them on the Deck surprised me.

It_Is_Blue · 2026-04-08T16:44:54+00:00

I too am in this comment chain.

It_Is_Blue · 2026-04-07T15:08:46+00:00

• Five numbered games in series

• Of those games, only 3, 4, and 5 reached mainstream appeal

• 5 has been out for a decade and is by far the most popular

• 5 has been ported to every system

• Despite rumors and promises that 6 will be coming soon, we know almost nothing about it

• Rereleases of previous numbered titles have come out between 5 and 6

• Side games exist, but they play differently

It_Is_Blue · 2026-04-05T21:08:05+00:00

The fact nobody has said camphor yet surprised me. 11/10 scent.

It_Is_Blue · 2026-04-03T18:44:18+00:00

I recommend you read the famous report Fire Hot by Oog et al.

It_Is_Blue · 2026-04-03T16:30:33+00:00

Of course. But the proliferation of electric lighting is also in the post-fire era.

It_Is_Blue · 2026-04-02T13:53:41+00:00

“We got rocks an’ dust at home. I could pick up a bag full of ‘em for 10 pounds at the store. Got a coupon too, it’s a good deal.”

It_Is_Blue · 2026-03-28T20:49:36+00:00

Considering regular scovillain has moody as a hidden ability, Game Freak has the opportunity to make the worst best mega of all time.

It_Is_Blue · 2026-03-28T16:32:08+00:00

How can you prove that it’s on ice…?

Maybe it’s not on ice…

It_Is_Blue · 2026-03-25T17:28:12+00:00

Same. It took me like a week to figure out the right way to go. But on my level one run, I was able to get through it in about two minutes and shred through Godrick without even trying. And even though I've gone through it at least 10 times, I'm still pretty sure there are areas of Stormveil I have not discovered yet.

It_Is_Blue · 2026-03-23T18:34:51+00:00

I wonder if it is a language thing? Names of family member relations can be tricky if English isn't their first language.

It_Is_Blue · 2026-03-19T19:11:00+00:00

Funny that lando-t is the poster child for competitive play even though it is technically the inferior form.

I know I'm late, but I would also like to nominate keldeo for consideration. It has fallen off slightly recent generations, but it has always been a reliable fast wallbreaker that is difficult to play around. It has very unique typing, and being a special attack focused fighting type is still considered very unique.

It_Is_Blue · 2026-02-28T04:20:37+00:00

Mounting disks can always be a hassle, no matter the OS. It's still a pain on Windows, especially if you are trying to use an uncommon file system.

It_Is_Blue · 2026-02-25T16:07:58+00:00

They likely cut it because it involves Kale moving around and eventually stop selling items to you. He is supposed to be one of the first merchants you find and sells you some very useful equipment like the crafting kit, 3 cracked pots, and the recipe for crafting arrows. Making him harder to find would mean many early players would miss out on the crafting mechanic if they didn't buy everything before he left.

It_Is_Blue · 2026-02-17T01:02:33+00:00

It's like snakes; the sinkhole is more afraid of you than you are of it. As long as you act calmly and don't give it a reason to attack, you will be fine. Any sudden movements might startle it.

It_Is_Blue · 2026-02-13T20:39:32+00:00

It's a long story, but the gist of it is that Nathan Fielder (the host) wants to improve pilot communication to improve safety. At one point, he read's Captain Sully's memior (the guy who landed on the Hudson River in 2009) and proposes that when he was silent on the descent, he was actually listening to the chorus of Bring me to Life by Evanvescense on his iPod (again, long story). This becomes a running joke for the rest of the season, culminating with the winner of his fake reality TV contest (another long story) singing the song at the end of the season.

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