What if life were mirrored?

Overview

Imagine for a moment that everything was reversed. It may sound mind-boggling, but it is not entirely absurd. Many of the molecules that make up life on Earth have a symmetrical counterpart—a mirror-image twin known as an enantiomer. These mirror molecules represent a promising avenue for the discovery of new and potentially more effective medicines. But what if we could go even further? What if it were possible not only to mirror individual vital molecules, but entire living organisms—bacteria, for example? What would happen if we managed to reverse life itself? And what would our world look like then?