80,000 Hours Podcast

#224 – There's a cheap and low-tech way to save humanity from any engineered disease | Andrew Snyder-Beattie

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Oct 2, 2025
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INSIGHT

Mirror Life Threat Breaks Cross‑Species Immunity

  • Mirror‑life (chiral) organisms would evade immune detection across many species because immune systems are trained on one chirality.
  • That could make infections persistent in environment and threaten plants, animals, and humans simultaneously.
INSIGHT

Four Pillars Are A Time‑Buying Strategy

  • Four pillars aim to buy time, not be the final cure: PPE, protected buildings, detection, and medical countermeasures.
  • The goal is to keep society running while longer‑term medical solutions are developed.
ADVICE

Buy Elastomeric Respirators, Not Disposable N95s

  • Stockpile durable elastomeric respirators rather than disposable N95s because they last decades in storage and months in use.
  • Buy and distribute them to essential workers to cheaply protect large populations.
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