Hi Steemians,
I’m confident that at one point in your life you want to have super-powers. You want to save the world or the person whom you had a crush on. Each of us dreams of a different power from super strength, to super speed, to teleporting, invisibility, telekinesis and I could go on the list. We want to be the hero that everyone can admire and adore.
It is POSSIBLE, but not the invisibility-levitation-telekinesis-teleportation-engulfed in flames part. What I’m referring about is advanced Biotechnology and Genetics. Yes, Science and Technology has been a major contributor to our daily lives. We have machines and medicines that attempted to extend human life and cure diseases that were “incurable” in the past.
Have you ever wondered why there are certain people that in one way or another possess inhuman abilities? I know a few examples but you might’ve seen some either online or in the television.
We have Usain Bolt- an accomplished sprinter and runner; Bruce Lee-martial arts legend; Liam Hoekstra-super strength and many more. What if we can copy their traits?
Why can they do such things? The answer lies on the basic composition of the body that determines traits and characteristics: genes. Genes are the unit of heredity and are made up of DNA. So these people, whom we envy with their traits, have genes that enabled them to possess such abilities. To spice up things, some are actually mutated.
I found an article which discusses why people such as Usain Bolt and Liam Hoekstra possess such characteristics.
Super Speed(Usain Bolt)
The gene ACTN3 is present within every human body, but a small percentage of them mutate to help us produce a very special substance. This protein, alpha-actinin-3, is responsible for controlling the fast-twitch muscle fibers that allow us to run. Increased amounts lead to more explosive bursts of muscle power, which translate into better performance in all kinds of sports, especially sprinting.
Interestingly, there are two versions of this mutant gene, and athletes with both have been found to perform consistently better than their conventionally chromosomed counterparts. We may be on the brink of a new age of performance enhancement.
Super Strength(Liam Hoekstra)
For a lucky few born with mutations of the gene responsible for producing the protein myostatin, the dream of effortless abs is a reality. Myostatin tells the body to stop producing muscle when enough has been created, but defective genes keep it from being made. This means muscles automatically grow to twice the average size, while fat deposits are halved.
If you are thinking what I am thinking, what if then we modify a person’s genes in the molecular level to the extent of a person being strong, fast and disease-resistant? Before we can do that, we must have an in-depth understanding about the human genes first.
Do we have that? The answer is yes, we do. It is called the “Human Genome Project.”
The Human Genome Project (HGP) was the international, collaborative research program whose goal was the complete mapping and understanding of all the genes of human beings. All our genes together are known as our "genome."
The HGP was the natural culmination of the history of genetics research. In 1911, Alfred Sturtevant, then an undergraduate researcher in the laboratory of Thomas Hunt Morgan, realized that he could - and had to, in order to manage his data - map the locations of the fruit fly (Drosophila melanogaster) genes whose mutations the Morgan laboratory was tracking over generations. Sturtevant's very first gene map can be likened to the Wright brothers' first flight at Kitty Hawk. In turn, the Human Genome Project can be compared to the Apollo program bringing humanity to the moon
The project was able to identify and map 20,000 – 25,000 genes. Yes, we have that many. Each is different but either mutually exclusive or interdependent from the others. Today, the project has already fueled the discovery of more than 1,800 diseases.
In analogy, understanding the sequence of the human genome is synonymous to having all the pages of a book. If you could comprehend the contents, interpret it and apply it correspondingly to human anatomy and traits as well as diseases. Imagine suppressing the pain receptor in your body that when you bang your head on the wall, you won’t feel anything.
So using that project, what if we can tweak our genes or our offspring’s genes? I understand it will face many ethical, legal and social concerns.
Of course, it has to undergo proper regulations or our world will be filled with super soldiers. It will still be competition as before since the natural instinct of a human being is survival. Diseases might also evolve in the process increasing tolerance and resistance which would then be harder to treat.
Many factors are then to be taken into consideration and should involve a collaborative effort, not just from scientists but all fields involved.
Comment your thoughts. It will be highly appreciated.
