INTRODUCTION Humans. The reigning species on planet earth. Some people theorise that we have finished developing, others do not think so. Those who do not think we have finished developing think that we, the Homo Sapiens, will evolve into the so called Homo Cyberneticus, the combination between humans, and machine. GLOBAL PERSPECTIVE Everyone can think of something that they want to improve in themselves. But can you actually change the way you operate? Increasing speed, strength or the mind? Of course we cannot change our genes to shoot out lasers of electricity like in the videogame Bioshock. So this brings the question, can we genetically enhance ourselves? Gene therapy is an option. Gene therapy basically changes the damaged genes is someone’s body by inserting the new gene in a virus to act …show more content…
If we have the ability to replace genes, can we genetically enhance our own? To increase something like strength. We already have done this in mice. Scientists have injected a gene that stimulates the production of certain proteins to increase the muscle mass of these mice by about 40%. As the mice aged, their muscle mass stayed the same as when they were young, but what if we want to enhance our speed? Not surprising, but there is mice for that too. These mice were given a gene that encoded a fat-burning protein creating “Marathon Mice” that could run faster, and twice the distance of normal mice. After we have had speed and strength, the only thing left is the mind. In 1999 researchers from Princeton university genetically enhanced a mouse called “Doogie” to increase his intelligence. By inserting a certain gene that stimulates a certain sector in the hippocampus, the mouse exhibited increased memory and ability to learn. Interestingly, as this mouse aged, his intelligence remained unchanged, unlike other mice, which showed decline in intelligence. Strength, speed and intelligence are only some of the genetic enhancements