A few weeks ago I was watching Star Trek: Into Darkness, and if you aren’t a Star Trek fan or haven’t seen the movie, firstly I highly recommend it. Secondly Star Trek Into Darkness, has within the concept of genetic editing and engineering. The character Khan, played by Benedict Cumberbatch, is a genetically engineered human designed for war who is awoken and begins wreaking havoc on the world. Khan is a strategic genius with incredible strength and speed. He is superior to humans. As the back story goes he was created hundreds of years in the past and he and others like him eventually became genocidal and attempted to kill everybody who they deemed lesser. He and his crew (others like him) were put to sleep. In the present time of the movie, a general wakes Khan and forces him to design incredibly advanced  weapons and war craft. However Khan then escapes and blows up multiple buildings before flying a huge warship into the city center. 

 

I know he's not a great guy and more then little crazy. However the concept of editing and or engineering humans to be superhuman is well… incredible and fascinating. And even more incredibly this technology is not that far in the future, in fact it already exist. Editing genetics to ensure certain traits prevail has been done for decades in agriculture aka GMO’s. Genetically modifying plants is not the same as modifying humans, but there are many similarities and the technology required to engineer humans is not that unfathomable, a couple more decades or even years and we could have this technology. In fact, designer babies, the practice of altering genetics in a fetus before they are born already exist. The question that I found myself asking is what would it look like if we could engineer humans. 

To start we need to understand how genetic engineering and editing works currently. The most common form of genetic editing done is through the use of vectors. Viral vectors are viruses that have had their DNA removed and replaced with the desired DNA. Viruses themself function and reproduce by injecting their viral DNA into a cell. Then their DNA incorporates with the host cell's DNA and takes over. The cell begins using the viral DNA as its own and does as the DNA codes for, which in this case is making more viruses. Finally the cell replicates the virus and then explodes, performing lysis (the explosion) and releases all of the new virus. This cycle the lytic cycle is one of two ways viruses reproduce, the other is the lysogenic cycle. During the lysogenic cycle the virus DNA becomes dormant in the host cells and therefore whatever DNA it has is not being expressed or making a difference. Genetic editing using viruses uses the lytic cycle. Replacing a vector's DNA with the desired DNA and then allowing it to inject said DNA into a cell, is a very common way to perform genetic editing. Instead of the viral DNA that leads to reproduction of more viruses the desired DNA mixes with the cell's DNA and becomes a part of it, changing the cell's DNA. Unfortunately this process is not perfect and does not edit or change an organism DNA to the extent required to make a noticeable difference. This is due to the fact that one viral vector injecting one cell does not change the DNA of nearly enough cells, even with the infected cells reproducing. 

The other way to edit DNA is by forcing the genes to mutate through a process called selective reverse mutation. The process starts by a separate process called homologous recombination. Which involves removing the desired gene or section of DNA from a strand and replacing it with a similar section of DNA from a different DNA strand. This gene is then returned to the cell, and the cell continues on functioning. This form of genetic modification is very specific and is mainly used to repair damaged genes. Many researchers theorize that this method will be extremely useful for cancer treatments and maybe one day cancer cures. In addition selective reverse mutation is used to treat DNA double-strand breaks which are caused by radiation and chemicals, leading to damage in the nucleic acid molecule.This process is only used to return the DNA molecule back to its original function. Meaning that it is unlikely this form of gene editing will be used to create super humans. 

Many scientists have taken this form of gene editing further, like CRISPR/Cas9 gene editing,  a Nobel Prize winning gene editing technology form of gremlin gene therapy, invented by Dr. Emmanuelle Charpentier, and Dr. Jennifer Doudna, that utilizes a similar concept to selective reverse mutation and is a precise method of editing genes. However the technologie is still in progress and has a low success rate. 

​

There are even more different kinds of gene therapies and editing, but most are still in their early stage of development. However the technologie that does exist still led to the question of what are the possibilities with this technology. Going back to Star Trek and Khan, the genocidal maniac, we see how the genetic engineering the character went through led to, well, insanity. His belief that he is superior to other humans led to  horrifically violent actions and the deaths of thousands. Although this is a very extreme example, the issue in this brilliant sci-fi movie still matters. Would genetic editing cause further division on our planet and further divide an already divided people? On the contrary, could it create new people with the strength and intellect needed to solve some of the world's greatest problems. Leading to the invention of new technology. Literal super human minds thinking of solutions to everything from issues in healthcare, education, economy and military

Military… that’s the issue, violence, blood shed and war. If you could theoretically engineer humans to be intelligent and strong, who’s to say you can’t design them to be violent and stratigal genuses. This was the design of Khan from Star Trek and if I didn’t already make it clear it backfired horribly. Yet the possibilities are endless and are just too irresistible to scientists. Regardless of the drawbacks, the idea of being greater is something humans have been drawn to forever. And rightly so, there is so much in our universe we don’t understand and thinking about it makes us feel extremely small, and it is only natural to want to be bigger. 

When it comes to the technologie actually required to create super humans, there is one thing we would have to correct in our current methods of gene editing and engineering. The inability to change a human's genetics on a large enough scale. Altering one cell's DNA, archives nothing, leading to the question of how we would go about changing a person's DNA on a grand enough scale. The answer is simply to change the DNA while the human is still a fetus. A fetus is the small lump of cells that grows into the thousands of cells that make up your body. If the editing in the DNA were to be done and at this stage in a human's life then every cell would have the new and improved DNA. This process already exists and is called designer babies. However the process has not been perfected, and the success rate is only 77%. There is still a long way to go, yet this technologie and method looks the most promising for genetic editing and engineering. 

​

In summary, there are many different kinds of gene therapies and methods to edit peoples genes. However, science is still in its early stages and there is much work to be done in order to bring this field to the level of our favorite sci-fi movies. Sadly human nature is not always the most ethical and given our world and how it has been for thousands of years, it is unwise to add more chaos to the mix. Edmund Burke a great Anglo-Irish philosopher said “the greater the power, the greater the abuse”. Given the limitless possibilities of this potential technologie, the power dynamic it would create, and the serious ethical issues it poses in addition to standard crappy human behavior it is safe to say that maybe we should wait a couple of centuries before genetically engineering humans. Yet something about this science is alluring, the endless good it could cause from eliminating diseases to giving everyone a high IQ, makes many including myself in awe of the possibilities.