Superhumans - is it coming soon?

or how biotechnologists became friends with bioengineers

Technologies that allow treating diseases, restoring the body after injuries and replacing damaged organs with prostheses developed very quickly from a primitive level to a very advanced one. Mass vaccinations and the spread of antibiotics put an end to epidemics of deadly diseases that regularly cough up millions of people. Modern modeling methods and surgical techniques can effectively treat many diseases and injuries from sprain to cancer. Replaceable dentures are also not like pirate hooks and wooden legs, in some cases it is even possible to fully restore some functions of a lost organ or limb.

That is, technology allows not only repairing damaged parts of the body, somehow restoring their work. They can also be used to “improve” the functioning of a healthy body. In the 90s, it turned out that anabolic steroids, designed to accelerate rehabilitation after physical injuries, can be fed to the athlete to quickly build muscle before the competition. In the US baseball league, these steroids were heavily used before the 2003 BALCO scandal . No training and genetic predispositions made it possible to achieve the same indicators of the ratio of force to mass.

Bioengineering (they are also often called bionic) devices have also become commonplace in just a few decades. The implanted pacemakers and hearing aids do not seem fantastic at all, the progress in prosthetics has gone so far that in 2008 seriously discussed the ban on South African paralympic runner Oscar Pistorius from participating in regular Olympic games, because his running prostheses give a noticeable advantage over runners with "native "Feet. True, as a result, it was decided that prostheses also bring their inconvenience, so the ban was rejected.



That is, we have already reached the point where technology can significantly advance a person’s abilities, albeit briefly or with significant side effects. What's next? The age of super-humans? Let's see what is available today.

Sensory organs

One of the most important goals for doctors was and is the restoration of lost feelings - in particular, vision and hearing; about 40 million people in the world are blind, 120 million are deaf. Cochlear implant technology allows people with a completely disabled ear to hear - the implant interacts directly with the auditory nerve. It has become so widespread in developed countries that some activists are already worried about the disappearance of the unique deaf culture. In ophthalmology, laser and other technologies are actively used instead of the good old 800-year-old glasses, and for cases of complete blindness wearable digital cameras are being developed that are connected to the retina or optic nerve.

Biotechnology also does not stand still. Experiments are underway to use, for example, stem cells to restore hearing and vision. It can be argued that after the advent of such technologies in medicine, they will very quickly try to use them to expand the capabilities of healthy people. In less than 10 years, Botox has evolved from a cautiously used drug for the treatment of muscular dystonia into an icon and the secret of youth of Hollywood beauties (and not only). It is likely that if we learn to use stem cells to restore lost vision, we can modify them to obtain additional abilities - expanding the visible spectrum into infrared (an infantryman with a “built-in” night vision device would be very useful) or the ultraviolet range; adding the ability to hear more and further than usual, and so on.

The state of affairs:

Technologies that help restore lost feelings have been developing for several hundred years. Many of them are actively used, many are close to this. Opportunities to improve human abilities are also either already used (wearable night vision devices), or just around the corner.

Mental capacity

Revealing the intellectual potential also excites many, and many students tried the existing technologies (the use of nicotine, caffeine, amphetamines ... oh, excuse me, got carried away) on themselves. Surveys in the USA show that about 30% of students regularly use Ritalin and Adderall, while in Russia Phenotropil is often used in similar situations. People seem to get along well with the idea of ​​“boosting” their brain with pharmacological methods, if necessary.

True, these medicines give a relatively small and not too long increase in efficiency, so I wonder if it is possible to achieve better results with more complex technologies? Current research in the field of Parkinson's and Alzheimer's disease control, as well as rehabilitation after brain injuries, is very active and does not experience funding problems. These studies, in addition to moving towards a designated goal, significantly expand our knowledge of the brain. For example, we now know that nerve stem cells (the “ancestors” of neurons) are preserved in some numbers in the adult brain. Perhaps someday we will learn to clone these cells and stimulate them to grow new neurons and repair damaged areas of the brain. Or improving the functioning of a healthy brain.

The high complexity of the brain device becomes a serious obstacle to the development of bionic prostheses and "upgrades" for our most important organ. We can primitively stimulate nerves by simulating the senses, but it’s still a long way to creating fantastic devices like a brain-computer interface. There are billions of simultaneously working neurons in the brain, and although each of them is not very complicated, we still do not understand exactly how the brain as a whole works. But here there are some achievements - for example, electronic implants can stop epileptic seizures in patients who could not be helped with other methods. Perhaps in the near future such devices will become noticeably smaller, and will be able to treat, for example, impaired coordination of movements or chronic pain by direct electrical or pharmacological stimulation of the brain.

The state of affairs:

Over the past century, our understanding of brain function has grown rapidly from primitive phrenology to a good level of understanding of the basic processes that occur in the head. Understanding the chemical and physical foundations of neurons has helped develop effective drugs against mental illness disorders, some of which are also used in small doses to temporarily increase brain efficiency. Electronic devices have so far been used only for gross interference, such as stopping seizures, but inevitably increasing their accuracy over time for subtle stimulation of brain regions or even individual neurons.

Physical abilities

Regular sports scandals due to doping clearly demonstrate that knowledge of modern biology and pharmacology gives a professional athlete a significant advantage, at least over an “ordinary person”. Steroids for building muscle mass, hormones for quick rehabilitation after injuries, stimulants to improve attention ... all this was originally conceived as a means for treating and recovering patients. But with the growth of our understanding of the physics and chemistry of the human body, the desire of professional athletes to stand out not only due to natural abilities, but also to a chemical “additive” also grows. Recently, scientists found that a certain mutation in the MSTN gene causes its carrier to build up more muscles (and stronger than usual), so the genetic modifications of top athletes are also just around the corner. If not yet occurring.



The development of bionic prostheses is also amazing. Some 20 years ago, they were uncomfortable, scary, poorly “joined” with the flesh, and allowed only to restore the functions of the lost limb only minimally. Now prosthetics is a solid hi-tech, messages about new achievements come almost every week. A modern prosthesis is a durable mechanism, driven by complex hydraulics or electrics, controlled by a powerful processor. Such a prosthesis allows you to restore most of the functions, including running and dancing (if we are talking about artificial legs). Many prostheses allow you to "change" the working nozzles on the go, thus modifying the limb for a specific type of activity. The running carbon “legs” of Oscar Pistorius, which I mentioned above, are just about this part - they are not very comfortable in everyday life, but if it comes to running,



The idea of ​​a flexible working artificial hand several years ago was also a fantasy, and now the holder of a modern prosthetic hand can even tie the shoelaces on boots. The big problem is actually the complete lack of feedback and the much more complex control of such a prosthesis - we still do not know how to connect electronics to nerves, so we have to look for workarounds. But the artificial hand is already much stronger and stronger than the “native” one, and the progress here is enormous.

The state of affairs:

For several decades, pharmacology has allowed people to improve physical performance - and they do not stop either side effects or the risk of being caught in doping. The longer the lists of illicit drugs, the more new drugs enter the rings and arenas. And genetic modification is completely impossible to prohibit - which is natural, it is not useless.

True, no matter how you pump up muscles with medicines, they have physical limits, after which the skeleton ceases to cope with weight and loads. But even in this case, it is possible to replace brittle bones and weak muscles with a strong and strong mechanical prosthesis, and there everything rests only on the availability of compact and powerful power sources.

So, what is next?

Since ancient times, all life on the planet has only been engaged in trying to surpass its rivals. Our ancestors have grown a disproportionately large brain for this and use intelligence for this fight, creating more effective tools and modifying their bodies. Modern medicine has already allowed to significantly extend life and improve its quality. With the development of biotechnology, the accuracy of manipulations and their intensity will increase, we will become younger, healthier and stronger than before. Our society is already quietly joining people using mechanical, electronic or chemical methods to restore lost functions (and sometimes improve existing ones). The introduction of wearable computers and the dissemination of the idea of ​​“constant online” will only accelerate these trends, more and more people will use electronics to monitor, modification and stimulation of your body. And, although these technologies are created to help people with disabilities and patients, they will inevitably be used by athletes, military and researchers to expand the boundaries of the possible.

So, the answer to the question “How soon?” Is very simple and clear - of course. Mankind has been using various devices for a long time to increase intellectual and physical efficiency. Developments in the field of biotechnology and gene therapy will at least slow down aging and extend the active period of life to periods that were completely unrealistic some one hundred years ago. Devices and substances will also be used to stimulate a healthy body, as long as it provides any benefits in study, sport and business.

In fact, the question is rather how we should perceive these technologies. Will the possibility of physical modification give an impetus to a sharp increase in inequality in society? Will advanced prostheses easily replace living limbs, as is now easily replaced by a hip or knee joint? Can people voluntarily replace a healthy limb with a mechanical prosthesis for the benefit of strength or strength?

It makes no sense to stop the future, but it makes sense to think how we want to come into it.