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Message: <blockquote data-quote="s/LaSH" data-source="post: 449572" data-attributes="member: 6929">But if you look at it from an economic/evolutionary perspective, if even half a dozen people get germ-line modification to live in an extraterrestrial environment without protective gear, they'll immediately be superior to some guy in a radiation suit. Given time, they'll become the indigenous population of an ET locale. And frankly, I think it's unavoidable for something like this to happen. Look at the past year in genetics: Despite huge furores in the media, not one but (at least) two groups have begun human cloning projects (an Italian and an USAmerican); there is vocal opposition, but they are going to happen. The 21st century will be the biotech century, just as the 20th was the physics century. By the end of the century, I wouldn't like to bet against there being substantially gene-altered human populations.Of course, this is all conjecture. It just seems likely... very likely.And that's not counting telomere alteration technology. I'm no biochemist, but I believe telomeres (the ends of our chromosomes; they decay with age, I think) are the secret to eternal life. And when someone figures out how to preserve those... brave new world of some kind.</blockquote>