TRIBUNPEKANBARU.COM – Experts say how gene editing and biotechnology could spark a new arms race to perfect humans and create new ways to kill them.
The existence of a “super soldier” was once only possible in a sci-fi world – but with advances in technology, it is now possible to alter a soldier’s DNA to give them fearsome god-like powers.
The global superpower has created the next generation of soldiers that can be “bred like cattle” to kill .
France was one of the first to reveal it was developing an “auxiliary army” and claimed China had also carried out tests on soldiers to create a biologically enhanced troop.
From immense strength to regenerating lizard-like limbs, editing the human genome can make fighters stronger, faster and even smarter than their opponents on the battlefield.
US officials have predicted there will be soldiers and army of gene-edited cyborgs by 2050.
And at the same time, an unknown world of cutting-edge bioweapons has been opened up by rapid biotechnological advances – such as the 3D printing of potentially lethal viruses.
And it is feared that this seismic leap in technology could be weaponized by rogue and terrorist nations to “bring war to another realm”.
In one scenario, hostile nations could build an elite squad of Terminator-style assassins to launch attacks – while also making their targets weaker by deliberately releasing a lethal, man-made virus.
“There is a possibility, which takes warfare to another realm altogether.
“In terms of weaponry, you might have one population that is strong, fit and capable. And then other populations that are subject to immunosuppression and weakness.
“This is completely another dimension. On the one hand, you have the rapid advances in pathogen research, and on the other hand, you have the editing of the human genome.
“The technology available is astounding and truly an existential threat to humanity.” says biosecurity expert Raina MacIntyre.
MacIntyre previously warned terrorists had found “extraordinary ways” to launch an apocalyptic biowar with virus-laden “bugplanes”.
Source: Pekanbaru Tribune
