“We will know which genes make us more intelligent”

In an interview with the Spanish newspaper El País, Raymond McCauley, chief of the Biotechnology at Singularity University, explained the advances in the development of the technology related to the human body.

According to this expert, in a short time, “we will be able to manipulate children´s DNA, to eliminate most of the risks they have to suffer diseases to which they are genetically predisposed."

“We will choose the genetic of those children”, McCauley said, having in mind that “traditionally parents have chosen what is the best for their children”, but now “we will be able to say that those kids will never suffer any disease”, he argued. 

“WE WILL KNOW WHICH GENES MAKE US BETTER”

The investigator believed that “we are in the edge” of getting genetic modifications which eliminate the chance of having congenital diseases.

“For many people, it will be hopeful to be able to eliminate those diseases that have been with us, in our genes, throughout generations, even being able to eliminate the chance of having cancer or HIV. We will be able to make someone immune to HIV, by just supressing 2 genes”, McCauley commented.

Although genetic modifications do not pursue “making super children”, McCauley also talked with El País about other developments that seem to have those objectives.

“We will know which genes make us more intelligent, and we can strengthen them, or which genes make us emotionally stable, or to eliminate those that make us a little crazy, I think that is good for everybody”, he explained.

CHIPS IMPLANTED IN HUMAN BODIES

For McCauley, in a short period of time, everybody will have chips implanted in their bodies. He said he had one implanted in his hand.

“People already have devices that control how many steps they take, or their heat beats, but all those devices, will end up being one, inside our body”, McCauley argued.

The chip he has in his hand, is connected to his smartphone, with 1 GB of memory, and it stores all his medical records and passwords.

“In two or three years, people with diseases like diabetes, will have an internal chip that will monitor things like the blood glucose; people with cardiovascular risks will probably have it too”, McCauley added.

But the advances will not only be medical, there will also be what McCauley called “command and control”: “Opening your house or your car door, or searching in Internet, would be possible from chips inserted in our bodies”

 “In the next future, we all will be our own personal network”, McCauley concluded.