Gene doping or the birth of the super-athlete

The world is changing. The question is whether we understand it early enough, so that it still makes a difference to us. Behind the curtains, the debate has long begun about how far the People's Republic of China goes with a controversial practice called "gene doping." Jack Murphy of SOFREP argues in this article that we need to think about this:

Gene doping consists of a series of techniques for genetic manipulation and alteration. In the past, we have heard of "gene therapy," a manipulation of genes to help sick people. Whether we call the whole thing gene therapy or gene doping when it is applied to a sick or healthy person is inconsequential. The distinction simply lies in a different moral evaluation of the two applications. What is the benefit of gene doping? There are many possibilities…

Stronger

For example, myostatin is a protein that regulates muscle growth. By using myostatin blockers, a person could acquire superhuman strength. Studies have been conducted on cows and dogs with a genetic defect that prevents the production of myostatin. These animals are called "hypermuscular" because they have abnormally huge muscles. Many in the Special Operations community would not hesitate to take advantage of the opportunity to become a kind of "superhuman" in this way.

Faster

Recent studies suggest that the ACTN3 gene could also be a good target for doping - runners have it more frequently than normal people. It is called the 'speed gene' and is found in nearly every Olympic sprinter ever tested. This makes it highly likely to be one of those genes that need to be manipulated to make a soldier or athlete faster.

Endurance

Years after his gold medals, the double Finnish skiing Olympic champion Eero Mäntyranta (above) was found to have a rare genetic mutation. It turned out that his family responds extremely to erythropoietin, meaning that Eero's body had an abnormally high amount of oxygen-carrying red blood cells. There are individuals who are born with an abnormal and at the same time normal predisposition for elite sports. Just as with the hypermuscular cows and dogs, these genes can be manipulated and activated in normal people. This way, they would achieve an almost superhuman endurance.

The future is here. Whether we accept it or reject it is another question.

At the London Olympics (2012), 16-year-old Chinese swimmer Ye Shiwen (pictured below) caused controversy. Coming out of nowhere, she managed to win the gold medal in the 400-meter swim and break the world record. John Leonard, the American director of the World Swimming Coaches Association, described her performance as "incredible" and suggested that authorities should investigate "whether there had been any unauthorized genetic manipulation…" (Duke University)

While American laws, regulations, and our ethics largely deter us from experimenting with gene doping, other countries are not so cautious. Some believe that China is conducting the largest human eugenics experiment, encompassing the entire nation from the one-child policy to doping of athletes and soldiers.

The biggest danger would be if we were on the brink of a biological arms race. History has shown that arms races can lead us in directions we did not expect and never wanted. Or simply did not want to be the first to pursue, or where we go because we fear falling behind in development. Nuclear weapons would be an example of such a development. A not so obvious example is remote viewing, a supposed "technique" that some believe allows a person to psychically explore a target thousands of kilometers away. The US military never wanted to be associated with something so esoteric, but the US Congress tasked the Army to deal with it after it was revealed how enamored the Soviets were with "pytronics" or applied psychoenergetics.

Gene doping is much more real. It is the revolution of evolution. The beginning era of super-operators. May the best one win.

JACK MURPHY is Managing Editor at SOFREP.COM. He was a Ranger and member of the 5th Special Forces Group. Since leaving the Army in 2010, he has been studying political science at Columbia University.