Can We Genetically Engineer Humans to Survive Missions to Mars?
www.space.com
We might one day combine tardigrade DNA into our own cells.

One method is epigenome engineering and would target genes advantageous for space. Another method is to combine the DNA of other species (i.e. tardigrades) with human cells to make humans better fit for space.

From lemmit.online

  • @over_clox@lemmy.worldEnglish
    6•7 months ago

    Yeah, that’ll be cute. By the time they figure out all the best relevant tweaks to the DNA, they’ll end up with a form of ‘human’ that won’t be able to reproduce with natural humans. Which means it won’t be the same species anymore, it won’t be human.

    Edit: They ought to be thinking more like genetically modifying plant foods to be more capable of growing on Mars. Tweaking human DNA doesn’t change the fact that humans need food, and there ain’t exactly apples and corn growing on Mars ya know.