could genes be modified to make a superhuman?

Question: could genes be modified to make a superhuman?
- Keywords:
  gene,
  GM,
  superhuman
Asked by spiderpigjam to Clare, Mariana, Pedro, Robert, Susanne on 15 Nov 2012.
- Robert Insall answered on 15 Nov 2012:
  
  Doubt it, spiderpigjam (what a name, by the way). I think we mostly evolved to be pretty much as good as we could be. Modified genes might make one bit of us better (bigger brains?) but at a cost that was worse than the prize (birth is already difficult – imagine if our heads were bigger?)
- Susanne Muekusch answered on 15 Nov 2012:
  
  Hi spiderpigjam,
  
  from our current knowledge I don’t think it is a good idea to mess around with our genes. We don’t even understand the half of it: what individual genes are doing and what we exactly need them for.
  
  The human body is a well tuned incredibly complicated thing- if you change anything, you are lucky if you don’t see anything happening. But you probably will screw something up. And there is no way you can tell what genes you need to modify to achieve something like, mmmh, invulnerability. Or what exactly did you have in mind when you asked about superhuman? How is superhuman different from us?
- Clare Taylor answered on 15 Nov 2012:
  
  I think we’re already pretty super human! Look at how amazing we are – so many complex things going on in our bodies and minds already!
- Mariana Campos answered on 16 Nov 2012:
  
  I think we are pretty good already! What would happen if we would start having superhumans around us? What would happen to the normal humans like you and me?