However, such things require generations of perseverance and a suitably favourable political climate. So the genetic engineering of super soldiers is much more preferable, since the successes of those efforts could be enjoyed within our own lifetime.

However, genetic research isn’t without its own controversy. Consider the furore surrounding so-called “designer babies”:
“Advanced reproductive technologies allow parents and doctors to screen embryos for genetic disorders and select healthy embryos.

The fear is that in the future we may be able to use genetic technologies to modify embryos and choose desirable or cosmetic characteristics.”
The danger with genetics is twofold: 1. the sheer scope and potential, 2. the vagaries of political regimes or of powerful, wealthy and deeply motivated groups of people with different ethical .

In this scenario, I’m thinking of ethnic bioweapons; weapons designed to “harm only or primarily persons of specific ethnicities or genotypes.”

Since the start of the Human Genome Project back in 1990, we’ve come a long way. While the benefits of such research are philanthropical (better understanding of diseases, hereditary defects et cetera), it’s what we can do with this data in the coming decades that’s of most concern.

Having spoken to science writer and chemist David Bradley, the subject of genetics with a military application is something of a political anathema. There’s little doubt that basic laboratory work is within our grasp now, what we lack is the political tolerance, which might not be bad thing, given the current climate of world conflict…