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Super Men (and Women)

We all know Kobe Bryant is an NBA superstar, but ten years from now you might see players that will make Kobe look like a junior varsity bench warmer.

Scientists believe that genetic engineering has the potential to change sports completely, and in the near future!

Scientists at the University of Pennsylvania injected mice with a gene that told their muscles to produce a large amount of a protein called "insulin-like growth factor." The protein makes muscles grow, and helps them heal when injured.

As a result, the mice got huge, growing muscles much larger than normal.

How could this translate to human use?

Well, when we get older, our muscles stop growing and healing because they don't produce as much growth protein. Injecting the gene when we are young would prevent this. Not only could we develop huge muscles, but we could continue producing the growth protein even as we climb into old age.

With genetic engineering it could be possible, barring ethical implications, to create super men and women.

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