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Devil King
10-13-2011, 01:18 PM
In 2000, a boy was born in Charite Hospital in Berlin, Germany. Unlike the other babies, his muscles were not soft and undefined. They were bulging from his arms and legs. As the child grew, he developed muscles twice the size of his peers, while maintaining half the body fat, and before the age of 4 he was able to hold seven-pound weights with his arms extended.

This little Hercules, who is now a healthy 7-year-old, is the first human with a proven mutation in myostatin, a protein that limits muscle growth.

Daniel Paul Tammet is a British high-functioning autistic savant gifted with a facility for mathematical calculations, sequence memory, and natural language learning. He was born with congenital childhood epilepsy. Experiencing numbers as colors or sensations is a well-documented form of synesthesia, but the detail and specificity of Tammet's mental imagery of numbers is unique. In his mind, he says, each number up to 10,000 has its own unique shape and feel, that he can "see" results of calculations as landscapes, and that he can "sense" whether a number is prime or composite. He has described his visual image of 289 as particularly ugly, 333 as particularly attractive, and pi as beautiful. Tammet not only verbally describes these visions, but also creates artwork, particularly watercolor paintings, such as his painting of Pi.

Simply amazing - you have characters that surpass known human limitation all the time. I wonder if human evolution will reach the point where humans will eventually have a slew of these abilities.

http://www.sixwise.com/newsletters/07/02/28/myostatin-blockers-the-potential-benefits-and-risks-of-these-forthcoming-super-muscle-drugs.htm

http://www.oddee.com/item_91848.aspx

Dark Saint
11-06-2011, 04:55 PM
Nah, the direction in which human evolution is aiming is towards thinner bodies with bigger heads to fit in our bigger brains, with less muscle mass - in which case myostatin blockers would pose the opposite direction in the chains of evolution (backwards). Of course, currently it's hard to imagine that a bigger-brain evolution would be possible with a seemingly ever-increasing bunch of idiots springing up every minute.

... Perhaps the myostatin blockers are a sign that we're becoming so stupid that we're actually beginning to de-evolve.

Cyrus the virus
11-07-2011, 12:17 AM
Tammet sounds awesome.

Priest4hire
11-08-2011, 10:34 AM
My inner nerd has forced me to point out that de-evolution isn't possible. Or rather, it's not meaningful. Evolution is just change. A change in the opposite direction is still change.

The thing about the myostatin mutation is that humans evolved into very capable persistence hunters. That is a style of hunting that requires long distance endurance over short distance speed. Thus humans evolved towards less strength and more stamina. A naturally extra strong human wouldn't have any real advantage then or now when it comes to breeding and hence wouldn't be selected for.

Besides, social and technological evolution has far outstripped natural evolution. Barring some radical event, it seems likely that we will gain the ability to modify ourselves long before we evolve in any significant way. For example, myostatin blockers are bound to be developed sooner or later. And I'm sure one day neural augmentation will be possible.

Ges
11-08-2011, 04:42 PM
The echolation boy is awesome. His glass eyes look pretty real, too. If I met him I would have no idea he was blind.

Dark Saint
11-09-2011, 03:59 AM
Yeah, very awesome. After I read about that one I kept wondering about it, and while I was taking a shower yesterday I closed my eyes and started making a clicking noises for a few seconds, imagining what it would be like to be in darkness and knowing where stuff were. Add in some impossible physical feats and Daredevil is good to go.



My inner nerd has forced me to point out that de-evolution isn't possible. Or rather, it's not meaningful. Evolution is just change. A change in the opposite direction is still change.
Aye, change is change regardless of direction. The term "de-evolution", though truly inaccurate, is still a good, easy way to express the idea of a step that seems to go back towards the earlier stages of our species.

If for whatever reason(s) these multiple, little mutations add up in a way that it allows our bodies to block myostatin, then that's the direction in which --at least part of-- mankind will continue to evolve.

Sen
11-11-2011, 01:00 AM
Animal behaviourist Kevin Richardson says he relies on instinct to win the hearts and form an intimate bond with the big cats. He can spend the night curled up with them without the slightest fear of being attacked. His magic works not only work for lions but other animals such as cheetahs, leopards and even hyenas do not hold a threat against him. Lions are his favourites and its a wonder how he can play, carress, cuddle with them whose teeth are sharp enough to bite through thick steel. Its a dangerous job but to Kevin, its more of a passion for him.
Grizzly Man, anyone?