Earth’s resources are finite, as is our sun, and so we must evolve to survive these eventualities. But are we willing to do what is necessary?
In this TED video, How Humans Could Evolve to Survive in Space, Lisa Nip explains the necessity of harnessing the DNA of extremophiles, or superpowered microbes, to make our bodies better at surviving the harshness of space.
“Evolution requires two things that we may not always be able to afford, and they are death and time.”
Nip goes on to explain how humanity may not have time for its natural evolution to save us from an eventual apocalypse. She hopes to further the efforts of synthetic biology to give humanity the decision in how it evolves and at what pace. She provides some interesting ideas as to how we can make ourselves immune to radiation and extreme temperatures, and how these superhero-like powers can aid us in space exploration and colonization.
But at what cost? Where is the line between humanity and whatever we would become? Nip argues that being human is not to be associated with our bodies, but our minds. Being human is to evolve, to change, to adapt to new surroundings and grow our species. But the ethical implications of such ideas will be for all of humanity to decide.
This argument fascinates me on a creative level. Thousands of stories can stem from this 12 minute speech. I greatly encourage you watch it if only to open up your mind to possibilities you may have never considered before. Science fiction captivates me because the future of humanity and everything else out there is yet to be determined. Science fiction is purely speculation, all about trying to figure out the end of the movie before we actually see it. This video is a lesson on a scientific possibility of our future, but until it becomes a full reality it is merely some damn good science fiction.
