Physics of the Future: How Science Will Shape Human Destiny and Our Daily Lives by the Year 2100

made soon afterward in Germany, when scientists examined a newborn boy who had unusual muscles in his upper legs and arms. Ultrasound analysis showed that this boy’s muscles were twice as large as normal. By sequencing the genes of this baby and of his mother (who was a professional sprinter), they found a similar genetic pattern. In fact, an analysis of the boy’s blood showed no myostatin whatsoever.
    Scientists at the Johns Hopkins Medical School were at first eager to make contact with patients suffering from degenerative muscle disorders who might benefit from this result, but they were disappointed to find that half the telephone calls to their office came from bodybuilders who wanted the gene to bulk themselves up, regardless of the consequences. Perhaps these bodybuilders were recalling the phenomenal success of Arnold Schwarzenegger, who has admitted to using steroids to jump-start his meteoric career. Because of the intense interest in the myostatin gene and ways to suppress it, even the Olympic Committee was forced to set up a special commission to look into it. Unlike steroids, which are relatively easy to detect via chemical tests, this new method, because it involves genes and the proteins they create, is much more difficult to detect.
    Studies done on identical twins who have been separated at birth show that there is a wide variety of behavioral traits influenced by genetics. In fact, these studies show that roughly 50 percent of a twin’s behavior is influenced by genes, the other 50 percent by environment. These traits include memory, verbal reasoning, spatial reasoning, processing speed, extroversion, and thrill seeking.
    Even behaviors once thought to be complex are now revealing their genetic roots. For example, prairie voles are monogamous. Laboratory mice are promiscuous. Larry Young at Emory University shocked the world of biotechnology by showing that the transfer of one gene from prairie voles could create mice that exhibited monogamous characteristics. Each animal has a different version of a certain receptor for a brain peptide associated with social behavior and mating. Young inserted the vole gene for this receptor into the mice and found that the mice then exhibited behaviors more like the monogamous voles.
    Young said, “ Although many genes are likely to be involved in the evolution of complex social behaviors such as monogamy … changes in the expression of a single gene can have an impact on the expression of components of these behaviors, such as affiliation.”
    Depression and happiness may also have genetic roots. It has long been known that there are people who are happy even though they may have suffered tragic accidents. They always see the brighter side of things, even in the face of setbacks that may devastate another individual. These people also tend to be healthier than normal. Harvard psychologist Daniel Gilbert told me that there is a theory that might explain this. Perhaps we are born with a “happiness set point.” Day by day we may oscillate around this set point, but its level is fixed at birth. In the future, via drugs or gene therapy, one may be able to shift this set point, especially for those who are chronically depressed.
    SIDE EFFECTS OF THE BIOTECH REVOLUTION
    By midcentury, scientists will be able to isolate and alter many of the single genes that control a variety of human characteristics. But this does not mean humanity will immediately benefit from them. There is also the long, hard work of ironing out side effects and unwanted consequences, which will take decades.
    For example, Achilles was invincible in combat, leading the victorious Greeks in their epic battle with the Trojans. However, his power had a fatal flaw. When he was a baby, his mother dipped him into the magic river Styx in order to make him invincible. Unfortunately, she had to hold him by the heel when she placed him into the river, leaving that one crucial point ofvulnerability. Later, he would die during the Trojan War after being hit in the heel by an arrow.
    Today, scientists are wondering if the new strains of creatures emerging from their laboratories also have a hidden Achilles’ heel. For example, today there are about thirty-three different “smart mouse” strains that have enhanced memory and performance. However, there is an unexpected side effect of having enhanced memory; smart mice are sometimes paralyzed by fear. If they are exposed to an extremely mild electric