Homo superior

[Dak]

American term, regarding your "insult" . In this case, it would roughly translate as "very smart of you to rethink your words before you got yourself de-masculinated in a particularly bloody fashion"

lol never f*** with a psycopath, thats my motto.

 

No hair anywhere below the neck. I'm sick of "furry" people.

hmm... have you ever seen bald male genetalia? they look utterly rediculouse.

 

And Dak, I like my *cough* feminine anatomy the way it is. Besides, what if your hormone meddling accidently creates a breed of women in a permanent state of Super-PMS?

dear nayru, this doesnt even bare thinking about.

 

just thought of another improvment: i would make testicles detachable. anyone whos ever been 'bolocked' will know why. also, exessively violent townies could have them confiscated that should help pasify them

[AzurePhoenix]

Mark my words, I can be a particularly malicious and sadistic sociopath when the desire arises .

 

they look utterly rediculouse.

True. Okay, Almost no hair below the neck.

 

 

What about a totally separate trachea and esophagus? I have a tendency to choke on anything, from tacos to Jell-O.

[Mokele]

Do reptiles suffer hardening of the arteries. One suspects not. How do they avoid it?

 

Dying young, usually. In all seriousness, they probably *do* get it, but it doesn't cause trouble because a) their hearts beat much more slowly and at lower pressure, so hardening wouldn't inconvenience them as much and b) hardening would usually occur in a high-fat diet, which tends to kill reptiles off in other ways before the circulatory system can fail (usually kidney stones, kidney failure, bowel impaction, and gout).

 

Isn't some form of snake venom used in treating angina? Any solution that way?

 

Quite possibly, there's been so much bio-prospecting going on with snake venoms that nobody can keep track. But they *do* have components that could help treat various circulatory disorders if used in *very* low doses. Higher doses tend to make blood flow very well...typically out of you, and from organs that really shouldn't be bleeding.

 

No hair anywhere below the neck. I'm sick of "furry" people.

 

Yes, but us hairy people have better genes. Testosterone is an immuno-supressant, so only males with very strong immune systems can produce a lot of it, which is required for the secondary sexual characteristics of body hair, facial hair, broad shoulders, deep voice, etc.

 

In a very real sense, those without such hair are less of a man.

 

Mokele

[Dak]

Testosterone is an immuno-supressant, so only males with very strong immune systems can produce a lot of it, which is required for the secondary sexual characteristics of body hair

this is off topic, but is that in some way related to the fact that most males on earth get erections when there ill? is it, umm, how can i word this, a hint to do the thing which would be the fastest way of ejecting (sorry) the immuno-supressive testostorone from the body during the time when the immune system doesnt relly want to be supressed?

[Mokele]

No idea. I know from, ahem, personal observations that it's not always true for all illnesses in all males. Also, I suspect it's be even faster to simply turn testosterone into something else (it can be quickly and easily converted into estrogen by some cells, even in males, as well as other things too, I'm sure) or have it broken down by the liver.

 

Mokele

[AzurePhoenix]

Hmmm, back to less disturbing anatomical improvements... would a higher density (X2) of red blood cells cause problems? I know they would increase risk of harm concerning clogged arteries, but would they pose such a risk in a healthy circulatory system?

 

Oh, here you are talking about That, and the first idea that comes into my head is blood flow, typical...

[Dak]

 

ahem, as for the heart, the increased risk of clotting could possibly be countered by the fact that the increased oxygen carryage of the added RBCs would lower the rate at which the heart must pump, taking stress off of it.

 

talking of hearts, a lymphatic heart would be useful, and quite small and easy to do, although im not sure how much use it would be in our open lymphatic system - it would depend on how exactly the tubes join up. anyone know if humans have one, main lymphatic duct anywhere that would benifit from a heart?

 

and i think my idea of detachable testicles was actually quite good, and we should give some consideration as to how it could be achieved.

[Skye]

A couple of things, ATP is synthesised so rapidly that it wouldn't help alot to have stores of it. The turnover rate is very rapid, if you stopped producing ATP now you'd probably be dead before you got the end of this sentence. Or maybe by now. But pretty quickly anyway. I expect it is so rapid that any stores of ATP would be consumed in a very short time.

 

Our lungs have to be wet all the time like gills, or else they don't work. We seem to manage that ok.

 

The amount of RBCs you have can increase, which happens if you spend time at higher altitudes. The advantage is offset by the blood becoming thicker, and at some point it's no longer advantageous to have more RBCs. I think people that live in the Himalayas are at this point, for example.

 

The lymphatic system relies on the movement of skeletal muscles to move fluid around, the muscles basically squeeze the lymph vessels as they contract. There are one-way valves through the vessels so that the fluid is directed in the right direction. Evetually the lymphatic system ends up draining into the the subclavian veins around your neck, so I suppose we might benefit from having a pump there, but the current system does the job and uses little energy.

[Kylonicus]

Bigger brains, GAP-43 would need to be upregulated(this has been done in lab mice, and it made the mice have a CNS that could regenerate without any apparent negative side effects), higher antioxidant levels, I would say that we should be shorter(although I have no room to speak I am at least 6 foot 6), the shorter we are the less blood has to be pumped to the outter extremeities, which means less work on the heart, which means that blood can flow faster, assisting the brain(my opinion). Or it just causes more stress on the heart. If you were going to have a huge brain, you would need all the resources you had to be focused on keeping that brain up and running.

[reverse]

this is off topic, but is that in some way related to the fact that most males on earth get erections when there ill? is it, umm, how can i word this, a hint to do the thing which would be the fastest way of ejecting (sorry) the immuno-supressive testostorone from the body during the time when the immune system doesnt relly want to be supressed?

 

 

I thought that was just people with a fetish for nurses uniforms.

*SLAP!*

 

while we are putting our orders in, can I get an extra set of arms.

Nature never knew we would have to carry stuff while going through doors.

[Dak]

i think kylonicus' idea of being smaller has a lot of merit. wed use up less resorses and thered be more space for us - so hopefully fewer wars. less polution aswell

 

and all our houses would seem like mansions.

[Kylonicus]

I think we need to become shorter as a species too,

 

Another physiological alteration we need, would be larger anterior cingulates, HUGE anterior cingulates, that would make us sharper. Large right prefrontal cortex delayed gratification/abstract reward center. Make us super hard workers with alot of self-control.

[Sayonara]

I think we need to become shorter as a species too,

I think we should go for reducing girth first, to be honest.

[Dak]

iv never heard anyone put forward that oppinion before

[wolverine?]

Is it at all possible that scientists could enhance the healing process in humans? For example, in x men, is that just completely out of mind or is it possible? please respond or email me at mr_sharp14@yahoo.com

[whap2005]

Probably the 2 most likely areas of science that are going to bring forth the most benefit in improving our biological limitations are going to be stem cell research, and cybernetics. The ability to grow replacement organs or repair existing ones using stem cells will be the next great medical revolution. A close second will be non-bio implants to augment our capabilities such as sight, hearing, immune system, etc. The biggest barriers to these advancements are, I hate to say it, our current presidential administration. I’m a conservative in most areas, but I CAN’T STAND the fact that the pres doesn’t condone stem cell research. (I guess I’ll need to find a political forum to discuss this any further….)

[whap2005]

Is it at all possible that scientists could enhance the healing process in humans? For example, in x men, is that just completely out of mind or is it possible? please respond or email me at [email']mr_sharp14@yahoo.com[/email]

 

I don't think we will ever be able to watch our wounds disapear in just a few seconds like Wolverien in X-man. As I mentioned in an earlier post, stem cells will be the likely key to super healing. Stem cells may allow us to simply grow replacements, or even allow doctors to have organs on standby, even skin and bones.

[Cap'n Refsmmat]

This happened to be the Christmas question in The Last Word in New Scientist.

 

A few entries:

• A third eye, on someone else's head: you can now ask people how you look without actually needing an opinion.
  
• A snooze button for pain.
  
• A conveniently placed reset button. Pressing it for more than a few seconds would be a "cold restart"--used if you're found haning from a chandelier or become convinced that you're Napoleon.
  

 

Just a few.

[Daecon]

Two sets of vocal cords, for aesthetic appeal and singing ability. A one-person duet.

 

3 pairs of arms, like certain Hindu Deities, very practical!

 

Echo location & Sonar capability like Bats and Dolphins - Because you can't take your guide dog swimming - but then again, you won't even need one!

 

Being able to see into the UV spectrum like insects would be useful as well.

 

Concious control over your reproductive cycle would be a major bonus I imagine.

 

Plus, how about the brain having some sort of biological 'modem' kinda thing?

[Edtharan]

The ability to have a "dimmer" switch for various sensations, that can also enhance them too.

 

The eqivalent of a mobile phone that directly stimulates the auditory system as well as being able to "speak without makeing a sound (sub vocalisation), so no more anoying mobile phone users in the movies and such.

 

The ability to regrow parts of our bodies like salamanders and some other creatures can do.