CHINA may be planning to genetically-modify its soldiers for an army of Terminator-style super troops, a defence think tank has warned. Experts at Rusi say GM soldiers could be faster, stronger and cleverer than their battlefield opponents and even feel no pain. Their DNA could also be adapted to help them recover more quickly from […]
CHINA may be planning to genetically-modify its soldiers for an army of Terminator-style super troops, a defence think tank has warned.
Experts at Rusi say GM soldiers could be faster, stronger and cleverer than their battlefield opponents and even feel no pain.
Their DNA could also be adapted to help them recover more quickly from injuries or give them superior hearing and night vision.
Rusi’s Professor John Louth said: “The threat is obvious and real. Chinese money could be stealing a march on western armed forces and that is deeply concerning.”
The warning comes after Chinese scientist He Jiankui said he used gene-editing technology to make GM babies.
“GM technology is proven with plants, it could absolutely be applied to the person,” Prof Louth added.
“In China, it is reasonable to assume that they are enhancing their battlefield soldiers on all these fronts.”
China jailed Dr Jiankui for “illegal medical practices” over his claims to have made three babies immune to HIV.
But investigations show that China’s military chiefs are backing research into human gene editing trials.
Professor Louth’s report said the US has also invested heavily in military biotech and “human enhancement” — but warned that the UK is lagging behind.
He said the MoD had been slow to embrace new technology and now needs to take the financial risk of investing in small biotech start-ups and accept that some will fail.
