Human Venom

[Souper]

I wonder if it would be feasible to modify the human genome in order to give us:

1. Fangs.

2. A sac that contains venom.

3. Something in our bloodstream to make us immune to our own poison.

4. Some new snake-like instincts.

Imagine the supersoldiers / assasins we could create if this succeeds, and imagine how hard it'd be to do it.

Edited May 23, 2015 by Souper

[Findthepin1]

It would be possible for a few million dollars (USD). Although I'm pretty sure there are laws against human genetic modification.

[jrphilps]

I wonder if it would be feasible to modify the human genome in order to give us:

1. Fangs.

2. A sac that contains venom.

3. Something in our bloodstream to make us immune to our own poison.

4. Some new snake-like instincts.

Imagine the supersoldiers / assasins we could create if this succeeds, and imagine how hard it'd be to do it.

I too have done some thinking on the possibility of genetically engineered soldiers. My area of interest has been adaptations that allow humans to survive gunshot wounds, and other forms of physical trauma. IMHO, your first task should be to determine whether the human metabolism can synthesize all the peptides requires. This is a concern because the vast majority of mammals do not produce venom (the platypus being a notable exception), which suggests there may be some kindof metabolic incompatibilitys.

[baggers]

Some experiments made on the chicken genome:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-3078617/Chickens-bred-face-DINOSAUR-Scientists-tweak-bird-genes-trigger-growth-snouts-embryos.html

If you can change a regular kentucky chicken into a jurrasic chicken with fangs, you could probably do some funny things to an human genome, yes.

[Scotius]

But... why snakes? Why not something awesome, like cat or moongoose?

[Awaras]

Some experiments made on the chicken genome:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-3078617/Chickens-bred-face-DINOSAUR-Scientists-tweak-bird-genes-trigger-growth-snouts-embryos.html

If you can change a regular kentucky chicken into a jurrasic chicken with fangs, you could probably do some funny things to an human genome, yes.

Birds are direct descendants of dinosaurs, so all they did is tweak the genome to activate dormant genes. Pretty sure humans do not have many venomous ancestors.

[baggers]

It's a shame a chicken have more cool badass ancestor than me!

Such injustice!

[Albert VDS]

Why does it have to come back to soldiers, or more concrete, actually applying it to a warfare situation?

We have this tool to help mankind in a way that no other tool can, and yet some choose to drift their ideas towards aggression.

Is that the first thing that comes to peoples minds?

You are basically saying "How can we use this tool to kill our enemies?".

It's this thinking that made people scared of nuclear energy and, on a more important note, made people afraid of science.

"What is science doing now to kill us?".

[Charzy]

In what situation would poisonous fangs be more useful than a gun or a knife?

[randomness5555]

In what situation would poisonous fangs be more useful than a gun or a knife?

At point blank with no weapons I guess. Still, I'm pretty certain you could do this with pipes and pumps no problem (if you didn't mind having to refill some kind of venom tank manually)-but I don't know how you'd make YOURSELF immune to the poison. Anyone got any thoughts here?

[ProjectXMark1]

To be honest, it's probs cheaper and easier (and more ethical) to just use a tiny compressed air dart gun to carry any toxin to a target.

Largely because you don't have to get right next to the target before you can use it.

[baggers]

At point blank with no weapons I guess. Still, I'm pretty certain you could do this with pipes and pumps no problem (if you didn't mind having to refill some kind of venom tank manually)-but I don't know how you'd make YOURSELF immune to the poison. Anyone got any thoughts here?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mithridatism

[Charzy]

Being stabbed or shot several times will kill you just as dead as being poisoned, and it'll do it much faster too.

There's a reason armies use assault rifles instead of poisoned darts.

[RainDreamer]

The only practical application to this as bio weaponry that I can see would probably fit in 2 cases:

1. Assassination. Completely concealed weapon that no one will expect. At least in the first few cases. Then they will do DNA scan afterward and stuff.

2. Suicide terror attacks. Single bomber with explosive bombs in middle of a city? Deadly. Suicide bioterrorist with their bodies themselves as bombs that spray poisonous blood and stuff everywhere? Deadly and completely hidden until deployment. Although conventional bio weapon like anthrax would likely do the same thing.

Why don't we just go with conventional improvement like skeleton density, muscle mass, vision, etc? Has more general application.

Also, related to the topic: a woman named Gloria Ramirez. She has literal poisonous blood.

Edited May 23, 2015 by RainDreamer

[Guest]

We have no technology (yet, and shame) to genetically modify grown person, who can make his own choices.

So the original proposal is to genetically modify embryos to create people who are BORN to be soldiers or assassins?

BTW, robotics and AI are far better choice, when it comes to improving frontline soldiers.

Edited May 23, 2015 by Guest

[lajoswinkler]

Why does it have to come back to soldiers, or more concrete, actually applying it to a warfare situation?

We have this tool to help mankind in a way that no other tool can, and yet some choose to drift their ideas towards aggression.

Is that the first thing that comes to peoples minds?

You are basically saying "How can we use this tool to kill our enemies?".

It's this thinking that made people scared of nuclear energy and, on a more important note, made people afraid of science.

"What is science doing now to kill us?".

Because we're a crappy species, that's why. Whatever good we do, we spoil it.

[LordFerret]

But... why snakes? Why not something awesome, like cat or moongoose?

...or ferret!

[Xannari Ferrows]

But... why snakes? Why not something awesome, like cat or moongoose?

Yes, I often see people with their moongeese[?]. Because that's a real thing.

[-Velocity-]

A ridiculous and pretty useless modification. If you're going to modify humans that much, why not do something useful and beneficial like bigger brains or radio telepathy?

[Souper]

Can we please stick to the original discussion?

P.S: It's not just soldiers, but these people would be able to survive / hunt in the wilderness extremely easily & effectively! They could save loads more people from starvation in Africa by bringing home very large quantities of food!

And what about the deserts? If we also give them reptile-like scales, they could thrive in those sandy wastes much easier.

Edited May 23, 2015 by Souper

[Jonboy]

It would be possible for a few million dollars (USD). Although I'm pretty sure there are laws against human genetic modification.

For a few million dollars? Surely you're joking.

[Windspren]

What if they turned a human named Jeb into a Kerbal???

[Technical Ben]

For a few million dollars? Surely you're joking.

Well, an attempt is as easy as some gene splicing (is it easy?). The existing lab costs, buildings and staff then the final successful attempt takes up the other 100 billion dollars not on the quote.

[Stargate525]

I too have done some thinking on the possibility of genetically engineered soldiers. My area of interest has been adaptations that allow humans to survive gunshot wounds, and other forms of physical trauma.

You're kidding, right? We're some of the tougher animals on the planet when it comes to surviving damage. Besides somehow mitigating the psychological effects of shock, I'm not sure what you'd do.

Can we please stick to the original discussion?

P.S: It's not just soldiers, but these people would be able to survive / hunt in the wilderness extremely easily & effectively! They could save loads more people from starvation in Africa by bringing home very large quantities of food!

And what about the deserts? If we also give them reptile-like scales, they could thrive in those sandy wastes much easier.

Except that we don't hunt that way. We can't CATCH our targets with speed, and we aren't, generally, good enough at hiding to pounce them. The venom's no good if we can't get close enough to deliver it, or if it makes the meat indigestible.

If you want to save people from starvation via genetic engineering (rather than, you know, feeding them), I would look at our digestive microbiome. Making us able to digest and process rougher food, or do so more efficiently with what we can eat, would help tremendously.

And we could then do the opposite, toning down the number of calories we extract from food in developed countries to combat obesity. (Ironic that. We've beaten our environment so well that we're dealing with the problems of our biology being TOO efficient.)

[Slam_Jones]

As, uh, "cool" and "edgy" as this idea is, (and while I'm sure it would be a great premise for some sort of sci-fi story), in real life, the last thing you want to attack someone with is your mouth.

First of all, you have to get into biting range, which brings all your important vital bits really close to your prey. This also means that while biting your prey, you can't really see what your prey is doing (which could be attacking you).

Secondly, you gotta hope they aren't wearing anything thick enough (or have a thick enough hide) to stop the fangs.

Thirdly, why not just build a gun that shoots a tiny hypodermic needle filled with venom? You don't have to get close, and it can potentially be just as silent.

Lastly, if a gun isn't an option, why not venomous claws? Or barbs covering your knuckles or something that act as tiny needles. You don't have to get as close, and you don't have to put strange things in your mouth.

Edited May 23, 2015 by Slam_Jones