Muscles strong enough to overturn a tank. Eyes that see the night as clear as day. Perfect photographic memory. These types of human enhancements are found in video games like Halo 3 and other science fiction media. It seems that an average human being today will not be enough for the future. The demand for human improvement is widely present. Professional sports leagues allow the use of certain medications such as caffeine. Sports players are often caught abusing steroids to gain an advantage over other players, and their stories become fodder for the mass media. Women resort to plastic surgery to improve their physical characteristics. But what about the future? But first a quick history lesson is in order. In November 1972, Herbert Boyer and Stanley Cohen began collaborating to insert foreign DNA into a bacterium so that it could produce human substances such as insulin and HGH. They did it successfully. And in doing so they invented genetic engineering (“pioneers of biotechnology”). Let's jump to the present. Scientists have begun experimenting with genetically modified foods and animals in hopes of creating a more genetically flawless organism. As they continue to add knowledge to genetic engineering, both in pursuit of personal and public benefit, genetic engineering will soon enable the birth of “custom-made babies.” With advances in genetic engineering, parents will soon be able to design their children like fashion designers design clothes. The transhumanist movement to improve the genetic makeup seems reasonable, with humanity's diseases like cancer and AIDS and disorders like mental retardation and social anxiety disorder. With genetic improvements, diseases will become the stuff of history books and But according to Francis Fukuyama, transhumanism may not be...... middle of paper... in any case, most of the debate remains presumptuous: the people will never know until they try. Works Cited Bailey, Ronald. "Transhumanism: the most dangerous idea?" Reason.com. Reason.com, August 25, 2004. Web. November 30, 2009. "Biotechnology Pioneers Win Lemelson-MIT Prize." MIT. MIT, April 24, 1996. Web. December 02, 2009. Fukuyama, Francis. "The World's Most Dangerous Ideas." Foreign Policy 2004: 42-43. MyWire. Mywire, September 1, 2004. Web. November 30, 2009.Sandel, Michael J. The Case Against the Ethics of Perfection in the Age of Genetic Engineering. New York: Belknap, 2007. Print.Savulescu, Julian. The Oxford Handbook of Bioethics (Oxford Handbooks). Ed. Bonnie Steinbock. New York: Oxford UP, USA, 2007. Practical Ethics Resources. Oxford Uehiro, 2006. 516-535. Network. November 30, 2009.Stock, Gregory. Redesigning our inevitable genetic future for humans. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 2002. Print.