Science & superheroes

From the time of the first paper comics of the 1930s to the latest computer-generated imagery of Spider-Man: No Way Home, many of us have dreamt of transforming into superhumans and taking on the mantle of saving the world, or just losing those extra kilos by running at supersonic speed.

Though technological advancements have taken us much closer to the prowess of high-tech wonders and robots like Iron Man, Batman and Vision, genetically, we are far away from superhuman capabilities.

Can we become superheroes like Captain America, or my favourites Flash and Hulk? Some of their abilities are humanly possible by training and learning new skills; for others, we need the help of genetic engineering techniques like CRISPR-Cas9, and quantum biology.

Evolution via mutation drives the diversity of life. Over millions of years, ape-like humans evolved into Homo Sapiens and land-dwelling mammals became giant whales. So, superhero mutations like those in X-Men could be an inevitability but who has millennia to wait?

We may never have the adamantium skeleton of Wolverine but there is one Timothy Dreyer in South Africa who has a rare bone condition called sclerosteosis that makes his bones so dense they are extremely hard to break.
 

Veronica Seider of Germany redefines the human eye capability: She can easily distinguish people who are a mile away. Then there are those like Steven Pete of the US who do not feel pain because of a genetic disorder called congenital analgesia.

Genes and mutations of such humans could be the key to unlocking the superhuman ability of our choice.

In fact, superhuman speed appears to be one of the more attainable powers. Johan Auwerx of the Federal Polytechnic School of Lausanne and colleagues used a targeted virus to knock out the gene that made a protein called NCoR1 in the muscle of mice. Without NCoR1, mitochondria — the powerhouse of the cell — kept working at full speed. “Effectively, the mice go further, faster, on the same amount of gas,” said Auwerx (newscientist.com).

Genetic predisposition plays an important role in the ability to build muscle. According to a study, a genetic variation in protein ACVR2B is associated with lean muscle mass. The key to Daredevil’s echolocation ability may lie in the SLC26A5 gene that encodes the prestin protein — critical to sensitive hearing in mammals.

It is possible that CRISPR technology — which allows relatively precise manipulation of genetic material — can pave the way to us becoming superhumans. Scientists are already researching this technique to overcome Huntington’s disease, sickle cell disease, and other health conditions. But using it to give an individual advantage over other humans has been an ethically and legally no-go zone: A Chinese court in December 2019 sentenced He Jiankui, the biophysicist who announced that he had created the world’s first gene-edited babies via CRISPR, to a three-year jail for “illegal medical practice”.

But quantum biology may help us circumnavigate these concerns. It is the study of applications of quantum mechanics to biological objects. According to scientists, quantum tunnelling — a phenomenon, as explained by LiveScience, “where an atom or a subatomic particle can appear on the opposite side of a barrier that should be impossible for the particle to penetrate” — is responsible for the metamorphosis of a tadpole into a frog. According to researchers, this process can one day be applied to humans, allowing rapid regeneration of tissue, like in Deadpool.

But before we start dreaming about our invulnerability, let me point out: With great power comes great pain!

A study at the University of Queensland of the long-term health effects of Avenging (recently published in the British Medical Journal) examined the personal traits and health behaviours of five superheroes: Iron Man, Hulk, Black Widow, Black Panther, and Spider-Man.

It pointed out Black Widow was forcibly sterilised, and the resulting abrupt cessation of ovarian function at a young age has been linked to diseases, including osteoporosis, cardiovascular disease, dementia, and depression. 

For Spider-Man, the study said with his crime-fighting occurring at night, he is unlikely to get the recommended 8-10 hours of sleep for teenagers. Poor sleep in adolescence can lead to obesity, lower mental health, higher levels of pain and fatigue, and higher incidents of unintentional injuries. It further said when Bruce Banner transforms into Hulk, he experiences a heart rate of 200 beats per minute. That this happens often suggests a predisposition to cardiac arrhythmias, which indicates underlying cardiac disease.

Though the study noted Black Panther and Iron Man are extremely wealthy and intelligent, which puts them at reduced risk of dementia, it’s noteworthy that Tony Stark battled alcoholism and T’challa effectively is a junkie (of the potion made from a heart-shaped herb). In the Hawkeye series, Clint Barton is shown suffering from hearing loss.

Even the lives of the aforementioned real-life superhumans aren’t exemplary. In Dreyer’s case, cranial pressure because of his dense bones led to hearing loss. Pete’s insensitivity to pain caused him to chew off his tongue as a baby, and his left leg suffers permanent damage from injuries that he never felt.

Laboratory created superpowers are still far away but we have taken baby steps towards that direction. It is on us what we choose to become: A superhero or a supervillain. Dibs on Hulk!