How will genetic research effect space travel?

Anyone have any ideas?
Links, articles, or viewpoints.
Or even personal theories?

Personal theories, this being from my own mind and affected by sci fi.

Given that we have genetically altered algae to reproduce more efficiently and to give off more oils for bio diesel (Google for algae biodiesel and read the academic reports). I think that eventually, we will create more efficient humans that utilize less resources (food and water), have a slower metabolic rate (which helps with point 1) and has longer life spans.

There are probably many more theories, ideas and what not, but from the few minutes I took to read and write, this is what I came up with.

My theory
science.nasa.gov...

It won't... Even if possible to live long enough to space travel, I don't believe we can leave the solar system at the current moment, or for tens of thousands of years for that matter.

It's own magnetism keeps it away from "our little bubble" but the sudden change in magnetism may have... Adverse effects" we don't know what exactly, but our DNA is inherently magnetic

I don't believe we will be going anywhere ( pending mars with the right tech ) we should find out if life can even leave the solar system before we try to genetically engineering immortality, if that was your main point/ question in the OP

reply to post by IFeelForty


Good point.
But over 10000 of years, we will figure it out.
We did go past the van alan belt, so there.
Anyway magneticism and dna should be studied, right?
We are of this earth.
Makes me wonder should we modify ourself, to be more galactical?

reply to post by BBalazs


Right, and we are studying it extensively, even making spiders levitate with magnetics etc. problem I think is that genetic engineering relies on the DNA of course, so it will be bound by the limits of that DNA. If it can't be replaced with something nonmagnetic (which would defeat the purpose of it anyway) we can only shield it. Such as a craft with the same protection of our suns electromagnetic protection.

We did get to the van Alan belt. We even got out of our little bubble without the probe melting, I just don't know if life can yet. Till then, I think we should not mess with DNA too much. It's (arguably) not natural. Absolute power corrupts absolutely, and power over all life on the planet has always been a goal. We can just now literally do that in a lab
Scary and exciting times

1. Today, we know that we can package information within a beam of light.


2. Travelling in the speed of light is the currently known method of reaching to the stars fastest.


3. With our individual DNA listed, along with our memories ( sum of our education/experiences in one lifetime), humans will be 'packaged' into packets of information and sent by light beams to co-ordinates in space, and then with such information, be 'repackaged' and 'synthesized' with matter into a duplication of ourselves at that location.

The initial batch to be sent to that location first would be bio - nanotech robots that will react to the environment and matter there to set up the facilities to recieve and rebuild humans based upon received human 'packets'.

Effectively, it will not be you that is sent there, only your 'twin', who will report back to planet Earth on what that location is like and its effects on humans living there.

It is still very much more years before this hypothesis would be become a reality, but with the signs of our tech and science progress, it seems we mankind are headed in that direction.


4. Method (3) will only be used if we cannot find a way to bend space and time to create wormholes, which will allow travel to be even more faster and more complete with you being on the other side yourself.

Mankind truly needs to find this way, which is still evolutionary steps away from us, for there are much more ascending tech advances we need to meet, learn and comprehend before we can reach that summit.