http://www.bbc.com/news/world-55905354

>> Even though militaries around the world may have quite a lot of interest in the possibility of super soldiers... at the end of the day, what is feasible within science does impose a constraint on on any actor that is trying to try to push the frontiers."
Mr Ratcliffe was referring to testing on adults. While some characteristics could be altered in adults using gene editing, changing the DNA of embryos would offer one of the most plausible routes to a "super soldier".
Dr Helen O'Neill, a molecular geneticist from University College London, said the question was more about whether scientists would be prepared to use this technology, rather than whether it was possible.
"The technologies - of genome editing and its combination with assisted reproduction - are becoming routine practices in transgenics and agriculture, it's just the combination of the two for human use that is seen as unethical at the moment."<<

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"One of the reasons why propaganda tries to get you to hate government is because it's the one existing institution in which people can participate to some extent and constrain tyrannical unaccountable power." Noam Chomsky.

During the American revolution, the militias and Continentals tended to be badly trained and poorly led, resulting in assortedd disasters. I think far more soldiers on the American side died in British captivity than in actual fighting. But there was a bit of partial advantage in that free white Americans of that period were mostly very healthy, extraordinarily well fed compared to anyone else, and they were bigger, taller, and more capable of ridiculously long marches in horrible weather than imported soldiers, no matter how professional.

BTW, from then on, as the industrial revolution took hold, Americans became ill-fed and ill-nourished, and shrunk. They didn't start returning to 18th century height and weight until the 20th century was underway.

Modern war is hard to figure out. Much of what's going on today is the result of illicit economies (drugs, smuggling, whatever) displacing formal governance. How do you breed people to deal with that? Maybe our future looks like Mexico rather than Canada?

Dark Commerce: How a New Illicit Economy is Threatening Our Future

CRISPR is just too tempting to weaponize. Once China does it, and it looks they will, every country after will do it to keep up with them. An escalating arms race with genetics. Add to that Elon Musk's attempt a brain interface with software that he's designing to compete with AI's that he's scared will cause our extinction and you have a terrifying scenario where each country's AI is perpetually at war with every AI. Human evolution will have to jump start their adaptations or face extinction in as little as one generation.

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"One of the reasons why propaganda tries to get you to hate government is because it's the one existing institution in which people can participate to some extent and constrain tyrannical unaccountable power." Noam Chomsky.