Episode 5: Enhancement

Covert DNA collection, human genetic modification, biohacking, gene editing, bio weaponry. It’s all going on around us every day, but most of us know nothing about this shadowy world of genetics.

The world of genetics was once confined to the laboratories of the Government and large pharmaceutical companies. But the times have changed, and now 'Biohacking' labs have sprung up in tiny pockets around the globe. What is researched there is open and free, and the risk of creating threats, accidental or otherwise, is very real. Where will this all end, and what hope do we have?

If you could change your eye colour or skin colour, would you do it? Would it be ethical to do so, or even legal? What if the question was about editing the genes of an unborn child? Well that question was asked, along with many others, when that recently became a reality...

The developments being made, day after day, in the field of human genetics, are staggering. What has become possible in the past few years was only the stuff of dreams in the not-so-distant past. Your body can be changed, edited, engineered. The rapid advancements being made with genetic engineerings are enabling doctors and scientists to cure diseases and genetic problems like never before, and it's being universally praised. Though, as with all of this, the scope for abuse is of grave concern.

Genetic information is collected by every Government in the world, but not all of it is stored safely or responsibly. Some of it is used for far more concerning reasons, and some of it may well belong to you. The genealogy testing market has exploded in size in recent years, but where does your little DNA sample go when you've got your results? We assume it's destroyed, but that is often not the case. Most of it, without your consent, is being shipped around the world and used for incredibly scary research purposes.

The DNA collection methods employed by the Chinese state are not limited to their own people. They are rapidly expanding their reach overseas. The Coronavirus pandemic opened up a culture of scientific collaboration between nations of the world, and between the brightest minds. But it also left us vulnerable to outside influence. Countries of the world have had to tighten their controls to prevent the likes of China from obtaining access to their data and scientific information. But it can't be done when there are still companies in the USA helping them do it...

For too many years now, the Chinese state has been persecuting minority members of its own population, but its methods of oppression and surveillance are becoming increasingly underhand. As technology advances and steps are made in the world of genetics and genomics, the ability to keep tabs on its own people are reaching new, nefarious, heights. DNA samples are routinely being taken without the person's consent, and any attempt to refuse or protest can lead to internment and imprisonment. What's more, the state is going into schools and taking samples from children, again without the consent of the child or the knowledge of the parents. It has been called a 'Crime Against Humanity' and is regarded around much of the free world as an active genocide. And this is just the tip of the iceberg...