Human Enhancement Freaks People Out, Study Finds; Designer Babies Might 'Meddle With Nature'

Fond as we are of superheroes on the big screen, most of us would stop short of actually becoming one via technology.

That’s the verdict issued by an extensive survey conducted by the Pew Research Center and released Tuesday. The Center polled over 4,000 Americans on a variety of issues related to advances in biomedical technology that may arrive in the near future  — from using implanted brain chips to boost our thinking power to editing the genes of babies to eliminate hereditary flaws and diseases. The representative sample of Americans proved to be more careful than celebratory about these technological leaps.

Sixty-eight percent were somewhat or very worried about gene-editing, as opposed to 49 percent who saw themselves as at least somewhat enthusiastic about the prospect. Sixty-nine percent were also wary of brain implants and 63 percent felt the same about using synthetic blood transfusions to improve our strength, speed, and stamina. A similar percentage were taken aback at the thought of trying these technologies out on themselves or their future children.

"Developments in biomedical technologies are accelerating rapidly, raising...