via The Economist

The growing power to change human nature

Science can be a little scary. Its potential to transform life itself has led to predictions that we might re-write our own genetic make-up or merge our minds with machines. But 2007 will show that it is not these sci-fi possibilities that are of immediate concern. Real possibilities of changing our human nature are creeping up from a less obvious direction. More and more drugs developed to treat disease are turning out also to offer the potential to “enhance” the cognitive powers of healthy people, and to push human life expectancy much further, perhaps to 115 years and beyond.