Although it is not helping them any in the swim events for the Olympics,
China admitted this morning at an international press conference that
one of its athletes has been genetically altered. China admitted that,
Xue Xiin, competing in the Women's 400m Freestyle, had fish DNA spliced
into her genetic profile.
"We were able to web her feet
sufficiently to bring her speed up. But it doesn't look like it was
enough." Zhang Qiuping, vice-director of the Chinese Swimming
Association (CSA) said.
"Unfortunately because of the admission,
Xue Xiin, was disqualified from further Olympic competition." Zhang
said. "But it gave us a foot in the door for future genetic testing on
athletes."
When asked about the moral implications of the
procedure on humans, Zhang was quoted as saying. "This is China! Not the
USA. Our citizens and athletes are expected to do whats necessary for
the well being of their country."
Some have speculated that the
genetic alterations was the start of a military program aimed at
producing highly specialized soldiers. Soldiers with reptilian DNA for
example would be able to function at a higher efficiency in a jungle
environment, the same for fish DNA spliced soldiers in an aquatic
environment.
The Chinese government declined to comment on the possibility of genetically altered soldiers.
SOURCE
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