Why do our bodies have limits?

Will tomorrow's athletes need to be augmented?

Fans of track and field competitions know that for years records have not been falling as often. We see the same thing in other sports. For many experts, this can be explained by the limitations of our bodies. How is it that we have limitations? It all comes from evolution.

In fact, unlike a flea, we don't need to jump 200 times our size to access our food. That's also why we can't sprint as fast as a cheetah or even a cat. Nature has designed us with, instead, tremendous endurance. For example, prehistoric hunters managed to take down their prey with patience and by being able to follow a wounded beast for a long time.

So we don't have the physiological system to perform incredible high and long jumps or run very fast for long. Not only do we have to deal with the limitations of our skeleton, but also those of our lungs. Our lungs have a limit to how much oxygen they can absorb, just as our digestive system cannot burn more than a certain amount of carbohydrates. Protections present in order to purely avoid the death of the person.

Nevertheless, would it be possible to create a human being who can go beyond the limits? Already, doping products have since ancient times favored certain athletes. But they always end up having negative effects on the body. As for genetic manipulation or artificial tendons, they are feasible but what consequences will they have on us? Scientists do not know and many fear the medium and long term repercussions for an individual. Perhaps we just need to accept that we have reached our limits.

Time: 28min54