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To some degree, the ideas and concepts behind human enhancement can be traced to biologist and author Julian Huxley.In addition to being one of the most important scientific thinkers of the mid-20th century, Julian also was the brother of Aldous Huxley, author of the famous scientific dystopian novel “Brave New World.”

The novel is set in a future where, thanks to science, virtually no one knows violence or want.But this brave new world also is a sterile place, where people rarely feel love, where children are “decanted” in laboratories and families no longer exist, and where happiness is chemically induced.Although there is an abundance of material comforts in this fictional world, the things that people traditionally believe best define our humanity and make life worth living – love, close relationships, joy – have largely been eliminated.In contrast with his brother Aldous, Julian Huxley was a scientific optimist who believed that new technologies would offer people amazing opportunities for self-improvement and growth, including the ability to direct our evolution as a species.