14 DAY TRIAL // This might come as a bit of a shock but, as it turns out, there is less fiction to the stories about how Captain America and the Hulk got their powers than most people assume.
Simply put, it appears that, strictly from a theoretical standpoint, it might be possible for regular folks to acquire Captain America- and Hulk-like superpowers.
Not to beat about the bush, specialist Sebastian Alvarado with US' Stanford University now says that cutting-edge genome-editing techniques can explain the transformation of both Captain America and the Hulk.
What the researcher means is that, as far as Captain America is concerned, genetic engineering can explain his superpowers. Thus, he says that science is now familiar with the genes that act to increase muscle mass and improve the oxygen-carrying load of blood.
Besides, researchers have developed a series of tools that can be used to toy with individual genes and switch them on or off, a process that the scientific community calls epigenetics. Hence, it might be possible to give people superpowers by toying with their genetic makeup.
“We have a lot of genome-editing tools that could theoretically allow you to epigenetically seek out and turn on genes that make your muscles physically large, make you strategically minded, incredibly fast, or increase your stamina,” the researcher explains.
These genome-editing tools would be delivered in capsules and made to release their content when exposed to certain light wavelengths. If this scenario sounds familiar, that's because Steve Rogers became Captain America after being injected with a Super-Soldier Serum and blasted with Vita-Rays.
In the case of Bruce Banner, researcher Sebastian Alvarado says that his transformation into the Hulk can be explained by gamma radiation-induced DNA reconfiguration. More precisely, the scientist says that, when hitting DNA, gamma radiation breaks its double-stranded, helix-like structure.
Should one too many such breaks occur, the body will not be able to repair all of them properly. The result is that new instructions can be keyed into the genetic code. Under the influence of hormones released as a result of feeling of anger, the epigenetic switches created by gamma radiation can trigger DNA reconfiguration.
It is this DNA reconfiguration under the influence of hormones that the Stanford University specialist believes explains Bruce Banner's transformation into the Hulk. The superhero's green color, on the other hand, is likely the result of bruising resulting from the drastic change in his body's appearance.
As the scientist puts it, “Bruce Banner's transformation into the Hulk would be incredibly traumatic to his body, and maybe his green skin is the result of a whole-body bruise. Furthermore, “If you want to get really creative, maybe his blood is full of some sort of green Hulk-oglobin, which can carry more oxygen to the muscles than hemoglobin and gives him his strength and stamina.”
Once again, this discussion is purely theoretical, so don't go telling the Army that you want to be part of whatever top-secret experiments they are carrying out these days, or set off gamma ray explosions.