Special Section: THE BODY: From Baby Hatcheries To Xeroxing Human Beings

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Others call for even more specialized humans to perform functions that in reality will probably be done better by machines. British Geneticist J.B.S. Haldane called for certain regressive mutations to enable man to survive in space, including legless astronauts who would take up less room in a space capsule and require less food and oxygen (larger and more powerful spacecraft would seem to be an easier and less monstrous solution). Haldane also suggested apelike men to explore the moon. "A gibbon," he said only half-jokingly, "is better preadapted than a man for life in a low gravitational field."

Eventually, scientists fantasize, man will escape entirely from his inefficient, puny body, replacing most of his physical being with durable hardware. The futuristic cyborg, or combination man and machine, will consist of a stationary, computerlike human brain, served by machines to fill its limited physical needs and act upon its commands.

Such evolutionary developments could well herald the birth of a new, more efficient, and perhaps even superior species. But would it be man?