“Liars, damn liars and statistics, the worst of all.”
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I thought it was established at this point that single-gene mutations could not be relied upon to consistently produce the same measurable effect.
Genetic tests for athletic ability: Science or snake oil?[nih.gov]
[What is up with Onebox lately…?]
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A quick rundown of the research:
The twins had their CCR5 genes inhibited.
The CCR5 gene decreases changes in neural gene expression through a partially known pathway.
Changes in gene expression is required for long term plasticity which is required for forming new memories.
In mice trained to learn new things and humans following stroke that need to relearn old things, blocking the CCR5 gene increases plasticity and the rate of learning.
All other effects are completely unknown, so put me down for under no circumstances would I ever mess with my own CCR5 levels
-a crazy neurobiologist
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Genetics inevitably (well, almost inevitably) interacts with environment and upbringing to cause its effects. For example, whatever mutation or whatever that gave Einstein or Hawking the incredible brainpower they had might have arisen repeatedly in the slums of Soweto or Bangladesh, but did not benefit its host one iota. Whether one of these girls will one day give rise to Khan, we shall have to wait and see. I for one suspect not. I do think they may wind up living their lives out as experimental subjects, particularly given where they are located. I feel very badly for them.
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FTFY, and I really hate the revision I’ve done as well.
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But you’re a Scientist…
…is this a test?
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Or self-awareness. I personally advise people to avoid doctors generally, as we are mostly quacks. 
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For the past 15 years I’ve had a sign up in the lab with a quote by Einstein saying “if we knew what we were doing, it wouldn’t be called research.”
Sure, listen to scientists but remember its usually at least part BS because we are making it up as we go.
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Can’t wait for Mothra to show up.
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Thanks the rundown. When I read it made them “smarter” I rolled my eyes as it’s sort of a vacant word.
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That makes sense; if you knew what you were doing there’d be no more research grants 
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The fun part is that the people acting as Caesar and deciding which grants get funding and which don’t also don’t know what they’re doing.
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Came for the Eugenics Wars reference.
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Home? I have no home. Hunted. Despised. Living like an animal. The jungle is my home. And I will show the world that I can be its master! I will perfect my own race of people! A race of atomic supermen that will conquer the world!
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Leave Schwarzenegger alone!
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(Okay, Einstein probably didn’t say that.)
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jane’s dad had a wild youth
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There’s the usual complex-systems saying that “you can never change just one thing”; but there’s also the not-wildly-implausible suspicion that Dr. Ethics deliberately picked a target with an interesting possible effect and enough connection to disease to act as a smokescreen.
Sure, HIV is not one to mess with; but it’s also not an obvious candidate for the “yeah, basically anything that might work is worth trying” list(especially in people who aren’t infected); which is really the only place where doing this sort of genetic engineering seems justifiable on clinical grounds.
I’d be very curious to know if this is actually the side effect or the point.
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Is it just me, or does the CRISPR twins sound like an electronic band of some variety? Probably like gabber or some shit?
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