Three years ago, Julian Wooten looked in the mirror and didn’t like who he saw. A celebrated scientific researcher and successful entrepreneur in Raleigh-Durham, North Carolina, he was hitting every professional goal he’d set for himself, but was losing control of his body.

“I saw 33 extra pounds of fat, not muscle, looking back at me,” Wooten told LifeZette. “I thought to myself, ‘If you can try to change the world through your work, why can’t you change yourself?’”

He started hitting the gym six days a week and followed a fitness plan that helped him shed pounds and “hack” his genetic propensity to be overweight.

“Four people in my family have had gastric bypass surgery. But I lost 50 pounds, and now I’m a personal trainer and lead a fitness-based company. That comes from hard work, dedication, eating right and working to overcome genetics,” Wooten said.

There is a cultural fascination with overcoming many of our less-than-desirable inherited traits, whether by hard work or even surgery, said Wooten.

“We’re chasing a fountain of youth. We want to live longer. We want to be younger for longer periods of time,” he said.

And as we strive to get stronger, leaner, faster — soon we may be able to add “smarter” to that list.  

Scientists from the Imperial College of London have identified two clusters of genes linked to human intelligence, called M1 and M3. These gene networks appear to influence the cognitive functions of memory, attention, processing speed and reasoning, Imperial College told LifeZette.

“We know that genetics play a role in intelligence, but until now we haven’t known which genes are relevant. This research highlights some of the genes involved in human intelligence and how they interact with each other,” said Dr. Michael Johnson, lead author of the study from the Department of Medicine at Imperial College of London.

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“Potentially we can manipulate a whole set of genes whose activity is linked to human intelligence. Our research suggests it might be possible to work with these genes to modify intelligence, but that is only a theoretical possibility at the moment — we have just taken a first step along that road.”

At this point, the road resembles science fiction more than anything else. In the movie “Lucy,” Scarlett Johansson’s character is implanted with a chemical that gives her access to 100 percent of her brain. The sci-fi drama follows her as her intellectual limitations disappear and she realizes she has superhuman abilities, including telepathy.

While experts say we’re a long way from that scenario, the ability to at least map and understand our genome is available to anyone starting at less than $200.

Last fall, 23andMe launched the first and only direct-to-consumer test that complies with the FDA’s rules on personal genetics testing. You spit in a test tube, mail it to 23andMe, and within a matter of months, detailed reports apparently arrive informing you of your ancestry, your wellness profile, and whether you’re a carrier for certain inherited conditions. As new genetic discoveries are made, clients are said to get updated reports.

Related: The Best Tests

Another new technique called Crispr-Cas9 is being tested on animals. It may someday allow scientists to edit the genome, removing the risk for certain diseases and, in the case of the Imperial College of Medicine research, even make individuals smarter.

Wooten, who has degrees in biology, chemistry and genetics from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, is cautious about the risks. He said while advancements in mapping and manipulating the genome have the potential to unlock cures for disease and genetic disorders, the layperson shouldn’t take any of this lightly.

“What we know is that genes don’t act alone. They work in concert to produce effects. You have to think of genes as a web. If you change one thing, you have no idea what the downstream impact might be. So you might think you’re changing or modifying one thing, but you could be changing a lot of other things downstream. That’s what makes this study so interesting and big,” he said.

Johnson, of Imperial College, said the future of the intelligence-gene discovery will not only create super-human intelligence, but provide better treatment for disease.

“Eventually, we hope this sort of analysis will provide new insights into better treatments for neuro-developmental diseases such as epilepsy, and ameliorate or treat the cognitive impairments sometimes associated with these devastating diseases.” 

Related: Am I Doomed to Alzheimer’s?

In the meantime, there are certainly less invasive and far more accessible ways to hack your brain power, using the same grit, knowledge and determination that Wooten used to lose weight.

“Genetics is the study of inheritability. But what and how you inherit something doesn’t necessarily translate into predestination. It’s not saying, ‘This is as much as you can do as a smart person or as far as you can go,’” Wooten said.

For example, developing personalized learning plans for students and creating tailor-made training programs go a long way to ensure individuals reach their full potential.

“You’ve been shaped by natural selection, pressure and evolution, so hacking your brain and body means finding ways to game the system somewhat, to gain more advantages for yourself,” said Wooten.

He said access to technology should always be part of the conversation. 

“We live in a time where the possibilities are endless. Technology gives us solutions that will actually help us live longer and healthier lives. What we can’t do is allow technology to take the place of humanity. The sum will always be greater than the parts,” he said.