Professor, author, and comic book enthusiast E. Paul Zehr looks at how near term technology could be used to create Marvel's Captain America. Chasing Captain America explores what the real limits of being human are, how far we should bend those limits, and how we may be forced to reshape human biology if we are to colonize planets like Mars.

Chasing Captain America is an entry-point to a brave new world of science, no longer limited to the realm of fiction.

* Captain America has improved memory and learning ability. One compound called NSI-189 has shown promise in providing Cap-like memory
* CRISPR Gene therapy could be used to increase muscle strength, endurance, metabolism, intelligence, fearlessness and performance
* myostatin and activin A work to suppress excessive muscle growth in humans. If they could be turned off with the help of genetic editing, something close to super-strength might be possible.
* Salamander genes are being investigated for activating regeneration in humans.
* Biolux Research's Osseo Pulse Bone Regeneration System uses lasers to deeply penetrate cells and influence the mitochondria, increasing blood flow and the cell's energy supply. The process has been shown to speed up healing by 50 percent, and it's currently being used by dentists

In 2011, Paul Zehr looked at how Iron Man could be made real with new technology.