What is the perfect human body? You may say that a pair of sinewy arms, muscular thighs, perfect six pack abs and a well-formed calves could be a good place to start. Unfortunately, perfect six abs won't help you survive the night in the forest among wild animals.

In the last couple of millennia, human beings have emerged as the single-most dominant species on earth. We have a lot of reasons to be thankful for, from our superior intellect to our opposable thumbs. These traits help us compensate for many of our physical limitations and boy do we have a lot of those! But what if we had the lightning fast speed of the cheetah, the physical strength of the grizzly bear and the super sharp vision of the eagle?

Despite our many “gifts,” human beings are beset with many evolutionary disadvantages, starting with painful and inconvenient childbirth and the bane of bipedalism – back pain. That’s probably why anatomist Alice Roberts has re-imagined the ‘perfect human body,’ which may be efficient but not exactly a treat to the eyes.

Recently, BBC shared a video in which the English anatomist re-created an “improved” version of herself called Alice 2.0. The human model is a reimagination of what human beings could have been, had they had some of the evolutionary benefits the other species do. The anatomist joined hands with Scott Eaton a virtual sculptor and Sangeet Prabhakar an SFX model maker to create the model. One look at the Alice 2.0 model and it can send a chill down your spine; because never has something looked so familiar yet so strange.

The reimagined Alice is a nightmare of Frankenstein proportions with its extra-large eyes, pointy ears and a marsupial pouch. The anatomist explains that to cancel the faults of our flawed transition to bipedalism, the new Alice has a chimp’s powerful lower back and long, shock-absorbent legs of an emu.

Alice 2.0 (Photo Credits: YouTube, BBC)

To improve blood circulation, the new human model has two pumps on her thighs. While she has no breasts, a dog’s heart lay under her chest, along with the “graceful lungs of a swan,” which optimises oxygen intake. Her neck has a choke-proof windpipe. And to assure painless childbirth, the new Alice has a marsupial pouch like a kangaroo. Her eyes are super-sized and more reflective for better vision. Her ears are mobile to track sounds better.

The audience members as the anatomist herself gasped loudly when Alice 2.0 was unveiled. Commenting on the model’s otherworldly appearance, Roberts points out that the most frightening part was the baby peeking out of the model’s marsupial pouch like a little joey.

Despite these obvious physical advantages, Alice 2.0 is not easy on the eyes. The team has done a rather fantastic job of reimagining how human beings would have turned had we made all the right turns on the road of evolution. Had we been bestowed with these advantages, the future of humankind would have been quite different. For example, running to catch that bus may not be so tough with the long,  jumping stilt-like emu legs and the marsupial pouch may put creche services out of business. But looking in the mirror? No evolutionary advantage can prepare you for that!

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jun 19, 2018 01:15 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).