The Darwin Genetic Research Station, also known as the Darwin Research Station and as the Darwin Station, was a science facility operated by the United Federation of Planets and was established at some point in the mid-24th century. It was located on the planet Gagarin IV and was headed by Doctor Sara Kingsley. (TNG episode: "Unnatural Selection")
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Despite the laws against genetic engineering in the Federation, the Darwin Research Station was established in order to explore this field of study. However, those opposing it felt that it was only a test case that would eventually spiral out of control and produce dangerous Augments as a result. Ultimately, the project continued in the late 2350s and 2360s decades where the goal was to produce Human children with a number of unique qualities such as an aggressive immune system designed to attack any intruding disease organisms before they entered the body. In addition, they developed other unique abilities such as telepathy, telekinesis along with an accelerated growth rate and maturity. (TLE novel: The Buried Age, TNG episode: "Unnatural Selection")
In the year 2360, Admiral Gregory Quinn commented that the Darwin Research Station was a dangerous test case that would eventually create deadly Augments if allowed to continue. This was somewhat proven when the immune system of the test subjects began creating antibodies that were attacking Human beings in 2365. As a result, the entire crew of the USS Lantree were killed after exposure to the children. The staff of the science facility were also afflicted by this condition where they suffered from a condition similar to hyperaccelerated aging. It was, however, discovered that a transporter based technique was capable of restoring the station personnel to normal. Following this incident, the children were forced to live in quarantine until the researchers were able to find a means to allow individuals to be safe around the test subjects. Meanwhile, the Lantree was destroyed to prevent any possibility of the antibodies spreading further. (TLE novel: The Buried Age, TNG episode: "Unnatural Selection")
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- Darwin Genetic Research Station article at Memory Alpha, the wiki for canon Star Trek.