MADS

MADS was an illegal scientific research team that was active over 24 years ago.

Overview
Not much is known yet about MADS, except that it consisted of a team of expert scientists intent in studying and developing weapons for unknown purposes. One of their most notable accomplishments includes the discovery of the Lineage Factor, also known as the "blueprints of life itself".

They were notable enough that the World Government felt threatened by their existence, leading to their persecution and eventual disbandment.

Members
So far, only three former members of MADS have been revealed: Dr. Vegapunk, currently considered the world's greatest scientist and head of the Marines' SSG; Vinsmoke Judge, the supreme commander of Germa 66 and king of Germa Kingdom; and Queen, a cyborg and one of the Beasts Pirates All-Stars, top executives handpicked by Kaido of the Four Emperors to lead his forces.

All of the known members have been proven to be brilliant researchers in their own right, holding high status in the organizations they currently belong to and being responsible for various scientific breakthroughs, including cybernetics, Cloning, and artificial diseases.

History
According to Vinsmoke Yonji, MADS was active before the Vinsmoke children were born. Dr. Vegapunk and Judge worked together in the development of weapons. Queen was also involved in those researches, being familiar enough with Judge's children and confirming his prior membership to one of them himself.

Because some of their subjects of study were considered taboo by the World Government, the research team was recognized as illegal, with its members being branded criminals. Feeling threatened by Vegapunk's discoveries and experiments, especially those tied to Lineage Factor, the government's higher-ups ordered his arrest. The research team, however, was not completely disbanded, as many of its members, including Vegapunk himself, were then absorbed into the Marines's scientific division.

After Dissolution
The discovery of the Lineage Factor enabled the members of MADS to perform further research into it regardless of the team's disbandment, with Judge and Vegapunk having the largest known breakthroughs. Judge utilized the Lineage Factor to successfully clone humans and create clone soldiers for his kingdom, whose growth is accelerated to reach maturity in only five years. Additionally, Judge successfully modified the bodies of his sons Ichiji, Niji, and Yonji, which turned them into superhuman soldiers that lack emotion.

After being captured by the World Government, Vegapunk continued his research under their watch. His research delved into the effect that Devil Fruits had on the Lineage Factor of their consumers, and culminated in him using the Lineage Factor of Kaido to form an artificial replica of the pirate's fruit, the Uo Uo no Mi, Model: Seiryu.

Trivia

 * "MADS" could be a reference to "Mad Scientist", a common term used in fiction to describe scientist characters who partake in unethical experiments.