Questions tagged [genetic-engineering]
For questions about artificially modifying the DNA of a life form.
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Can a virus that causes forced evolution exist?
I recently watched a movie called The Cave. In the movie there's a group of spelunkers that get trapped in the cave with a bunch of blind monsters. towards the end of the movie, we find out that the ...
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Non-Cancer deadly illness affecting 10-13-yr-old girls, without genetic engineering insta-cure?
Like Non-Cancer terminal illness that can affect young (age 10-13) girls?, I have a major girl that needs to have a likely-terminal, repeatedly hospitalized, disease, but has a healthy sister. And it ...
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305 views
Human survival on unaltered Mars
What would it take for humans to survive on mars, without shelters, akin to the Martian, in terms of genetic engineering? Is it even remotely viable, or would some mechanical assistance (oxygen tanks?)...
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429 views
Can we use GM technology to make humans regenerate?
The axolotl is a critically endangered amphibian with the ability to regenerate limbs, organs, and even parts of its brain.
In an age where genetic modification is being used more frequently than ...
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748 views
Human survival without eating
In this question, the most "realistic" idea is to have the human have an oxygen tank strapped to his back and connected to his nose at all times (preferably through a mask of some sort). However, this ...
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Is it possible to create an organism that is completely immune to radiation?
Radiation is the ultimate bane of all organic life. Its particles punch holes in our DNA, causing mutations and giving us cancer. But, is there a way to make an organism that is unable to get ...
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265 views
Radiotrophic Fungus Organelles
The question is basically summed up in the title but here is some context:
Context
I got a character who has been genetically engineered to handle high doses of radiation exposure (50,000 grays) and I ...
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3answers
719 views
Is a Biological whip a practical weapon? Pros and Cons?
I see a lot of this stuff in softcore fiction or high fantasy. A character or alien has some kind of bind or whipping ability, Either it's ribbons, bandages, Tentacles, Chains, vines, etc. Usually, ...
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329 views
Could you theoretically make a Human-like/Human-descended species breathe chlorine instead of oxygen?
What would be the major problems/issues from switching a Human lifeform from O2-based respiration to a Chlorine one?
Would said lifeform require not only adaptations to the respiratory system, but ...
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152 views
What would radiation-hardened human colonists look like?
I am designing a future history setting where humans develop the technologies of genetic engineering long before those needed for terraforming, yet at the same time they have access to some form of ...
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2answers
191 views
Is it possible to engineer airborne Ebola?
In my world, a mad scientist wanted to end humanity and he was looking for something with a high mortality rate. He found Ebola. But it's not airborne though.
Could it be possible to genetically ...
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157 views
How could an AI be in the real world organically and humanely (not in a robotic body)? [closed]
Say I have some artificial intelligence characters in a virtual reality world that my human characters have bonded with in ways of friendship, romance, etc before they find out they're AI. How would ...
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269 views
How would a “perfect” female fighter look like? [closed]
If one could "design" a female fighter, for example, by genetic engineering, what would be the optimal physical conditions? For example, is there a perfect size and weight? Would it really ...
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205 views
Little Big Planet
Doctor Eric Von Dufe may be a mad scientist, but he still has to work on his evil side. His latest plan? Create small versions of large animals and large versions of small animals. Assuming he has all ...
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1answer
64 views
What would an erosion resistance ecological system look like?
I was thinking about how given a whole host of sci-fi scenarios, you end up with landmass but no form of geological activity or plate tectonics, and so ensuring you end up with a lot of scenarios ...
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128 views
Biologically classifying a gene-spliced creature?
In my world, new wildlife and creatures have emerged due to the presence of radiation, genetic engineering, and have lead to new mutants and dangerous beasts stalking the Wastelands.
A scientist in my ...
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515 views
Could women become as strong as men while still having less muscle mass? [closed]
My story includes a government plan to create woman who are as strong as an average man. The biggest factor in the sex-strength difference is muscle mass as far as I know. However, the ratio of fast-...
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278 views
What would be the consequences of these biological changes to a human
So let's say you changed a human's DNA to give him:
a thick exoskeleton that is a lot like that of a mantis shrimp (to make him bullet-proof)
very small holes all over his body to use to breathe ...
3
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2answers
67 views
Plant bioforming for use around Jupiter
I'm sketching out a scenario for a relatively far-futuristic story wherein humans have spread throughout the solar system, using the extreme ends of bioforming and gene-splicing to supplement their ...
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125 views
What element could be used on a fictional metal-poor planet for biological oxygen exchange?
I'm working on a hard sf novel about humans being forced to survive on a metal-poor planet. They have to take dietary metal supplements at first but eventually a bio-engineer rigs the biochemical ...
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646 views
How do I create a “love potion”?
Lets say in 2069 a big interstellar corporation needs to create a "love potion" to subdue a religious pacifist rebel group that refuses to reproduce until they get independence.
This love potion ...
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206 views
Humanoid species that can consciously “read” each other's DNA: plausibility and limitations
My premise is that there was a technologically advanced human-equivalent civilisation that eventually obliterated itself with weapons of mass destruction, but left behind a survivalist sect obsessed ...
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357 views
First steps of a lab-grown soldier program
After the Paris Convention of 2037, robots in warfare have been globally forbidden in use of primary or secondary combat roles, and across the Earth nations began to disassemble their automated units. ...
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1answer
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How to stop genetically modified bacteria from creating a catastrophic greenhouse effect?
I'm here on behalf of the Antarctic People's Liberation Front. Some call me a terrorist, but really, I'm just trying to build a better life for my people. Earth is a beautiful place, full of bright ...
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1answer
83 views
A plausable explanation of how life is created with digital DNA
I recently read that not only would a creatures digital DNA need to be stored but its mitochondria and microbiomes DNA needs to be stored.
A previous questions answers mentions epigenetic structures, ...
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121 views
Will bionanotechnology conserve humanity?
In distant future major breakthrough in bionanotechnology means longer life expectancy and free from diseases such as cold and cancer, billions of nanites flowing inside our body constantly repairs ...
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1answer
104 views
Strength/muscle mass limit for a human based creature?
So, in my world, I have a species of human-based mutant creatures called "Screamers". Genetically modified Homo Sapiens, these Screamers are one of the most dangerous beasts in the Wasteland....
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134 views
How could you modifying humans to make us resistant to technology addiction?
In a near future-tech scenario, mankind is plagued by rampant technology addiction to the point the point that it begins to threaten the overall stability of society. Tech companies have become more ...
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1answer
246 views
A rapidly reproducing, lithotrophic slime mold
Assuming a lithotrophic slime mold were to be created, which metabolized iron, carbon dioxide and sulphur, and released, how much damage would it do?
Let's say it was created to help manage landfills....
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1answer
296 views
How to get clones to look identical to original?
Far in the future, or not so far future, scientists finally manage to create healthy clones of animals and people. These clones, unlike the pioneering Dolly, will have no medical side effects and can ...
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1answer
1k views
Will changing the DNA change the hair structure/color taking into account the fact that it gets constantly renewed? [closed]
I have read this comment on the website "...changing the DNA will not change the phenotypical effects that were caused by the code! So if you change somebody genes so that his eye colour would have ...
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149 views
What are some difficulties in synthesizing desirable substances produced in nature?
Suppose that there is a substance that is produced in nature by an organism. This substance is rather desirable. The reason this substance is desirable can be anything: Whether it is because it is a ...
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Can a living human's DNA be modified for use as a living library?
I know that DNA can be used to encode information, using ACGT as a quaternary instead of binary encoding.
Could a functional genetically-modified human walk around with a lot of information stored ...
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294 views
So we've removed human discomfort. What happens?
Introducing MDR Splicing™ (Minor Discomfort Removal)
Evolution has prepared us for the worst. We are equipped to tell if we're in danger and deal with it - nature has perfectly tailored us to
...
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573 views
Would Simultaneously Hermaphroditic Humans Still be “Men” and “Women”?
When looking exclusively at the muscular and skeletal systems of male and female humans, on average, we'd find what scientists call "sexual dimorphism". Even their voices are sexually dimorphic--...
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642 views
Group-minded alien species create alien human hybrids- why?
The aliens in question aren't of a hive mind in the strictest sense (instead of many drones answering to a leadership caste each organism acts as one cell, all of them are essentially 'the same rank')....
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Cloning a fully grown adult?
So, as most of you know, cloning is possible, and is being practiced in our modern era. Cloning, usually, creates an baby with the exact same genetic code as the person they got the DNA from. The ...
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3answers
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Is a Captain America-like super soldier realistic?
It seems that genetic engineering is not as simple as walking into a doctor's office and paying for enhancement. There are always unforeseen situations that one must deal with. An increase in a ...
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551 views
What reason would give the most benefits to a Progenitor race for creating sub-races? [closed]
The question has been put On Hold while I develop another question in the Sandbox area of StackExchange. Didn't know about the Sandbox?
Check it out: StackExchange Sandbox for Questions
What reason ...
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168 views
GMO Agriculture - Medieval farming with modern day seeds and advanced robots, how hard or how easy could it be to be rich using them?
Let's just say that you are stuck in a different world. You found a biological research and production starship wreck...
You decided to have GMO plants/seeds agriculture on your land that you bought ...
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1answer
135 views
Can 2019-nCoV be altered to be carried by the wind?
After surveying customers about their new product, 2019-nCoV™, E.V.I.L. Inc. realized that many of them would pay for an upgrade which allows for the virus to be carried by the wind itself in order to ...
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2answers
225 views
What kind of genetic engineering would be required to give a human-animal hybrid the following characteristics?
In my world, taking place sometime in the near future, scientists decide to mess around with genetic engineering. The goal is to create hybrid supersoldiers with animal genes ad have them perform ...
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1answer
3k views
How terrified would a modern human be 10,000 years in the future? [closed]
In our tale here, an advanced Physicist with an IQ of 160 finds himself flung 10,000 years into the future. There's a fantasy-scifi element early on explaining how an Ice covered Neanderthal is thawed ...
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2answers
281 views
Using Mythology to Inspire Human Evolution [closed]
This scenario teeters on the verge of B-movie science fiction, but still, let's say that some ambitious scientist, who is an avid fan of mythology, uses that childhood obsession to test genetic ...
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3answers
155 views
Plant used-to-create genetically-engineered floating islands?
I was wondering after considering the trope of floating islands, genetically modified/genetically engineered plants that produce carbon nanotubes, which as a byproduct forming vacuum tubes as they ...
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Can An Adult Be Genetically Engineered? [duplicate]
Would be possible to apply genetic changes (like splicing in a radiation hardening gene) to an adult human? With near future technology, like advanced forms of CRISPR? Or can things like that only be ...
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What would happen if a black person used genetic modification to turn off the MC1R gene?
The MC1R gene turns pheomelanin into eumelanins but there are another kind of pehomelanin called pheochromes. So if a brunette or black person used a cosmetic gene therapy to turn off this gene how ...
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1answer
77 views
Organic prosthetic limbs
I recently saw a video about axolotls, and in the video they say that a limb from axolotl can be placed on another axolotl and it would attach itself. could we genetically engineer limbs like that to ...
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How could a weaponized gene therapy evade detection?
A genetic engineer devises a symbiotic virus that permanently copies itself into the genome of its hosts and the germlines of all their descendants. The purpose of this virus is to genetically modify ...
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1answer
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How to make humans compatible with a high pressure CO2 atmosphere?
We've found a habitable planet around Procyon and do have the technology to settle it. However, it is in the outer part of its systems habitable zone. So while it has a well-developed and mostly ...
