Worldbuilding

Questions tagged [genetics]

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For questions about a way to pass on biological information from one generation to the next.

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39
votes
10answers
56k views

How many people are required for a healthy re-population of the Earth (Post-Apocalypse)?

In my particular Earth, much has remained after the human-killing virus, and nature is thriving - even taking over the cities. It's beautiful. But I have separated the healthy populace in orbit ...
28
votes
10answers
2k views

How can I make a net beneficial genetic trait occur only in a small fraction of the population, sustained?

For a species I am working on, there is a specific genetic trait that I want to introduce into the population. The exact nature of either is not important for the purposes of this question, but the ...
16
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10answers
3k views

Why would life on a different planet use DNA?

Life on Earth pretty early on settled on deoxyribonucleic acid organized in chains of base pairs as the means to code for the construction of proteins which make up a lifeform. It also has the benefit ...
17
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7answers
2k views

Alternatives to DNA

I am in the process of creating my universe, and have based it on semi-hard science. The universe that I have created is quite extensive, and I thought that it would be unreasonable for the only kind ...
12
votes
4answers
5k views

What are the effects of having too small a gene pool?

This question discusses the various steps a very small gene pool could take to avoid inbreeding however most of the answers agree that it's very unlikely that a group of 6 individuals could avoid all ...
11
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4answers
584 views

What is the technical feasibility of DNA-altering drinks in a fictional bar?

I am interested of a fictional future world where people can walk into a bar, order a drink with the flavors they want, and as that drink flows through their system, their DNA is modified. An example ...
9
votes
4answers
529 views

Little Green EARTH Men?

This question is based on the articles saying that the Mongoloid body plan was all due to an individual mutation from 35,000 years ago. In science fiction, humanoid aliens that aren't of the human ...
0
votes
2answers
220 views

A friend has an idea for a PA colony traveling to Proxima Centauri B but need help fleshing it out

So, my friend had an idea for a weird Post Apocalypse society traveling through space towards Proxima Centauri B, and she's trying to figure out where the population would be 50 and 100 years after ...
45
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13answers
14k views

Could humanity survive if all except a few males died in a plague?

Tomorrow, a sudden airborne plague comes around that kills nearly all human males - women are unaffected. The UN and different nations try their hardest but fail to find a cure. There are riots and ...
7
votes
5answers
771 views

What percentage of the population has the “magic gene”?

So I have a world that has magic. Whether you can use magic is hereditary, and there's about a 1/4 chance of inheriting the "magic gene". What I want to know is, will the percentage of magic users ...
4
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4answers
2k views

How would I evolve horns on humans?

How would I change the evolution of humans to result in horns on humans as a result of reproductive fitness, instead of social fitness. Meaning, NEITHER "Horns are sexy", or some strange infection. ...
16
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14answers
7k views

Could you populate a hospitable planet with only a vial of DNA?

In my world, the characters have to travel to a new planet and start all over again. Say they make the journey in a space ship transporting a bunch of human DNA samples. If this ship crashed on the ...
9
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11answers
4k views

How would a child of a human and alien inherit abilities?

Imagine a child of mixed race, one parent is human and one is an alien who has some ability humans do not have, for the sake of argument telepathy. I'm assuming there is some advanced medical ...
4
votes
1answer
268 views

What's the fastest a genetically or technologically enhanced human could regenerate?

After watching this brilliant video by Shoddycast about Stimpaks in the Fallout universe: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=CLY-FMxsb2U I started to wonder. Just how many of science fiction's most ...
7
votes
2answers
643 views

The Multi-Purpose Horse: Stage I: Icelandic x Yakutian

I am in pursuit of, as the title says, a multi-purpose horse, a single breed that can do all the things that the others were only specialized for: travel, labor, companionship, war, speed, strength. ...
3
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4answers
1k views

How long will it take to restore genetic diversity if it is reduced drastically in a human population?

I read in this question that the minimum viable population without causing large problems in genetic diversity is about 50. If we have a larger population (say a hundred) and genetic diversity becomes ...
2
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2answers
504 views

Can genetic modifications become hereditary? [closed]

Could genetic modifications become hereditary over time? If so could they evolve over time similar to regular genes? For example making carbon fibre bones for whatever reason would they eventually ...
31
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16answers
7k views

Is there a precedent for inventing a new technology many years before anyone else?

History shows that most inventors of groundbreaking new technologies, for example, the light bulb or the telephone were not actually the first to invent this technology and that there were actually ...
13
votes
4answers
8k views

Improving human reaction time

In this question, we were provided a look at what would happen if a human-like species was capable of moving faster than the speed of sound. The consequences of such a modification seem rather ...
13
votes
8answers
6k views

Real life explanation of inheritance of werewolves' curse

Let us imagine later medieval society, very close to our 15 century society. This society struggled with Great Plague. The legends say, that they signed a pact with some supernatural forces, and the ...
10
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3answers
914 views

Karyotypes of partially interbreeding human races

In a non-magical world where homo sapiens has evolved into several races or breeds (like dogs) or even species as in Q10102 and Q12190, that can interbreed for the most part, how can one model the ...
7
votes
3answers
682 views

Realism of Sub-humanity over half-humanity

A common feature in fantasy are half-human creatures such as centaurs, satyrs and merpeople. As much as the worldbuilding community wants these to be real, the evolution and anatomy don't match. The ...
6
votes
3answers
466 views

Are genetically engineered wyverns with my specifications possible?

In my post-apocalyptic iron age world meant to be a sci fi twist on fantasy tropes, wyvern like creatures simply known as fliers were said to have been originally created by a crazy billionaire as a ...
20
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11answers
5k views

How could cats evolve toxic claws?

This cat looks like a normal Maine Coon to the unsuspecting victim. Except for one little detail: Red claws that inject a neurotoxin into the victim onpon scratching it. What would be the most ...
13
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4answers
3k views

Who owns genes? [closed]

I'm building a world where humans reproduce by machine, not by sex. Two or more individuals submit their DNA together to a breeding company. This company has pods that take multiple people's DNA, ...
17
votes
2answers
3k views

Humanoid Race with Surpressed Myostatin Gene - Appearance?

I'm thinking about using this as a sort of meta explanation for how Orcs (and possibly other things as well) are different than humans (in muscularity), but I'm not entirely sure what the result of ...
4
votes
3answers
209 views

Sandalphon: A Machine that Copied Gametes

Obligatory Premise In the year 2201, Diego OfeAde has been in control of Mars for 50 years. He has moved mankind into Valles Marineris and his aggressive population expansion program has seen the ...
4
votes
11answers
1k views

Society of Kind, Handsome Geniuses = Dystopia?

Say we have a rich, rich society, where due to scientific advances, a generous socialist-bent government willing to tax the rich at 75% and patriotic citizens mysteriously willing to pay said taxes, ...
10
votes
3answers
516 views

Is it plausible to make human gametes from different parent chromosomes?

I'm creating a near future world where laboratories could create human gametes (sperm & ova) using chromosomes from different people. So theoretically we could take 1st chromosome from a 1st ...
7
votes
4answers
1k views

How much genetic variation between a human and an alien would allow the human and alien to have, even infertile, offspring?

Background: Human Origins: We originated from a space-faring civilization. A breakaway faction that hates advanced space level tech traveled here and set up shop before destroying their advanced ...
6
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3answers
3k views

How small can a population be with regard to genetic diversity?

I'm working on creating a species that favours small families for a number of reasons, and have no interest in 'breeding as much as possible'. As a consequence, their population size is small. But how ...
5
votes
2answers
194 views

Fine-tuning human genetic-level transformation

Suppose humans discovered a beautiful new world they wanted to inhabit, far from the political machinations and military affairs of the alien-populated universe. They established a few colonies on the ...
4
votes
5answers
622 views

How could humans re-populate a new planet without conventional procreation

This question is a spin-off of this question In my world humanity is faced with extinction and must devise a way to escape their barren planet. So say they take a space ship to the new planet and ...
3
votes
2answers
479 views

Highest possible percentage of genetic diversity within a species?

Human genetic diversity between any two randomly selected individuals is estimated at below 0.5%. The most genetically diverse eukaryote known is C. brenneri(roundworms): 14.1% difference between two ...
2
votes
4answers
2k views

What's to stop shapeshifting humans from changing their appearance all the time?

All the excitement surrounding the power to quickly and easily alter one's appearance has largely died down. Social norms have arisen around what kinds of changes are acceptable and which kinds are ...
2
votes
3answers
201 views

A fully diploid species where males are only conceived parthenogenically?

What sort of sex-determination system would be required for males of a species to only result from parthenogenesis, whereas females only result from fertilization? I am not aware of a system exactly ...
2
votes
1answer
281 views

How could Kuutamian animals work?

In Ribbontails Series Aman5 there are creatures called Kuutamian animals. These animals are sapient and can have any form. The creator uses the excuse that they have three DNA strands, but how ...
1
vote
4answers
772 views

Biology of hermaphrodite species

How from a evolutionary standpoint hermaphrodite species can exist and have a good genetic diversity, with no self-impregnation? But, this race visually looks more like females, they do have breasts ...