Questions tagged [genetics]
For questions about a way to pass on biological information from one generation to the next.
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How do shapeshifters not get sick when copying other gene?
Imagine a certain group of intelligent species evolved the ability to edit their own RNA, manipulating the coding process to make proteins in their bodies. Why RNA you are forced to ask, well it's the ...
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Backwards-compatible Transhumanism: Is this feasible?
Let's say that we have a human society somewhere away from Earth which is psychologically ready for genetic transhumanism... perhaps humans just aren't coping with the environment, perhaps the local ...
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Why haven’t scientists found evidence of humans interbreeding with aliens?
In my alternative universe, Atlantis was a real city that existed, although it wasn’t called Atlantis or founded by humans. Atlantis or rather, Dosham was a city on an isolated landmass in the ...
user48508
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How small can I make this character without making it too weird?
I'm creating a character who was born after a long period of genetic instability, which created a lot more diversity throughout the human race. I'm planning on making my character excessively small ...
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Could triangular DNA exist?
This is sort of a follow up on my question Could a "multicellular" virus exist? in which part of the consensus was that viruses simply can't hold enough DNA. In theory, could DNA form in a ...
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Changing humans to their mirror image versions to become immune to infectious diseases
If we could replace DNA, RNA and the ribosomes in our cells by their mirror image versions, then everything would work in the same way, except that the chirality of all molecules would have been ...
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How can the effects of a Gene become weaker with each new offspring?
King Solomon, founder of the Solomonian Dynasty, was the first emperor of China. After he conquered the mainland, he gave his alchemists the single command of creating an elixir that would allow him ...
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How can antibodies induce a demigod transformation?
The Greek gods were sufficiently advanced aliens with access to powerful technology. In the begining of our worlds formation, Zeus created mankind from his own flesh. These mortals were made in their ...
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Effect of Prolonged Egg Diapause on Species
I have a species of megafaunal carnivore that are extremely mobile with territories spanning hundreds of square miles and lifespans of 120-150 years. They lay clutches of 2-3 eggs every 20-30 years,...
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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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Could a species be able to be impregnated by anything?
Is there a way for a species to essentially become a living incubator of sorts? Not the other way around, as in Plausible ways for the alien species to be able to impregnate every and any species?, ...
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What abnormalities can result from long term cryogenic preservation?
Overlord Larmark is a scientist from the 21st century who is interested in world domination, and needs powerful generals to lead his armies. He looks to the ancient world, as only that time period has ...
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In a world with time travel, would it be possible to be your own mother's mother?
Given that you can travel back in time and have a baby there, or alternatively, send your baby back in time, would it be possible that this baby one day becomes your own mother (gives birth to you)? ...
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Can a population suffer from accidental inbreeding?
Consider a society that is both matrilineal and non-monogamous, such as Patrick Rothfuss' Adem from The Kingkiller Chronicles.
For those unfamiliar with the work, there are basically two factors at ...
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Closed gene pool tribe after 800 years?
I'm leading my D&D party through an undiscovered land, where, as far as they know, no one comes back from. I want them to encounter an isolated tribe of as few people as possible -around 30 ...
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How much DNA half-siblings do share? [closed]
Title is pretty self explanatory, but how much DNA would half-siblings share if they had the same mother ?
I'm asking for a very specific reason. I'm writing a book in which some boxes can only be ...
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How could 3D Bioprinting and Synthetic Biology be used for reproduction?
I think it will be possible in the far future to take a single person`s cells, genetically enhance and change them using genetic engineering and synthetic biology using new genes, and put it in a 3d ...
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How could someone use genetics to place a skin tattoo on their descendants?
Imagine a world quite like our own, except where technology took a different turn. Instead of researching communication, transportation, the cosmos, and the general nature of the universe, scientists ...
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How can the offspring of Gods always be completely human? [closed]
There exists a parallel universe next to ours called the warp, in which inhabit the Gods. These beings don't exist as physical entities, but abstract manifestations based on human emotions. Fear, hate,...
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What is the the most efficient way to design and administer an infertility plague?
My name is Adolf Palpatine, a kind and benevolent Buddhist monk on the path to enlightenment. I have figured out a way to game the system. By making a deal with a demon, I have gained the ability to ...
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How can a human male be made to produce sperm for another species?
An alien creature has secretly landed on earth, seeking to propagate itself among the local species. It studies the individual sexes of a race called humans and determined that the males would be more ...
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Did people have an idea of DNA in the 17th century? [closed]
I know that DNA was discovered later in time but during the 17th century, specifically around 1620 and onwards, would people have known anything about the idea of DNA? If so then how much would they ...
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What's the best way to store genetic material in a dystopian environment?
In this setting, the family unit is based around a clan system. An individual's wealth and status is related to the clan they are born in, and its ancestry is based on matrilineal lines. Due to ...
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ideal virus for eco-terrorist [closed]
This is a follow up question to my earlier question what makes a disease deadly?
In my book, the villain, a biology professor inspired by Ted Kaczynski, wants to revert humanity into a hunter ...
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Why can't I activate bloodline abilities despite access to proper genetic material?
I am Incognito, a mad scientist who studies the bloodline abilities of specific clans. My research has led me to a small village which hosts a powerful family called the uchiha clan. These individuals ...
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Myelination in cephalopods
I am a complete amateur regarding biology, so please forgive me if this question is a little stupid.
Could we ever create squids that have human-level intelligence and could serve as a replacement in ...
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Species where every individual looks the same
I was thinking for ideas for new species for the planet I'm currently worldbuilding, and it occur to me if there could be a species (humanoid) where everyone looked exactly the same, and if this could ...
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Decimating humanity though no daughters gene - when and where to introduce it?
At one point in the past, a man had a mutation on his Y chromosome. Anyone with the mutation would only produce Y sperm, and only have sons. My plan is to have this have a big impact that threatens to ...
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How does an all-female medieval country maintain itself?
Here's a question that came up while I was tinkering with a setting I'm working on.
How would a small city-state, with a population in the tens of thousands, where all children were girls, sustain ...
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What are my "viral" humans harvesting from from my uninfected humans?
The following scenario takes place on Earth, sometime in the next few decades. An unethical biotech company has developed a deadly bioweapon that uses humans as a vector, almost like a suicide bomber ...
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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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To what extent is it feasible for this race to be majority female?
In my world there is a race of humans who are disproportionately female. They are closely derived from and very similar to real-world humans, but are unable to interbreed with the other races as they ...
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Is there a reason that females passing on more than 1/2 of their genetics to the child would be unlikely to evolve?
On the earth today most animals use a two sex mating system where male and female provide the same amount of genetics to the resulting offspring, despite the fact that in many cases the female ...
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Crazy Alien Genetics
Think of a species (ONLY ONE SPECIES) the individuals all live in the same environment, share the same sentience level BUT are divided into "A", "B" and "C" races which have different number of limbs,...
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Venusian Adaptations
Recently I've been imagining living on a terraformed Venus in a distant future. I've a pretty good idea of how this can be done, having gone through many articles on how to terraform venus, so my ...
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Would you carry the exact same DNA if you were concieved at a different time?
In this world, time travel is possible, but the only thing that can be sent back in time are thoughts. From the perspective of your past self, you suddenly one moment realize that you have "memories ...
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Which cells to pick to get a pure sample of DNA without precise equipment?
Normally when conducting DNA testing, I presume techniques are utilized to ensure you're just testing one individual's DNA from a sample, even if it is possible that sample was contaminated one way or ...
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What happens when a person with some edited genetics (like say, eagle eyes) reproduces with a person with regular genetics?
If person A has had the genes dictating their sight/ the internal structure of their eyes, replaced by say, eagle eyes or cat eyes.
What happens when they reproduce with person B who has regular ...
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How do I determine whether hybridization would be possible between various creatures? [closed]
I ask because the world I'm building has eight distinct races of humans on one planet, as well as various non-human animals that don't currently exist in the real world.
I'd like for some forms of ...
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What is more plausible, viruses in a host brain or a viral colony becoming conscious?
In my story I have a strain of virus capable of stealing parts of or changing its hosts DNA, so it could copy the abilities in nature for its next host of choice by taking the genes which control the ...
user59653
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Could there possibly be any alternative biomolecules that could store genetic information like DNA and RNA? [closed]
I study quite a lot of chemistry, biology, and other branches of those fields, alongside some forms of astronomy. As part of a large-scale project I have been working on for a few years and continue ...
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Alien life interbreeding with Earth life [duplicate]
I had an idea for a planet which, millions of years ago, was accidentally contaminated with various animals, plants and microbes from Earth, and - via the planet's native aliens' bizarre reproductive ...
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How would their children look?
My story takes place in a medieval/fantasy setting. The main part plays out on a locked-off island with a fairly uniform population I'd call Asian to keep this question to the point (look Asian and ...
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Would having more than two sexes decrease the number of individuals required to have a sustainable population from a genetic perspective?
On a world made up of many small islands, each island cannot support a very large population. Although sometimes individuals from one island make it across the ocean to another, this is usually a ...
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Is plausible to have subspecies with & without separate sexes?
I'm creating humanoid specie with two subspecies
Hairy races - roughly based on humans, chiss, mirialans, with standard males & females sexes
Tentacle races- roughly based on asari, twilek, ...
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How can I avoid the problems of incest without expanding the gene pool?
The demigods of this world are avatars of the one true God known as Dea and built in the image of humanity. They are independent and have their own opinions from each other, but are connected by a ...
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Can Apes (Including Humans) Be Naturally Patterned Like Felids?
For visual reference:
Apes are visual species who rely more on their eyesight than any of the other senses. As a result, they see the world in three shades of color, whereas other mammals see in one ...
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Why would a "chosen one" come from outside a religion? [closed]
The crawling chaos, Nyalathothep, has formed a cult on the mortal plane devoted to his cause which worships him as a god. This cult has been operating in secret for thousands of years, sowing ...
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Would multiple fantasy races eventually become homogenous?
In a setting with multiple sapient fantasy races (ie, elves, orcs, humans, dwarves), assuming these races could interbreed and this activity became common, would they eventually reach a point of ...
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Highest level of 1930's Technology possible [closed]
Backstory
I have a character who goes back in time to plant an idea in the minds of government scientists during the 1930's. The idea is to analyze a DNA sample and recreate it for future use in the ...
