Text 13422, 46 rader
Skriven 2007-04-11 02:24:32 av Kurt Ullman (16867.babylon5)
     Kommentar till en text av rec.arts.sf.tv.babylon5.moderated
Ärende: Re: My Presidential Pick for 2006
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In article <bubo13tcigj3bkgujahngadg95cmc46aj8@4ax.com>,
 Josh Hill <usereplyto@gmail.com> wrote:

>
> Some day, maybe, when the genome is completely understood and easily
> analyzed (right now, we can only afford to test for a handful of
> markers of major diseases). And when that day comes, I imagine we'll
> have the sort of conflict we have today over birth control and
> abortion . . .
   Heck don't need to wait that long. That was the basis for eugenics 
years and years ago.  If anything, understanding the genome (which is a 
whole lot different than knowing how it all works together at the 
population level let alone the personal level with all the various and 
sundry transcription errors in everyone's DNA) would give it a slightly 
thicker patina of respectability... that it probably doesn't deserve. 


> 
> I can think of other possible drawbacks as well, including the
> desirability of genetic reshuffling -- even if the offspring of incest
> don't have serious genetic defects, they will be more like their
> parents than the offspring of distantly-related offspring, and that
> will put a crimp in the natural selection machine.
    Even with understanding the genome, there are all sorts of reason to 
keep close relatives away from each other genetically. Everything from 
the Kings and Queens of Europe to the problems associated with too small 
herds in the wild argue against having family trees that don't branch. 



> 'Course, there are also benefits to inbreeding when one wants to
> create a new variety or subspecies -- and a future world could
> potentially want to do that more than we do (since I suspect that
> evolution has equipped us to maintain a certain degree of
> specialization within the species, and that society has followed suit
> with class divisions and the like).
     Not to inbreeding. If you want new varieties and subspecies you do 
that by adding things to the mix, not homogenizing everything. About the 
only place where in-breeding works is when you WANT to induce genetic 
anamolies like knock out mice, etc. 


> 
> Some interesting science fictional possibilities here . . .
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