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I think this is considerably more difficult than they think, genomes are more than just throwing genes together. It’s a finely tuned symphony made by evolution
by JohnJamesRambo 5y ago
I think this is considerably more difficult than they think, genomes are more than just throwing genes together. It’s a finely tuned symphony made by evolution, epigenetic silencing and signaling, gene position. I suspect it doesn’t work at all but if they got something it would be more like the centaurs in Fallout. I also think there are ethical questions whether that baby “mammoth” being born would ask to be created in that failed way.
https://fallout.fandom.com/wiki/Centaur https://fallout.fandom.com/wiki/Centaur
- BurningFrog 5y agoYou only learn how difficult it is by attempting it. We breed zillions of animals without ever asking them for consent. In part because it's impossible. Those are some brand new goalposts.
- JohnJamesRambo 5y agoEvolution constricts those outcomes to something at least somewhat reasonable and capable of life because both parents were able to live.
- credit_guy 5y agoMaybe not that difficult. We already have sequenced the mammoth genome [1]. We have CRISPR technology. We can do a diff between the mammoth genome and the elephant one, and we start editing the elephant one small segment at a time, like in a game of word ladder. We IV fertilize an elephant female, and we get a hybrid. After a few steps, we might end up with an actual mammoth. [1] https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/mammoth-genomes-shatter-record-for-oldest-dna-sequences/ https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/mammoth-genomes-s...