Combining your genetics with another person?

[Jasmin]

Is it possible to combine another persons genetics with your own? If so, what would the results be? would you start to look like them and take on their characteristics?

[syntax252]

Is it possible to combine another persons genetics with your own? If so, what would the results be?

 

A baby?

[Sayonara]

Yes. Here on Earth we call the processing 'breeding'.

[Hellbender]

or "reproduction"

[Jasmin]

What I meant was combining someone elses DNA with your own genetic structure. Could you replace half of your DNA with theirs?

[Skye]

We can't right now. There's alot of research being done on trying to insert individual genes, where those genes are faulty.

[rakuenso]

First of all, desirable traits such as intelligence, muscle growth, etc. etc. are the work of not just one gene, rather a conglomerate of countless genes that code for countless proteins that are directly linked to many other factors. The best method to perform genetic recombination would be through natural selection, although slow, it does work as a very stable and safe method of evolution.

 

However, I do believe that once enough research has been conducted on how the genes work together, we should be able to mix n' match safely and without much trouble. But as of right now, I do not believe that it would be a good idea to perform genetic recombination, at least on humans.

 

But, there do exist certain single genes which are DIRECTLY responsible for many of the crippling genetic birth defects. Which is also one of the reasons why genetic recombination exists.

 

but its gonna be long time before GATTACA becomes a reality (for those who have seen the movie.)

[5614]

We can't right now. There's alot of research being done on trying to insert individual genes, where those genes are faulty.

 

Hmmm, biology really isn't my thing, but isn't producing artificial insulin, or something else, some kinda copying of something, produce artifical something requires that the wanted DNA is seperated outta the whole DNA using enzymes and inserted into a new bacteria DNA using more enzymes and then that bacteria with the new part of DNA is rapidly breed producing the articifical something.... anyone know what I'm on about?

 

I'll try find out more!

[Dak]

5614: yeah, what u said made sence, however inserting dna into bacteria is a whole lot different to inserting dna into humans, for a start no one really cares if a few bacteria get killed in the prosess. second, unlike bacteria, humans may moan a bit if you attempt to submerse them in foreighn dna and eletrocute them so that their cell membranes become 'leaky' and the dna can pass through.

 

bacteria share genetic information using plasmids, little loops of dna that contain 1 / a few genes, and these get passed from one bacteria to another and then inserted into their genome, so bacteria already have a mechanism for accepting foreighn genes, whereas humans dont, which results in the foreighn genes being inserted in the middle of another gene quite regulaly. human genes are generally also regulated a lot more complexly (promotors, initiators, supressers, splice sites, introns/exons etc), and also theeres the problem of getting the genes into all of the cells in the first plase... so thats y its alot harder to plonk a gene in a eukaryote than it is to plonk one into a bacteria.

[rakuenso]

thats not to mention plasmids are a hell lot easier to work with than dense complex chromosomes packed with histones and nucleosomes. oops i really need to read more carefully