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Hereditary immortality: Plausible?
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Background info
I am writing a story and I have a young character named Lydia who is worried about dying young and having fertility problems. Her not so close family has a history of that. Dying so young the only practical solution was teen pregnancy and teen marriage and a history of having problems conceiving.
Her close family luckily hasn't had that history. And her close family is a musical family. Her brother plays the flute, her mom plays the piano, and her dad plays the cello.
Now she tries to play the piano and gets sucked into an alternate universe where she is with the famous classical music composers like Bach and Mozart. She starts off having lunch with Mozart and then she mentions this history in her family of dying young and having fertility problems and she starts crying.
Mozart, like he does with any upset person cheers her up and he takes her to the doctor to do a genetic test. The doctor gives good news, she has the genetics for immortality and high fertility.
Now I can think of 3 possible pathways to immortality being hereditary.
Recessive allele
A gene codes for an approximate lifespan. Having 2 dominant alleles leads to a normal lifespan. Having 1 dominant allele also leads to having a normal lifespan. Having 2 recessive alleles though leads to immortality
Epistasis
Here another gene is at play. This gene either promotes or suppresses expression of the recessive allele.
Environment + genetics
In this case, it could be that several things added up to trigger the immortality gene to be expressed. Those could be:
Healthy diet
Breastfed as a baby
Never got overweight
Lack of health problems
Surrounded by people playing music
Is it plausible that Lydia has hereditary immortality while the rest of her family doesn't? If so which of the ways of immortality being hereditary is most plausible?
genetics immortality
asked Aug 9 at 4:41
Caters
1,455621
add a comment |Â
up vote
2
down vote
favorite
Background info
I am writing a story and I have a young character named Lydia who is worried about dying young and having fertility problems. Her not so close family has a history of that. Dying so young the only practical solution was teen pregnancy and teen marriage and a history of having problems conceiving.
Her close family luckily hasn't had that history. And her close family is a musical family. Her brother plays the flute, her mom plays the piano, and her dad plays the cello.
Now she tries to play the piano and gets sucked into an alternate universe where she is with the famous classical music composers like Bach and Mozart. She starts off having lunch with Mozart and then she mentions this history in her family of dying young and having fertility problems and she starts crying.
Mozart, like he does with any upset person cheers her up and he takes her to the doctor to do a genetic test. The doctor gives good news, she has the genetics for immortality and high fertility.
Now I can think of 3 possible pathways to immortality being hereditary.
Recessive allele
A gene codes for an approximate lifespan. Having 2 dominant alleles leads to a normal lifespan. Having 1 dominant allele also leads to having a normal lifespan. Having 2 recessive alleles though leads to immortality
Epistasis
Here another gene is at play. This gene either promotes or suppresses expression of the recessive allele.
Environment + genetics
In this case, it could be that several things added up to trigger the immortality gene to be expressed. Those could be:
Healthy diet
Breastfed as a baby
Never got overweight
Lack of health problems
Surrounded by people playing music
Is it plausible that Lydia has hereditary immortality while the rest of her family doesn't? If so which of the ways of immortality being hereditary is most plausible?
genetics immortality
asked Aug 9 at 4:41
Caters
1,455621
1
Could an X-Men style mutation work? I've never heard of a gene for immortality before, so it could have just been created. Considering your story has random universe jumping and Mozart giving out genetics tests, this might fit right along with the setting.
– Starpilot
Aug 9 at 5:35
Something off-topic here: Immortalitiy + high fertility = ALOT of children. Hereditary immortality + high fertility = ALOT of immortal children who will give birth to ALOT immortal children who will give birth to ALOT immortal children who will give birth... I fear your society will collapse - if your undying still need food.
– DarthDonut
Aug 9 at 14:47
add a comment |Â
up vote
2
down vote
favorite
up vote
2
down vote
favorite
Background info
I am writing a story and I have a young character named Lydia who is worried about dying young and having fertility problems. Her not so close family has a history of that. Dying so young the only practical solution was teen pregnancy and teen marriage and a history of having problems conceiving.
Her close family luckily hasn't had that history. And her close family is a musical family. Her brother plays the flute, her mom plays the piano, and her dad plays the cello.
Now she tries to play the piano and gets sucked into an alternate universe where she is with the famous classical music composers like Bach and Mozart. She starts off having lunch with Mozart and then she mentions this history in her family of dying young and having fertility problems and she starts crying.
Mozart, like he does with any upset person cheers her up and he takes her to the doctor to do a genetic test. The doctor gives good news, she has the genetics for immortality and high fertility.
Now I can think of 3 possible pathways to immortality being hereditary.
Recessive allele
A gene codes for an approximate lifespan. Having 2 dominant alleles leads to a normal lifespan. Having 1 dominant allele also leads to having a normal lifespan. Having 2 recessive alleles though leads to immortality
Epistasis
Here another gene is at play. This gene either promotes or suppresses expression of the recessive allele.
Environment + genetics
In this case, it could be that several things added up to trigger the immortality gene to be expressed. Those could be:
Healthy diet
Breastfed as a baby
Never got overweight
Lack of health problems
Surrounded by people playing music
Is it plausible that Lydia has hereditary immortality while the rest of her family doesn't? If so which of the ways of immortality being hereditary is most plausible?
genetics immortality
asked Aug 9 at 4:41
Caters
1,455621
Background info
I am writing a story and I have a young character named Lydia who is worried about dying young and having fertility problems. Her not so close family has a history of that. Dying so young the only practical solution was teen pregnancy and teen marriage and a history of having problems conceiving.
Her close family luckily hasn't had that history. And her close family is a musical family. Her brother plays the flute, her mom plays the piano, and her dad plays the cello.
Now she tries to play the piano and gets sucked into an alternate universe where she is with the famous classical music composers like Bach and Mozart. She starts off having lunch with Mozart and then she mentions this history in her family of dying young and having fertility problems and she starts crying.
Mozart, like he does with any upset person cheers her up and he takes her to the doctor to do a genetic test. The doctor gives good news, she has the genetics for immortality and high fertility.
Now I can think of 3 possible pathways to immortality being hereditary.
Recessive allele
A gene codes for an approximate lifespan. Having 2 dominant alleles leads to a normal lifespan. Having 1 dominant allele also leads to having a normal lifespan. Having 2 recessive alleles though leads to immortality
Epistasis
Here another gene is at play. This gene either promotes or suppresses expression of the recessive allele.
Environment + genetics
In this case, it could be that several things added up to trigger the immortality gene to be expressed. Those could be:
Healthy diet
Breastfed as a baby
Never got overweight
Lack of health problems
Surrounded by people playing music
Is it plausible that Lydia has hereditary immortality while the rest of her family doesn't? If so which of the ways of immortality being hereditary is most plausible?
genetics immortality
asked Aug 9 at 4:41
Caters
1,455621
asked Aug 9 at 4:41
Caters
1,455621
asked Aug 9 at 4:41
Caters
1,455621
asked Aug 9 at 4:41
Caters
1,455621
1,455621
1
Could an X-Men style mutation work? I've never heard of a gene for immortality before, so it could have just been created. Considering your story has random universe jumping and Mozart giving out genetics tests, this might fit right along with the setting.
– Starpilot
Aug 9 at 5:35
Something off-topic here: Immortalitiy + high fertility = ALOT of children. Hereditary immortality + high fertility = ALOT of immortal children who will give birth to ALOT immortal children who will give birth to ALOT immortal children who will give birth... I fear your society will collapse - if your undying still need food.
– DarthDonut
Aug 9 at 14:47
add a comment |Â
1
Could an X-Men style mutation work? I've never heard of a gene for immortality before, so it could have just been created. Considering your story has random universe jumping and Mozart giving out genetics tests, this might fit right along with the setting.
– Starpilot
Aug 9 at 5:35
Something off-topic here: Immortalitiy + high fertility = ALOT of children. Hereditary immortality + high fertility = ALOT of immortal children who will give birth to ALOT immortal children who will give birth to ALOT immortal children who will give birth... I fear your society will collapse - if your undying still need food.
– DarthDonut
Aug 9 at 14:47
1
1
Could an X-Men style mutation work? I've never heard of a gene for immortality before, so it could have just been created. Considering your story has random universe jumping and Mozart giving out genetics tests, this might fit right along with the setting.
– Starpilot
Aug 9 at 5:35
Could an X-Men style mutation work? I've never heard of a gene for immortality before, so it could have just been created. Considering your story has random universe jumping and Mozart giving out genetics tests, this might fit right along with the setting.
– Starpilot
Aug 9 at 5:35
Something off-topic here: Immortalitiy + high fertility = ALOT of children. Hereditary immortality + high fertility = ALOT of immortal children who will give birth to ALOT immortal children who will give birth to ALOT immortal children who will give birth... I fear your society will collapse - if your undying still need food.
– DarthDonut
Aug 9 at 14:47
Something off-topic here: Immortalitiy + high fertility = ALOT of children. Hereditary immortality + high fertility = ALOT of immortal children who will give birth to ALOT immortal children who will give birth to ALOT immortal children who will give birth... I fear your society will collapse - if your undying still need food.
– DarthDonut
Aug 9 at 14:47
add a comment |Â
1 Answer
1
active
oldest
votes
up vote
7
down vote
Thoughts:
Recessive/Dominant: Unlikely as described because the gene grants immorality AND high fertility. If a gene makes its host both long lived AND prolific, then we will expect a high frequency of this gene in the gene pool. As such, even the need for both recessives to be present would not be enough to prevent lots of immortal and prolific humans from being born. And I don't think that is what you were looking for.
Epistasis: More likely if only for the reason it can limit the expression of even a relatively high frequency gene. In this case, lots of people can carry the double copy of the gene, but still few immortals are present in the population.
Environment + Genetics: Again, this would allow for a high occurrence of double gene carriers but few actual immortals.
I think a combination of 2 and 3 - where the genes responsible for allowing the expression of the immortality recessives are themselves suppressed by epigenetic factors that are related to the developmental and current environments. This multi-factor trigger could explain low immortality rates even though there would be significant evolutionary pressure for the immortality gene to increase in frequency in the gene pool.
answered Aug 9 at 5:16
Jim
1,8181411
add a comment |Â
1 Answer
1
active
oldest
votes
1 Answer
1
active
oldest
votes
active
oldest
votes
active
oldest
votes
up vote
7
down vote
Thoughts:
Recessive/Dominant: Unlikely as described because the gene grants immorality AND high fertility. If a gene makes its host both long lived AND prolific, then we will expect a high frequency of this gene in the gene pool. As such, even the need for both recessives to be present would not be enough to prevent lots of immortal and prolific humans from being born. And I don't think that is what you were looking for.
Epistasis: More likely if only for the reason it can limit the expression of even a relatively high frequency gene. In this case, lots of people can carry the double copy of the gene, but still few immortals are present in the population.
Environment + Genetics: Again, this would allow for a high occurrence of double gene carriers but few actual immortals.
I think a combination of 2 and 3 - where the genes responsible for allowing the expression of the immortality recessives are themselves suppressed by epigenetic factors that are related to the developmental and current environments. This multi-factor trigger could explain low immortality rates even though there would be significant evolutionary pressure for the immortality gene to increase in frequency in the gene pool.
answered Aug 9 at 5:16
Jim
1,8181411
add a comment |Â
up vote
7
down vote
Thoughts:
Recessive/Dominant: Unlikely as described because the gene grants immorality AND high fertility. If a gene makes its host both long lived AND prolific, then we will expect a high frequency of this gene in the gene pool. As such, even the need for both recessives to be present would not be enough to prevent lots of immortal and prolific humans from being born. And I don't think that is what you were looking for.
Epistasis: More likely if only for the reason it can limit the expression of even a relatively high frequency gene. In this case, lots of people can carry the double copy of the gene, but still few immortals are present in the population.
Environment + Genetics: Again, this would allow for a high occurrence of double gene carriers but few actual immortals.
I think a combination of 2 and 3 - where the genes responsible for allowing the expression of the immortality recessives are themselves suppressed by epigenetic factors that are related to the developmental and current environments. This multi-factor trigger could explain low immortality rates even though there would be significant evolutionary pressure for the immortality gene to increase in frequency in the gene pool.
answered Aug 9 at 5:16
Jim
1,8181411
add a comment |Â
up vote
7
down vote
up vote
7
down vote
Thoughts:
Recessive/Dominant: Unlikely as described because the gene grants immorality AND high fertility. If a gene makes its host both long lived AND prolific, then we will expect a high frequency of this gene in the gene pool. As such, even the need for both recessives to be present would not be enough to prevent lots of immortal and prolific humans from being born. And I don't think that is what you were looking for.
Epistasis: More likely if only for the reason it can limit the expression of even a relatively high frequency gene. In this case, lots of people can carry the double copy of the gene, but still few immortals are present in the population.
Environment + Genetics: Again, this would allow for a high occurrence of double gene carriers but few actual immortals.
I think a combination of 2 and 3 - where the genes responsible for allowing the expression of the immortality recessives are themselves suppressed by epigenetic factors that are related to the developmental and current environments. This multi-factor trigger could explain low immortality rates even though there would be significant evolutionary pressure for the immortality gene to increase in frequency in the gene pool.
answered Aug 9 at 5:16
Jim
1,8181411
Thoughts:
Recessive/Dominant: Unlikely as described because the gene grants immorality AND high fertility. If a gene makes its host both long lived AND prolific, then we will expect a high frequency of this gene in the gene pool. As such, even the need for both recessives to be present would not be enough to prevent lots of immortal and prolific humans from being born. And I don't think that is what you were looking for.
Epistasis: More likely if only for the reason it can limit the expression of even a relatively high frequency gene. In this case, lots of people can carry the double copy of the gene, but still few immortals are present in the population.
Environment + Genetics: Again, this would allow for a high occurrence of double gene carriers but few actual immortals.
I think a combination of 2 and 3 - where the genes responsible for allowing the expression of the immortality recessives are themselves suppressed by epigenetic factors that are related to the developmental and current environments. This multi-factor trigger could explain low immortality rates even though there would be significant evolutionary pressure for the immortality gene to increase in frequency in the gene pool.
answered Aug 9 at 5:16
Jim
1,8181411
answered Aug 9 at 5:16
Jim
1,8181411
answered Aug 9 at 5:16
Jim
1,8181411
answered Aug 9 at 5:16
Jim
1,8181411
1,8181411
add a comment |Â
add a comment |Â
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1
Could an X-Men style mutation work? I've never heard of a gene for immortality before, so it could have just been created. Considering your story has random universe jumping and Mozart giving out genetics tests, this might fit right along with the setting.
– Starpilot
Aug 9 at 5:35
Something off-topic here: Immortalitiy + high fertility = ALOT of children. Hereditary immortality + high fertility = ALOT of immortal children who will give birth to ALOT immortal children who will give birth to ALOT immortal children who will give birth... I fear your society will collapse - if your undying still need food.
– DarthDonut
Aug 9 at 14:47