A biological question for biologist and other scientific types.

[Sephiroth X]

How many generations does it take for a person in the past to be recreated again genetically?

I know there are only so many combination of DNA that you will get restructured again eventually.

[drizztix]

never
good luck w/ that

[∆nonymous]

Imagine you have a house. You tear it in half, and add half of another house, making a new house. Continue doing this for millions of years. Will any of the houses be the same as the first one?

[Sephiroth X]

Imagine you have a house. You tear it in half, and add half of another house, making a new house. Continue doing this for millions of years. Will any of the houses be the same as the first one?

I'm not talking about an exact copy. Just something really close like a twin.

[∆nonymous]

I'm not talking about an exact copy. Just something really close like a twin.

It will never happen because only 50% of a person's DNA comes from a single parent. If you're talking about an exact genetic duplicate, there are BILLIONS of base pairs in a person's DNA, and as each has 4 possible configurations, the chances of two people having the same DNA are roughly 4^10,000,000,000

It's about as likely as someone dropping a penny off of a building, the physical laws of the universe disappearing for an instant mid-fall, the penny changing into a bird during that instant, flying to your house, eating all of it, and exploding in such a way that your favorite easy chair flies to the top of the building and flips you over so that you land in it.

And if you want the two people to look exactly the same, then you have to factor in the pre- and post-natal environment, which is like using the same analogy as before, except while a nuclear explosion destroys the building and some guy surfs past on a flying crocodile.

[Sephiroth X]

It will never happen because only 50% of a person's DNA comes from a single parent. If you're talking about an exact genetic duplicate, there are BILLIONS of base pairs in a person's DNA, and as each has 4 possible configurations, the chances of two people having the same DNA are roughly 4^10,000,000,000

It's about as likely as someone dropping a penny off of a building, the physical laws of the universe disappearing for an instant mid-fall, the penny changing into a bird during that instant, flying to your house, eating all of it, and exploding in such a way that your favorite easy chair flies to the top of the building and flips you over so that you land in it.

And if you want the two people to look exactly the same, then you have to factor in the pre- and post-natal environment, which is like using the same analogy as before, except while a nuclear explosion destroys the building and some guy surfs past on a flying crocodile.

Wow, that was an amazing post. What do you do for a living?

[KOOPS95]

He makes amazing posts. And surfs on crocodiles.

[Sephiroth X]

He makes amazing posts. And surfs on crocodiles.

Heh heh heh.

[∆nonymous]

Sadly, I have yet to surf on a crocodile. That is one of the things that I wish to do before I die, but I still have many more years in which to to do it.

(Also, if I were you, I would give me rep. Because, as you said, the post was awesome. )

[Sephiroth X]

Sadly, I have yet to surf on a crocodile. That is one of the things that I wish to do before I die, but I still have many more years in which to to do it.

I bet you are scientist. Are you left handed as well?