Biology and genetics

[Rowan_Doll]

So, I'm at a place in one of my short storys, where I need to get everything genetically correct, for some reason. I have planned to make this new creature for this short story, and now I can't because I'm getting stuck with making not break the laws of biology. I also what to find all the possible traits, and physical disorders for this creature. Does anyone know a good way to go about this?

 

[pmmg]

'Everything' is a big word....

Part of what you are asking for is likely in the realm of unknown. Who can know 'all' traits and disorders for any individual specimen?

Most of this stuff, would come in the form of probability, such as the probability is high for a trait, but not an exact measure.

My suggestion, if it really matters to the story, is give a detailed explanation of the creature, and run it by a biology friend (or what ever comes closest). If you are wanting someone to say....This RNA string right here is why its color blind... You gonna have to do some reading, or find someone who is really expert in the field.

 

[Rexenm]

I was looking for the dune movie, but couldn’t find it anywhere, so I settled with a timeline - making of thing... It has that scene in it where there is a spider with human hands, eating from some kind of bowl, and it got me thinking, every time I saw that thing just wondering what it was.

It doesn’t turn up anywhere from recent memory anywhere else in the film, just from repeat views, it is just one of those other dimensional things you think about once and throw away.

With some of those more advanced medical procedures, you just gotta close your eyes and look away, however.

 

[Finchbearer]

Hmm, in fantasy we can break a lot of rules, given that they are believable within the storytelling. I’d say break a few rules to make it feel as though the genetics is accurate. Plus, most readers don’t necessarily care about all the specifics, as long as you can make us believe in them. You can also omit a lot from the actual text, and no one will know.

 

[CupofJoe]

If you need a basis in reality, have a look at a real world analogy, they will give you an idea of how things might go and you can riff off that.
There are lots of things that we don't understand about life that we know of.
There are dinosaurs too big and long to breath.
Pterosaurs too heavy to fly.
Single cell organisms that can problem solve and learn...
And it wasn't until recently someone worked how Bumblebees flew.
As Finchbearer says, as long as you can sell the concept to the reader they won't mind if it is not 100% "real".

 

[Prince of Spires]

It's a bit hard to say something in isolation about this, without knowing what traits you're aiming for. There are very few laws in biology really when it comes to genetics. If it's physically possible, then nature is likely to have tried it at some point. After all, you can find animals with anything from no legs to 50 legs. You have mamals that lay eggs. Birds that swim. Dinosaurs with feathers. Animals ranging in size from ant to blue whales (which are absolutely humongus). Fish that live on land. Trees that grow over 100m tall and plants that are only a few cells in size. Fish that can change their gender. There are also plenty of "failed attempts" where some species evolved, only to die out because it turned out they weren't as well suited to their environment as some other species and they got outcompeted.

So as long as it's physically possible, then it's simply a matter of creating the right conditions and your animal will more or less appear if you wait a few million years.