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Magic Genetics Brainstorming
I need scientific help explaining some parts of my book. Anyone got DNA or gene knowledge that can help?
Magic is a big part of the world, but there is a rift between science and religion. Religion believes it is sacred and a gift from God. Science believes that it is a power and can be better tracked and expanded through genetics. Technology is about to make a breakthrough that will shock all.
They are about to find out that there is no genetic marker that says what power you will have, but there is a marker that shows if you carry the ability to have magic. This news will be a massive fright for my MCs who are trying to hide who they are. (PM=Pure Magic and HR=Heir Magic)
Here is my dilemma I need a way to make this next part sound logical- this is the breakdown of how the magic gene spreads. It takes three magic genes to create an EIT – no amount of genes will create a higher power (PM/HR) only God can. They have found that Umas can be carriers. This information will confirm that there has been PM or HR. The other thing is that the magic gene is disappearing from the Uma lines if it has not been combined with or created an Eit line.
PM=**
HR=*
Eits=**
Umas=none to ** -
5 Replies
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This sounds really neat and sounds like the cat color genetics experiment.
You could use this cat color grid and replace its contents with your magic details to work it out.
Trim out the rows/columns you don’t need and backfill and you should be good. Also, since you’re basing it off a known genetic structure that way, I’d say it’ll 100% pass the sniff test.
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I love genetics games (currently breeding so many pretend horses on huntandjump.com and pretending it’s story planning) so that’s where I’m coming at this from. Considering myself as a potential reader, to satisfy me you wouldn’t have to go any deeper into science than saying that there’s a new test for the genetic markers of magic, especially if your POV character isn’t someone who has a deep knowledge of genetics. I would be focused on the problems this might create for the characters and given that real world genetic disease markers are complex I’d be pretty accepting of however you said it worked. So I’ve typed out some other thoughts, but what you’ve already stated works fine for me.
Animal colors are a great place to start reading about genetics because there are many accessible guides written to let non-scientists predict the results of breeding two animals. Rabbits and quarter horses also have great writeups out there. The chart about cats above is showing how multiple genes interact to create many more different colors. For many domestic animals you have a gene for either red or black pigment, another gene that will dilute that color if it’s present (turning black to blue and red to cream), and other genes that control where on the body color appears (just on the feet and tips of the nose, tail, and ears, in “points,” is a pattern found in many species).
For worldbuilding, I’d ask whether you want to have anything cool happen with people who have some but not all of the three magic genes. It won’t be an issue if you don’t.
If the three magic genes can be carried without being expressed they would be described as recessive characteristics. If both parents are carrying a recessive gene their child has only a 25% chance of getting the recessive gene from both parents and showing the characteristic. (For research, look up “Punnet’s squares” and online calculators for them.) If all three magic genes are recessive, then people with all three magic genes will be rare, and their siblings are probably normal, but I would expect that having at least one of these recessive genes is really common in the general population. I’d wonder if there have ever been geographical or political forces that concentrate the magic genes in certain populations, or try to eradicate them.
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This could be interesting because the only “race issue” is between magic and non-magic. Eits are those with Magic, Umas do not have magic. Yes- there have been times when both sides have tried to eliminate the other-This is an alternate history. (Crusades, WWII, early Mesopotamia,etc.)
Here is the interesting part Umas are the only ones who can have PM or HR – but their lines have to be clean – no genetic markers for magic. SO the parents would show up as Uma with no makers and their kid’s genetic markers would say they are Eits. BIG give away.
PM has 4 markers but would only pass 2
HR has 3 markers but would only pass 1
Eits can have 3-4 markers but only pass 2
Uma can have 0-2 markers but can pass 1-2 – I’m thinking that three generations are the most a magic marker can survive without combining with another marker if it doesn’t by the third generation – the fourth generation will be zeroed out.If an Eit marries a Uma their children will either have magic or not – there are no mix families.
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Are these genes natural mutations? Or were they engineered at some point in the past? Might also consider dominant and recessive genes. Look up simple Punnett squares to get an idea of how these two types are inherited. Is there some type of eugenics that seeks to increase the number of offspring who have abilities? These are just questions that came to mind as I read your summary, no real answers for you:)
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Len Berry is a biologist. Give him a shout
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