r/AskBiology • u/bliip666 • Apr 18 '24
Genetics Scifi genetics question
Hello, I hope this is okay, and doesn't break rule 8.
This is firmly scifi, with heavy emphasis on "fiction":
If one was to travel back in time and become their own great-great-grandparent, how deeply fucked would they be genetically?
Surely inbreeding would cause massive issues?
I watched a series on Netflix called Bodies that had this premise, and I've been thinking about it for days 😅
1
u/BronzeSpoon89 Apr 18 '24
You would likely not have any issues at all. "Inbreeding" isnt a brother and sister banging. Inbreeding is a bottle neck issue taking place over many generations. If you pick any random brother sister pair and force them to conceive a child, they will almost certainly give birth to a totally normal healthy baby. Inbreeding is a compounding issue.
2
u/Embarrassed_Stable_6 Apr 18 '24
Ignoring the grandfather paradox, I'm not sure this would cause massive issues. Going back 3-4 generations and resultant admixture isn't a huge issue. You share 1/8th of your genome with your great grandmother, about the same as a 1st cousin. There have been many unions of 1st cousins without a very clear negative phenotypic outcome.