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Haven => The Asylum! => Topic started by: The Hero on August 30, 2010, 08:36:32 PM

Title: Genetics Question
Post by: The Hero on August 30, 2010, 08:36:32 PM
so my girlfriend is Chinese and I am white what are the chances her Genetics will dominate   over my own ? if we have a child?
Title: Re: Genetics Question
Post by: snabbott on August 30, 2010, 09:16:24 PM
Genetics doesn't really work that way. Your baby would have a 50/50 mix of your genes and hers. You can talk about dominance of particular genes but not of an entire person/race/whatever. Is there a particular characteristic you're wondering about?
Title: Re: Genetics Question
Post by: The Hero on August 30, 2010, 09:38:35 PM
skin color eyes abd hair really I dont like my looks and I an hoping they look like her more then me
Title: Re: Genetics Question
Post by: snabbott on August 31, 2010, 08:41:45 AM
Skin color tends to be somewhere in between the parents' (but not always). Brown eye color is dominant, but "dominant" in genetics doesn't mean what a lot of people think it does.

If she has brown eyes (just a guess, but it's common among Chinese people), it means at least one of the two copies of the gene is brown.

If only one copy is brown (and if you don't have brown eyes - again, just a guess), there's a 50% chance your child would have brown eyes.

If both copies are brown, there's ~100% chance. (It's not quite 100% - there's always the chance of a mutation or something. And "mutation" doesn't mean what a lot of people think it does, either. It just means that something could happen to change the DNA for that particular gene.)

Also, from what I've read, they think eye color is actually controlled by multiple genes so, again, it's not quite this simple.

Ulitmately, your child's appearance is out of your control. (And hopefully you wouldn't choose someone based on what your children might look like! :P)
Title: Re: Genetics Question
Post by: The Hero on August 31, 2010, 09:58:04 AM
as a small note my eys are blue
Title: Re: Genetics Question
Post by: Rosella on August 31, 2010, 04:52:57 PM
And, just a question, does she know you're trying to figure out what your kids will look like? :P
Title: Re: Genetics Question
Post by: B'rrr on August 31, 2010, 06:42:03 PM
Does she even want kids?  ::)
Title: Re: Genetics Question
Post by: Haids1987 on August 31, 2010, 07:14:12 PM
Is she pregnant?
Title: Re: Genetics Question
Post by: The Hero on August 31, 2010, 07:18:07 PM
yes she knows no shes not but we are planning to very soon
Title: Re: Genetics Question
Post by: snabbott on September 01, 2010, 08:38:03 AM
Good luck! Kids are a lot of work and a HUGE responsibility, but SO worth it!
Title: Re: Genetics Question
Post by: The Hero on September 01, 2010, 01:59:57 PM
its not like I am new to it my ex had 2 kids before i met her so i have practice
Title: Re: Genetics Question
Post by: Fierce Deity on September 02, 2010, 02:18:35 PM
Quote from: snabbott on August 31, 2010, 08:41:45 AM
If both copies are brown, there's ~100% chance. (It's not quite 100% - there's always the chance of a mutation or something. And "mutation" doesn't mean what a lot of people think it does, either. It just means that something could happen to change the DNA for that particular gene.)

Mutations are just great. My dad has brown eyes and my mom has blue eyes. I ended up with green eyes.  ::)

If anybody follows Jon and Kate Plus Eight, you can see how Jon Gosselin just dominated all eight kids with his genes.  :P
Title: Re: Genetics Question
Post by: snabbott on September 02, 2010, 02:28:45 PM
Quote from: Fierce Deity on September 02, 2010, 02:18:35 PM
Quote from: snabbott on August 31, 2010, 08:41:45 AM
If both copies are brown, there's ~100% chance. (It's not quite 100% - there's always the chance of a mutation or something. And "mutation" doesn't mean what a lot of people think it does, either. It just means that something could happen to change the DNA for that particular gene.)

Mutations are just great. My dad has brown eyes and my mom has blue eyes. I ended up with green eyes.  ::)
That wouldn't necessarily require a mutation. Apparently, the genetics of eye color is pretty complicated, and they don't even know how many genes are involved. There's an interesting (but somewhat technical) article here (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eye_color) on Wikipedia.

There's also a fun eye color predictor here (http://museum.thetech.org/ugenetics/eyeCalc/eyecalculator.html)

My parents both have brown eyes; my sister has blue, and I have blue-green.
Title: Re: Genetics Question
Post by: Fierce Deity on September 02, 2010, 02:38:37 PM
I'm just going by what I was originally told in my biology class. I was told that colors like Green, Hazel, and Gold were all mutations. I'm sure there has to be an explanation, but my eyes also change colors. For the most part, my eyes are green, but sometimes they come off as hazel (it's probably just the lighting in the room). My parents also have straight hair, and I got wavy hair (which I can't stand  >:(). Genetics really are a bag of mixed nuts.  :-\
Title: Re: Genetics Question
Post by: waltzdancing on September 02, 2010, 02:47:20 PM
It is the luck of the draw, my friend. Your baby might not even look like either one, just the extension of either family. I happen to look ALOT like my dad but my sister and one brother are a nice mix of both my parents. My youngest brother looks like my mom so you can never tell. Sorry that doesn't help ya much.

Fierce Deity, it is nice to know that I am not the only one who has wonky eyes. My eyes do just the same thing but it depends on what color shirt I wear that day.  :)
Title: Re: Genetics Question
Post by: snabbott on September 02, 2010, 02:53:26 PM
They may be "mutations" relative to the "normal" (wild-type is the genetics term) version of the genes, but it probably wouldn't be a mutation of gene passed from your parent to you.

It sounds like blue eyes happen when the gene for brown pigment doesn't work. They think green is a completely different gene (but they haven't found it yet).

Genetics is relatively straightforward when there is only one gene that determines the trait and it has clear recessive/dominant behavior. A lot of traits are determined by multiple genes, though. Also, how strongly a gene is expressed (i.e. whether it makes a little or a lot of a protein) affects the outcome, too.
Title: Re: Genetics Question
Post by: waltzdancing on September 02, 2010, 03:00:08 PM
Ack! Everything I was taught in school was a lie! :P
Title: Re: Genetics Question
Post by: snabbott on September 02, 2010, 03:08:41 PM
Meh - not so much a lie as a gross overismplification. :P
Title: Re: Genetics Question
Post by: Fierce Deity on September 02, 2010, 03:24:36 PM
Quote from: waltzdancing on September 02, 2010, 03:00:08 PM
Ack! Everything I was taught in school was a lie! :P

I remember when learning how to spell, my teacher told me to sound out the word and spell it out phonetically. Worst advice for the English language ever! Fortunately, I had a photographic memory as a child, so spelling came easy for me.
Title: Re: Genetics Question
Post by: snabbott on September 02, 2010, 04:04:45 PM
Hukt on fonix wurkd fur me! :P
Title: Re: Genetics Question
Post by: koko_99_2001 on September 02, 2010, 07:11:51 PM
If it was one of my current students, it'd be more like:

hut on fnx wokd fo me...

And that would be after she asked me how to spell several different words...numerous times...
Title: Re: Genetics Question
Post by: Damar on September 02, 2010, 07:49:41 PM
I remember when I was in 6th grade we did a genetics wheel and identified dominant and recessive genes with a number of different traits.  I think I had a freakishly large amount of recessive traits listed.  Blue eyes, left handed, I could do the tongue roll thing, and I could completely flip my tongue.  I think the only dominant I had was my sandy brown hair.  So, I'm a mutant is I guess what I'm saying...

As for the original question, I believe that genes that lead to the stereotypical concept of "Asian" appearance (eye color, eye folds, straight black hair) tend to be dominant, so they would be likely to show in children.  That said, though, I'm sure your appearance is fine.  You've got to be happy with your own appearance as it doesn't define you as a person.  It's just window dressing.  Your girlfriend is obviously happy with how you look, if you're talking about having kids, so that counts for something.  Besides, having kids isn't about which parent they look like, or even what they look like at all.  You're talking about caring for someone enough that you and they want to bring another human being into existence to share your life and your love.  That kind of transcends genetics and appearance.  It's about opening your life to someone new and leading them forward, guiding them through the world, watching them grow and have experiences of their own.  Whether they look like you or your girlfriend, the love and the journey is what is ultimately important.
Title: Re: Genetics Question
Post by: snabbott on September 02, 2010, 08:06:27 PM
Like!
Title: Re: Genetics Question
Post by: waltzdancing on September 02, 2010, 08:08:31 PM
Very true.
Title: Re: Genetics Question
Post by: koko_99_2001 on September 02, 2010, 08:15:24 PM
*Two thumbs up*
Title: Re: Genetics Question
Post by: The Hero on September 02, 2010, 10:24:51 PM
so i ran us through one of those baby maker things i git this
Title: Re: Genetics Question
Post by: Jafar on September 03, 2010, 05:32:31 AM
Those baby maker things are just shams. All they do is produce photoshop nightmares. :P
Title: Re: Genetics Question
Post by: The Hero on September 03, 2010, 10:04:25 AM
this  seems OK
Title: Re: Genetics Question
Post by: MangoMercury on September 03, 2010, 04:01:48 PM
Pretty sure that eyes should be higher up than that on a person's face.

Unless their face is melting off the bottom of their head.  But that wouldn't be very conducive to being a person.
Title: Re: Genetics Question
Post by: crayauchtin on September 07, 2010, 10:49:18 PM
This post represents 90% of what I know about biology.

They have a sort of graph thing that can tell you the probability of of certain traits. A Punnett Square, they're called. In a simple one where you're only tracking one gene -- rather than a trait that's determined by multiple genes -- you just draw a square with four boxes inside.

Okay, let's say you've got eye color. We're going to use the letter "B" to represent eye color in this instance. Hazel eyes are dominant ("B") and blue eyes are recessive ("b"). You said, Hero, that you have blue eyes so your genome is going to be "bb" whereas if your girlfriend has hazel eyes she might be "Bb" or she might be "BB". Because Hazel eyes are dominant it could be either.

Back to your box. Let's put her genes on top -- so let's say she's "Bb" -- over the left column write "B" and over the right column write "b". To mark your genes, you're going to write to the left of the box. Next to both rows write "b" (since you're "bb" with blue eyes).
Now, you can write in the letters for each of the smaller boxes inside the square. First take the letter from above and then the letter from the side. You should end up with two boxes that say "Bb" (meaning, hazel eyes) and two that say "bb" (meaning blue eyes).
On the other hand, if your girlfriend doesn't have the recessive gene for blue eyes in her genetic makeup at all, without some type of mutation, there's absolutely no chance that the kid will have blue eyes. So, it's hard to know anything at all without knowing your genomes.

.....I don't get the chance to show off my knowledgings that much so I thought.... brain power, ahoy! :P
Title: Re: Genetics Question
Post by: KQ5Fan on September 09, 2010, 02:44:01 PM
I'd suggest you get genetic counseling if you're really that interested.

On a side note, I'm half Korean and half white, so this is something I'm familiar with. In my case, I normally get that I look 100% white, but a few people can tell I have some Asian in me (not often). It really just depends. I have some friends who are also half and half and look extremely Asian.  

And then you look at John and Kate's kids, who are only 1/4th Asian, and they ended up looking completely Asian... So again, it really just depends.
Title: Re: Genetics Question
Post by: The Hero on September 09, 2010, 05:31:01 PM
I think it depends on which side is Asian or any other race for that matter it seems father genes tend to win which i am affaird of because i dont want my kids to  look white  i love Asian features and that's what i want my kids to have i have thought of genetic modification  but would that be un ethical ?
PS i love kate plus 8
represent
Title: Re: Genetics Question
Post by: snabbott on September 09, 2010, 07:18:24 PM
Quote from: The Hero on September 09, 2010, 05:31:01 PM
I think it depends on which side is Asian or any other race for that matter it seems father genes tend to win
For the most part, there's no genetic reason why a father's genes would dominate. Genetically, the only difference between male and female is the X and Y chromosomes (Female is XX; male is XY).
Quote from: The Hero on September 09, 2010, 05:31:01 PM
which i am affaird of because i dont want my kids to  look white  i love Asian features and that's what i want my kids to have
Trust me - you're going to love your kids no matter what they look like. :)
Quote from: The Hero on September 09, 2010, 05:31:01 PM
i have thought of genetic modification  but would that be un ethical ?
Probably. In practical terms, it doesn't matter much, because the technology doesn't currently exist.
Title: Re: Genetics Question
Post by: KQ5Fan on September 09, 2010, 10:11:35 PM
And btw, when I say I look white, I really mean more that my facial features don't really look specific to any race, and I'm white skinned, so most people just assume that I'm "white".
Title: Re: Genetics Question
Post by: crayauchtin on September 09, 2010, 10:19:19 PM
If the child is male it's pretty common for the genes to take after the father, if only because of the number of Y-chromosome specific genes. For instance, if the father is color blind and he has a son there's a ridiculously high chance that the son will be color blind as well (and by ridiculously high I mean you might as well get white and black decor for your baby shower sweetie! :P)
Title: Re: Genetics Question
Post by: Fierce Deity on September 10, 2010, 12:08:56 AM
Quote from: crayauchtin on September 09, 2010, 10:19:19 PM
If the child is male it's pretty common for the genes to take after the father, if only because of the number of Y-chromosome specific genes. For instance, if the father is color blind and he has a son there's a ridiculously high chance that the son will be color blind as well (and by ridiculously high I mean you might as well get white and black decor for your baby shower sweetie! :P)

I don't think that's true. Color blindness is recessive. It's in the Y chromosome, but the chance of it being shown in an offspring is not likely. Also, many of the cases of color blindness are due to mutations of the X chromosome. The X chromosome holds many of the genes that are responsible for color vision. So if a boy ends up with a defected X chromosome, he's going to have color blindness, but if he passes on his Y chromosome, he's not going to pass on the color blindness.
Title: Re: Genetics Question
Post by: snabbott on September 10, 2010, 08:30:22 AM
There are actually very few Y-linked genes, and I don't think it's possible for a Y-linked trait to be recessive, since there's only one copy.

Color blindness (at least the red/green variety) is X-linked. It's dominant in males because they only have one X chromosome (and thus only one copy of the gene). It's recessive in females because they have two copies, and one good copy can compensate for the defective gene.

Males only get an X chromosome from the mother, so an X-linked trait from the father would not be passed on to a son.
Title: Re: Genetics Question
Post by: Fierce Deity on September 10, 2010, 01:21:56 PM
You're right. I didn't mean to say recessive, but "not likely" is what I meant. I need to brush up on my terminology. It's the red-green color blindness that is linked to the X chromosome, that much I know. There's also color blindness in the blue-yellow variation, but I'm not sure how that is obtained.
Title: Re: Genetics Question
Post by: crayauchtin on September 10, 2010, 08:03:59 PM
Are you guys sure about that? Every friend of mine whose color blind tells me that their father is too. :\
Title: Re: Genetics Question
Post by: B'rrr on September 10, 2010, 08:16:36 PM
yea, but their mother has to be at least a 'carrier' i think?
Title: Re: Genetics Question
Post by: Fierce Deity on September 10, 2010, 09:14:38 PM
Quote from: B'rrr on September 10, 2010, 08:16:36 PM
yea, but their mother has to be at least a 'carrier' i think?

Yup, the mother is the carrier.

Read up on it; it's very interesting stuff.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Color_Blindness