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Why does incest result in birth defects?
(lemmy.world)
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this post was submitted on 05 Feb 2024
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For mars, they could do whole-genome sequencing and select for people with fewest deviations from the de facto wild-type human genome.
That sounds unsettlingly like eugenics.
Yea but Mars is not the right place to just wing it.
I don't know that I agree. Or rather, I agree, but come to the opposite conclusion.
I think that as we take our first steps into the broader universe, we have to consider the ethics and morality that we're stepping out with. If we choose people based on (let's face it) arbitrary genetic variation, independent of their ability to perform the tasks assigned or their representative value to the human race as a whole, that means that as we plant our flag on the Martian soil, we'll be taking eugenics with us.
The minimum viable population of a species is about 50. In order to prevent genetic drift over time you need closer to 500, but we're sapient; we can implement genetic therapies when needed to help maintain allele frequency while the population is growing. And, in reality, operating a long-term Martian colony is probably going to need more than 50 people anyway; a recent NASA study suggested 25 would be enough, but previous research said 100+ would be necessary.
And keep in mind, an actual Martian colony doesn't have to be self-sustaining in a complete vacuum (ha) for centuries. It will probably be only a generation or two before regular travel between the two planets will be possible. Plus, if we build and maintain a lunar colony first, the initial population of a Martian colony can be much larger.
In short, I think I'd rather work harder and send more people so that we can ensure we're maintaining our values, than allow such a retrograde idea as eugenics to poison our first venture toward being a multi-planet species.