Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Science/2015 December 18

= December 18 =

How will moving to the Grand Cayman Islands change my DNA?
I've asked the question before but it was interpreted differently and understand it is very scientific in nature. I am a male of Indian origin living in Florida for the better part of 15 years. I am probably moving to the Grand Cayman Islands and was wondering how a different land can change DNA, how it could change your appearance further down the line/genes etc.

In other words, how does changing the environment cause changes or mutations in one's DNA? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 99.229.130.56 (talk) 02:35, 18 December 2015 (UTC)

If I need to clarify, how can I edit the question? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 99.229.130.56 (talk) 02:02, 18 December 2015 (UTC)
 * Refer to the last time you asked this type of question, because the answers are the same. ←Baseball Bugs What's up, Doc? carrots→ 02:13, 18 December 2015 (UTC)
 * Your personal DNA will not change. Changes take place over many generations through processes described in the article titled Genetics which you can read and follow further discussions about.  Reproduction is required for changes to propagate through a population.  One person does not themselves "change their DNA" because of where they live.  -- Jayron 32 04:02, 18 December 2015 (UTC)
 * Mutations can modify the DNA of individual cells in an organism (not the DNA of all cells in an organism as a whole, but a mutation in a reproductive cell will be passed down the line and will affect the DNA of all the cells of the offspring resulting from that particular reproductive cell) and some environmental factors may induce mutations but I'm not aware that living in the Grand Cayman is specifically correlated to any specific mutation. I think there's no such thing as the "Grand Cayman Islands". As far as I know there is an island called "Grand Cayman" which is part of the "Cayman Islands". Contact Basemetal   here  05:01, 18 December 2015 (UTC)
 * Maybe he's hoping to mutate his tax liability. ←Baseball Bugs What's up, Doc? carrots→ 05:35, 18 December 2015 (UTC)
 * Well as far as you are concerned it will make no difference. But from my perspective without knowing you're in the Grand Caimans I'd say you had a reasonable chance of having dog DNA as in On the Internet, nobody knows you're a dog but now I'm more inclined to guess agouti. ;-) Dmcq (talk) 11:15, 18 December 2015 (UTC)
 * A change in environment can change your DNA, specifically in the case of DNA methylation. This is only a part of epigenetics and most of the changes would occur to histones that associate with the DNA but are not part of it.  While a few epigenetic effects are known, I'm by no means ready to suggest any means by which I could predict specific changes in methylation pattern from moving to those islands - still, I wouldn't say it's impossible, with enough thought on the topic.
 * Also, if you spend too much time frolicking in the sun, pyrimidine dimers might make an unpleasant appearance - those changes however should be temporary, unless different, related bad things happen. Wnt (talk) 11:42, 18 December 2015 (UTC)
 * None of those things are particular to the Caymans though. He can frolic in the sun where he's at.  -- Jayron 32 12:37, 18 December 2015 (UTC)
 * True. The question is, will moving to the Caymans, on average, tend to change some of these environmental influences?  It's possible.  I think if I had a database of DNA methylation comparable to what 23andme has for sequence, that included a lot of Cayman Islanders and others, it is possible that I could find enough things that correlate with Cayman Islands residency.  Perhaps, given a DNA sample, I could come up with an improved guess whether that person lived there or not.  I don't know that to be true, however; and even if it is true it would only be statistical, depending on someone there happens to live on a certain water source with a certain contaminant, eats a certain kind of fish, etc. Wnt (talk) 14:22, 18 December 2015 (UTC)


 * See Lamarckism. —Steve Summit (talk) 01:02, 19 December 2015 (UTC)


 * I suspect User:Timothyhere's genes will never change, no matter what his island nation destination. μηδείς (talk) 02:55, 19 December 2015 (UTC)
 * If he got eaten by a Caiman, that could change his DNA. ←Baseball Bugs What's up, Doc? carrots→ 03:56, 19 December 2015 (UTC)
 * Yes, but in the Caymans his DNA stands a better chance than in Florida where it might be blasted to Kingdom come by a spree killer armed with an assault weapon and hundreds of rounds of ammunition. Akld guy (talk) 21:31, 19 December 2015 (UTC)
 * So they never have armed robberies in the Caymans??? ←Baseball Bugs What's up, Doc? carrots→ 01:29, 20 December 2015 (UTC)
 * But why did Florida come in to this? When Timothyhere was IP socking their IPs used to look up to Argentina. This IP seems a little different, actually looks to me more like the racist Toronto IP than Timothyhere. Nil Einne (talk) 17:35, 20 December 2015 (UTC)
 * The OP said right at the start, I am a male of Indian origin living in Florida for the better part of 15 years. I am probably moving to the Grand Cayman Islands... Akld guy (talk) 20:19, 20 December 2015 (UTC)
 * ... but he didn't explain why he was posting from Mississauga, Ontario, Canada. There might be an innocent explanation, of course.  People do go on holiday there, I guess.    D b f i r s   09:39, 21 December 2015 (UTC)

Artificial Eggs
Is it possible to make hen's egg artificially? If yes then, is it cheaper to make eggs artificially than eggs from poultries ? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 117.247.217.62 (talk) 16:07, 18 December 2015 (UTC)


 * Basically: no.  Making a synthetic peptide is possible but absurdly expensive, and because of the chemistry involved you'd be very reluctant to eat it.  Albumin is a peptide - a longer one than is generally synthesized, because the yield drops for each amino acid added.  And, of course, eggs, contain many other substances.  Of course, with the right machine, you could make eggs cheaply and easily... that machine is called a hen. :) Wnt (talk) 16:11, 18 December 2015 (UTC)


 * I suppose I should add for fairness that there are publications about artificial meat grown in tissue culture - that is not quite "artificial" by my way of thinking, but already far too artificial IMHO ever to be affordable or safe. The idea is a darling of vegan activists, but the meat will not be purged of toxins or have its wastes recycled by the liver or guarded from pathogens by the immune system.  Dialysis might largely replace the kidneys, but not with the same kind of resource reclamation.  It's a myth, sorry - at least, that's what I think. Wnt (talk) 16:14, 18 December 2015 (UTC)


 * A company that's bankrolled by Bill Gates produced something called a ‘plant egg’, called Beyond Eggs, in Whole Foods in California. That was back in 2013.  It's made from  peas, sunflower, lecithin, canola, and natural gums - and it is indeed cheaper than real eggs - but it comes in a large sachet, not an egg-shell.  So right there, you know that you're not getting a hard-boiled plant-egg.  Is that good enough for you?  Well, maybe - it's gotten reasonable reviews for some kinds of recipes - and terrible reviews for others.
 * Egg substitutes lists other possibilities.
 * So you can definitely make an artificial thing that looks like an egg. You can probably make something that tastes like an egg...maybe you can give it most of the nutrients that an egg has...but then you also need to have it behave in the same way as a real egg when you cook it in any of a dozen different ways...maybe you can wrap it in an artificial shell that lets it last for a long time without refrigeration.  But each step along the road gets harder and harder.   What you can't do is "Make a truly artificial egg" that's indistinguishable from the real thing - there are just too many subtle details like membranes and such that are incredibly difficult to reproduce.
 * The question comes down to how much fidelity you need in your fake egg. If it's relatively low fidelity - it could maybe work out cheaper than a real egg.
 * This year, egg prices have oscillated between 10 cents up to 20 cents per egg. I can't see much benefit in building a completely authentic synthetic version of something that's that cheap - UNLESS there is something you want to happen differently.  Maybe you want an egg with lower cholesterol content - or maybe a larger egg than a hen can lay - maybe you're a vegan.  If there is something that you can do differently to make a better egg - then you can charge more for it - and then it might be possible to do that synthetically.
 * SteveBaker (talk) 17:07, 18 December 2015 (UTC)


 * If inaccurate reproductions are allowed, I recommend the caramel variety. Who needs chickens? :) Wnt (talk) 22:22, 18 December 2015 (UTC)


 * Powdered eggs are made from actual eggs. This ... food ... is sometimes used by long-range campers, and it is also ... eaten... as an emergency food supplement in disaster zones or war rations.  They are cheaper than real eggs, and safer to store in hard conditions.  You'd be hard-pressed to identify this ... cuisine ... as an egg if you ever have the misfortune to eat it.
 * WP:OR: Of all of the powdered food replacement products I've ever eaten - powdered milk, powdered onion, powdered fish, powdered soup... powdered egg is probably the one that is least similar to its fresh form.
 * Here is a blog post from the Icebreaker team, out of NASA Ames, who ate powdered egg during their Antarctic stay.
 * Incredibly, non-powdered (rehydrated and/or frozen) eggs were even available on the Space Shuttle. Powdered egg is only called for in the most extreme harsh environments.
 * Nimur (talk) 01:43, 19 December 2015 (UTC)


 * The OP geolocates to Sawai Madhopur, Rajasthan. If the objection is to eating real chicken eggs, many recipes allow the substitution of vegetable oil or beans.  It would be helpful to know the context in which the question is being posed. μηδείς (talk) 02:46, 19 December 2015 (UTC)


 * If there is a moral objection to eating "living things", many consider unfertilized eggs to fall outside that category. Candling can be used to ensure you don't accidentally get a fertilized egg. StuRat (talk) 06:47, 19 December 2015 (UTC)


 * Or just not having a rooster around? Contact Basemetal   here  07:00, 19 December 2015 (UTC)


 * Not always as simple as you might think. If you live in a place zoned for raising chicken, then your neighbors do, too, and they might have roosters, who will try their best to impregnate your chickens.  So, you better not ever let them outside.  (Domestic chickens might not fly well, but many can manage to make it over a fence.) StuRat (talk) 07:10, 19 December 2015 (UTC)

So, all such large amount of eggs are hens' productions? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 117.247.217.22 (talk) 11:39, 20 December 2015 (UTC)
 * Yes. Roosters hardly ever lay eggs. ←Baseball Bugs What's up, Doc? carrots→ 14:02, 20 December 2015 (UTC)
 * Hardly ever. Not that the Daily Mail is a reliable source. Tevildo (talk) 14:08, 20 December 2015 (UTC)