I was watching National Geographic channel last night. They had a show on about the genetics of dogs. Apparently all the different variations in size and colour and body type and temperament and ability are the result of a .2% difference in DNA.
A genetic change can be bred into a dog in a very short time, too. Genetic defects happen just as fast, but that’s where the show got interesting.
If they can isolate the gene that causes the problem (the example they used was a breed of dog that is genetically predisposed to blindness), they can inject a virus that contains the correct sequence and improve if not completely fix the defect. Then it can be bred out of the dog.
(Sure, just by mixing the bloodline you could possibly breed it out, but this is a little more of a guarantee, and it means the parent dog has an improved quality of life, too).
If that weren’t nerdy enough, the real big nerdy part of me made an undignified giggle-type of sound when they mentioned “recoding the DNA with overriding information”. I think a lot of you won’t get that reference.
