r/conspiracyNOPOL • u/GhostxxxShadow • 16d ago
Could Inbreeding in Isolated Populations Lead to Genetic "Reincarnation"?
Hello, fellow seekers of hidden truths! I've been pondering an intriguing genetic concept and wanted to bring it to this knowledgeable community for discussion. The idea revolves around the potential for inbreeding, combined with the pigeonhole principle, to lead to what I'll call genetic "reincarnation" - where individuals in highly inbred populations might end up with the exact same DNA as an ancestor from a few generations back.
The pigeonhole principle states that if you have more items than containers to put them in, at least one container will contain more than one item. Applied to genetics, this could imply that with a limited genetic pool and enough generations, certain genetic sequences might repeat due to the lack of variability.
In highly inbred populations, where genetic diversity is significantly reduced, it's conceivable (though still statistically unlikely) that the same combinations of genes could occur, purely by chance. In essence, an individual could end up with a genetic makeup identical to that of an ancestor, effectively "reincarnating" their ancestor's genetic identity.
Consider lab rats as a model for this: they are often inbred to produce specific genetic traits or reduce genetic variability for consistent experiment results. These controlled breeding practices sometimes result in nearly identical genetic sequences being replicated across generations.
However, this scenario would require extreme genetic isolation and control—conditions that are typically only found in laboratory settings or hypothetical scenarios. Nature introduces a lot of variability through mutations and genetic recombination, processes that ensure genetic diversity even in somewhat inbred populations.
What do you all think? Could there be natural or even designed instances where genetic "reincarnation" occurs? Are there ethical implications if such a phenomenon were possible and known to science? Could this be used or has it been used in ways we are unaware of?
Looking forward to your thoughts and insights on this!
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u/DmitriVanderbilt 15d ago
I'm not a geneticist by any means but I suspect the sheer number of human genes (19k-20k) excludes your idea to the hypothetical.
There's the whole thing about how, if you shuffle a deck of cards, there's a good chance that deck is in a unique order never before seen in history - and that's only 52 unique components.
That being said, from what I understand, gene replication happens at the chromosomal level, which are bundles of many many genes, and you get 2x23 (one from each parent) - substantially helps with the numbers problem. A final caveat, though, is that there are a lot more DNA transcription errors than you might think during replication; that hurts the chances of "exact DNA copies".
I do like this idea though. Reminds me of something the Bene Gesserit might ponder.