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Scientists have traced human tail loss to a short sequence of genetic code

cnn.com

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Re: Scientists have traced human tail loss to a short sequence of genetic code

#231
post #129

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If we are on this topic then we need to discuss a genetically modified gut microbiota. We do not need to edit genetically ourselves for some pityful vitamins. Microbiota could give us all we want. It could enable us to digest plastic, so we could eat food without removing its packaging. We could reduce severity of our waste problems by digesting plastic into relatively harmless poop.

Sounds unappetizing. Would you want to eat packaging if not for the - for now inevitable - digestion issues?

Yeah, you are right, it is not cool. How about to eat your fork? Can microbiota digest iron?

Re: Scientists have traced human tail loss to a short sequence of genetic code

#232

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Coming from a stand-up striking Muay Thai perspective the only low risk way to grab a leg is intercepting a kick. You are then out of range of their upper body attacks and have total leverage physically and tactically. At that point unless the fighter whose leg is grabbed is extremely experienced in keeping a one foot balance by avoiding sweeps (ignoring the fact that one can bring the fight to the ground in MMA or B…

With your background. Can you extrapolate on how a tail would impact you? Would it be a big negative to have something that can be grabbed. Also. Chimps/Primates. Don't they fight more in packs. So if the competition was 5 on 1, would the tail become an even greater disadvantage. It would be even harder to maneuver or run, become someone could grab the tail.

I have two separate thoughts on the matter. One is whether a tail would provide me with additional balance and/or striking power. Potentially as a counterweight during round housed kicks or spinning back kicks. The second is that a tail by itself would be an inferior weapon to punches, elbows, knees, and kicks due to its relative fragility and potentially high nerve density.

So this leads to a utilitarian equation - is the additional counterbalance going to provide a sufficient edge to override the risk it adds of a relatively weak limb that can be grabbed?

Re: Scientists have traced human tail loss to a short sequence of genetic code

#234
post #97

If we're doing germline edits, the obvious thing to fix first is vitamin synthesis. There are a bunch of useful things other living things synthesise from first principles, and we don't so we need to eat something that has already synthesised the thing we wanted, and we can't cook or preserve it in any way that destroys the material we needed or it won't work. That's what scurvy is, a tree or a lizard just makes its…

I'm surprised how the conversation shifted from genetics to unethical germline editing of things that barely have clinical relevance. The rates of scurvy in the 21th century are low and definitely don't warrant super invasive editing germline cells (!), changes which become hereditary. Adding vitamin synethesis is super complex: it's not just a single SNP change but would require a whole new enzyme system. It's a ver…

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Re: Scientists have traced human tail loss to a short sequence of genetic code

#235
post #90

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's always a race to get the critical hit or lock in. But unless the 'grabee' doesn't do anything, someone grabbing one foot from someone is likely using both hands (and most of their upper body) to attempt to control it - and there is a second foot/leg out there free to cause a lot of damage if they're willing. It's not a 'one and done'/'game over' scenario by any stretch of the imagination if the party is even a l…

Coming from a stand-up striking Muay Thai perspective the only low risk way to grab a leg is intercepting a kick. You are then out of range of their upper body attacks and have total leverage physically and tactically. At that point unless the fighter whose leg is grabbed is extremely experienced in keeping a one foot balance by avoiding sweeps (ignoring the fact that one can bring the fight to the ground in MMA or B…

Having done muay thai for several years - this is why muay thai doesn’t do well in less regulated environments, like MMA or actual street fights.

Because muay thai has a very structured set of rules and an environment which constrains it so that is the case. much less so than western boxing obviously, but the issue is even more obvious there.

generally still way better than no training of course.

BJJ folks consistently beat Muay Thai competitors in MMA for this reason.

being able to do both, plus some krav maga strikes? even better! though most krav maga if done with full earnestness would get you thrown in jail outside of a legit self defense scenario.

Re: Scientists have traced human tail loss to a short sequence of genetic code

#236

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Coming from a stand-up striking Muay Thai perspective the only low risk way to grab a leg is intercepting a kick. You are then out of range of their upper body attacks and have total leverage physically and tactically. At that point unless the fighter whose leg is grabbed is extremely experienced in keeping a one foot balance by avoiding sweeps (ignoring the fact that one can bring the fight to the ground in MMA or B…

With your background. Can you extrapolate on how a tail would impact you? Would it be a big negative to have something that can be grabbed. Also. Chimps/Primates. Don't they fight more in packs. So if the competition was 5 on 1, would the tail become an even greater disadvantage. It would be even harder to maneuver or run, become someone could grab the tail.

As long as we're inventing limbs, why not put spikes at the end of the tail, like a stegosaurus' thagomizer. I bet that would be pretty fun to fight with.

Re: Scientists have traced human tail loss to a short sequence of genetic code

#237
post #170

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Rarely is human genetics this simple. For ages geneticists thought large swaths of the human genome were "junk" and over time more and more of it has been proven to have a purpose or function, it just wasn't readily apparent for various reasons. Think of the human genome as sort of the ultimate dependency hell...

Nature does not refactor. There's the laryngeal nerve somewhere in the neck of mammals that has to go around a blood vessel. On Giraffes, this runs all the way down the neck, around said blood vessel, than back up, all that just to connect two places in the upper neck that are inches apart. Evolution writes the ultimate spaghetti code. More info: https://berto-meister.blogspot.com/2011/08/unintelligent-des...

Early developmental biology (by “early” I mean early pregnancy) is the shit you Do Not Touch. Each step of development is highly dependent on the previous steps (assuming this bit’s here, that bit’s there, etc.). If you make a change it’s extremely likely to be fatal or have negative consequences like birth defects, and the likelihood of a bad outcome climbs steeply as you move the change earlier and earlier in the process. That’s why pretty much every animal - humans, tigers, whales, lizards - looks the same when they’re a teeny tiny little fetus.

My example is testicles! Testicles begin in the same place as ovaries, which made a lot of sense back when we were coldblooded! Having a pair of balls dangling in a soft pouch between your legs isn’t a strategy you adopt if you can help it. In the alternate timeline where lizard people rose to dominate the earth instead of humans they don’t have “Ouch, I’ve been hit in the balls!” humor.

But the testicles form next to the kidneys early on in the developmental process (and as we’ve established, you don’t fuck with those stages), so they have to migrate south VERY late in the development! Because they SCHLOOP on down after everything else is pretty much in place, it weakens the abdominal wall, which is why men are more prone to certain types of hernias than women are.

Re: Scientists have traced human tail loss to a short sequence of genetic code

#238

I believe this suggests that we could CRISPR an embryo to knock-out the offending Alu element in the TBXT gene and the child will develop a tail.

At what age would it be too late to try this? Asking for a friend...

The holy grail of gene editing will be when we can make “permanent” changes to the DNA of people alive today.

Re: Scientists have traced human tail loss to a short sequence of genetic code

#239

Earlier quoted context omitted.

But imagine if your tail was hairless :/

That sounds like an opportunity for a whole industry to emerge tbh. Hi we are Tailstyle! For far too long we’ve been accepting that our tails need to be naked like the rest of our bodies. Today I am offering you a share in our company for a very good price. Sharks, listen, everyone knows that wigs and toupees are amazing. What if I told you that my company we can put semi-permanent hair on your tail to look like a ti…

Tailscale.

Re: Scientists have traced human tail loss to a short sequence of genetic code

#240
post #239

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That sounds like an opportunity for a whole industry to emerge tbh. Hi we are Tailstyle! For far too long we’ve been accepting that our tails need to be naked like the rest of our bodies. Today I am offering you a share in our company for a very good price. Sharks, listen, everyone knows that wigs and toupees are amazing. What if I told you that my company we can put semi-permanent hair on your tail to look like a ti…

Tailscale.

Yeah but those guys would probably pivot to making lizard tails for the people. That’s respectable too. I just think the demand for fur-covered tails is a bigger potential market.
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