Let's say one is trying to start a human colony on a life-sustaining planet. How many male and female humans capable of reproduction would one need in order to not have serious problems with inbreeding and the resulting genetic mutations? What steps would the colonists need to take in order to ensure that future generations be free from genetic disabilities resulting from inbreeding?
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Anonymous2011-07-02 23:08
gooooood question anon. hadn't thought about this
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Anonymous2011-07-18 12:29
I'm honestly not sure. This is a very interesting question, however.
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Anonymous2011-07-18 14:31
They would need to reproduce as much as possible and prevent the defective ones from reproducing from generation to generation. It's like breeding dogs and eventually you can get a nice golden lab population.
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Anonymous2011-07-20 20:55
I thought it was suppose to be 5 men and 8 women
Thought I can't seem to remember where I got that data though
Could have been trolled
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Anonymous2011-07-20 22:38
Fuck it, just bring a bunch of frozen sperm and eggs.