X-Message-Number: 13343
Date: Thu, 02 Mar 2000 04:20:43 -0500
From: Paul Wakfer <>
Subject: Re: CryoNet #13328 - #13337
References: <>

> Message #13331
> From: 
> Date: Tue, 29 Feb 2000 11:39:13 EST
> Subject: information recovery

[Snip]

> As just one example, suppose you wanted to know the genome of someone who has
> been burned to a crisp in a fire. I don't think Mr. Leitl or anyone else
> would call that impossible. All you need do (not easy, just relatively easy
> at some future time) is to collect DNA samples from as many living relatives
> as possible. Knowing the relationships, one could then infer, to a high
> degree of accuracy, the genome of the crisp.

As far as I understand genetics, this is incorrect.

The genes of each parent are "shuffled" by the crossing over of genes between 
chromosomes which

occurs during meiosis before the single set of chromosomes of each parent are 
joined to create the

genome of the offspring. Thus, the number of possible offspring genomes is 
exceedingly large.

I can't see any possible method to infer the genomal structure of an offspring 
even if one had a

copy of the genome of every relative who ever lived before the demise of the 
offspring and will ever
live in the future.

Paul Wakfer

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