Gwern.net — Genetics, Embryo Selection & Evolution

Oh Deer: Could Deer Evolve to Avoid Car Accidents? · Gwern.net

Gwern — Sun, 11 Nov 2018 00:00:00 +0000

I wondered how fast deer could evolve to avoid car fatalities. Truncation selection with known mortality and generation length suggests that it would take a long time even with high heritability.

Dog Cloning For Special Forces: Breed All You Can Breed · Gwern.net

Gwern — Tue, 18 Sep 2018 00:00:00 +0000

Decision analysis of whether cloning the most elite Special Forces dogs is a profitable improvement over standard selection procedures. Unless training is extremely cheap or heritability is extremely low, dog cloning is hypothetically profitable.

Genetics and Eugenics in Frank Herbert’s Dune-verse · Gwern.net

Gwern — Sat, 05 May 2018 00:00:00 +0000

Discussion of fictional eugenics program in the SF Dune-verse and how it contradicts contemporary known human genetics but suggests heavy agricultural science and Mendelian inspiration to Frank Herbert’s worldview.

Race in My Little Pony · Gwern.net

Gwern — Mon, 04 Jun 2018 00:00:00 +0000

In MLP:FiM, the 3 pony races sometimes bear offspring of other pony races; I review 4 complicated Mendelian models attempting to explain this, and note that a standard polygenic liability-threshold model can fit it parsimoniously.

Embryo Selection For Intelligence · Gwern.net

Gwern — Fri, 22 Jan 2016 00:00:00 +0000

A cost-benefit analysis of the marginal cost of IVF-based embryo selection for intelligence and other traits with 2016–2017 state-of-the-art

Embryo editing for intelligence · Gwern.net

Gwern — Fri, 22 Jan 2016 00:00:00 +0000

Preliminary draft notes towards a cost-benefit analysis of CRISPR-based editing for complex human traits with 2015–2016 SOTAs; obsolete.

The Morality of Sperm Donation · Gwern.net

Gwern — Fri, 20 Jul 2012 00:00:00 +0000

Is sperm donating a worthwhile form of positive eugenics?