3252: Ancestral Genomes

Ancestral Genomes

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Title text: SUGGESTIONS FOR FUTURE RESEARCH: No further research is needed as it is frankly none of our business.

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Explanation

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Transcript

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[Cueball and Megan are shown, with Megan using a pointer stick to point to a diagram against a wall.]

Megan: Our admixture analysis showed that these genotypes arose in the ancestral population almost entirely through sexual intercourse.

Megan: Upon realizing this, we of course promptly deleted all our data.

Off-screen voice: What? Why??

Megan: We're not weirdos!

Megan: Jeez, give these people some privacy!

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Discussion

I'm expecting some reference to the revelation of Neandthalic/etc genes in various branches of our own population, along the way, but shall leave the actual writing to others. 81.179.199.253 18:15, 29 May 2026 (UTC) Sexis canon again! Caliban (talk) 18:31, 29 May 2026 (UTC)

This comic is an interesting contribution to discussion about how science and the public handle privacy issues. For instance a museums finds it okay to display a dead body [1] just because he died a very long time ago. --2001:4091:A241:81DC:350B:874D:E1AA:9FEE 13:46, 30 May 2026 (UTC)

We need more details about Ötzi to better understand how he is related to us. For example, did he play the Steirische Ziehharmonika, and if not, how did he fail to learn it? Was he killed because of Harmonikamusikhass--someone hated accordions and did not want them to perpetuate? His display in a museum would be much more exciting and appropriate with those details. 173.188.194.118 15:18, 30 May 2026 (UTC)

Ötzi probably predates the Steirische Ziehharmonika, unless someone used their time machine to fix the temporal ordering requirements. --2A10:D586:3E93:0:907B:6DDD:C33E:4855 07:52, 31 May 2026 (UTC)

see also 2268 Treeplate (talk) 15:19, 30 May 2026 (UTC)

• This strip reminds me of 830: Genetic Analysis, where counselor Megan tells Cueball, "... we've analyzed genes on several of your chromosomes, and it's hard to avoid the conclusion: at some point, your parents had sex." --208.59.176.206 19:16, 30 May 2026 (UTC)

Think about how uncomfortable it is to think about your grandparents having sex. It's exponentially worse with your great-great-great-great-great-great-etc-grandparents. RegularSizedGuy (talk) 14:34, 31 May 2026 (UTC)

While I agree that, in general, the public doesn’t respect the privacy of people who died a long time ago, I think it should be pointed out that this is a real ethical discussion in history and in social sciences more generally. Ethnic studies has really broached the subject of what sources should be available to us, the importance of respecting the people/cultures behind those sources, etc. and historians have been taking note. Ari Kelman’s book Misplaced Massacre is a good example. I think saying that at a certain point privacy is just left to history is a bit reductive.

Salsmachev (talk) 15:30, 31 May 2026 (UTC)
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