A genetic explanation of Wizardry and Muggle-Born Wizards

[Alidar Jarok]

The Science Behind Who Gets Magical Powers

I won't pretend to understand this, but it's an interesting use of one's education and time. Plus, the original author is a friend of a friend. Figured someone might appreciate this:

Andrea Klenotiz, a University of Delaware biology student, has decoded the genetics of the wizarding gene in the Harry Potter universe. She sent a six-page paper of her work to J.K. Rowling.

The debate over wizarding genetics started with Rowling herself, who said the gene is dominant. Traditionally, and what most people were taught in high school, was that traits created by dominant genes always show up if a person has the gene.

This didn't jive with the HP world.

Because of that, many people were confused by Rowling's statement — if the gene is dominant, why are some people better at magic than others? Why are there squibs (non magic people born into wizarding lines) and mudbloods (wizards like Hermione born to non-magic parents)?

So, Klenotiz went to work. Her conclusion? "Magical ability could be explained by a single autosomal dominant gene if it is caused by an expansion of trinucleotide repeats with non-Mendelian ratios of inheritance."

 

[Argus Skyhawk]

That was a fun read. No, I don't claim to understand all of it either, but I sort of followed it.

My fanwank explanation had been that magical ability was caused by multiple sets of genes (to explain why some wizards had more magical ability than others), and that those particular genes are especially vulnerable to mutations (to explain why muggleborns were regularly born to families with no wizarding relations). However Andrea Klenotiz clearly understands genetics far better than I do.

 

[Reverend]

Of course the real reason is: "magic". Simples.

 

[Hound of UIster]

The real reason is "midichlorians".

 

[Anwar]

Muggleborns are supposed to have Squibs ancestors, and the magical gene just re-activated for some reason in them.

 

[Alidar Jarok]

See, I don't like that because it overplays heritage. One of the points of the series is that pedigree really isn't anything. Some of the greatest Wizards are muggles.

 

[Sindatur]

Yea, back in the days when the books were still being written, people were theorizing that it would take a combination of about 6 genes to make a Wizard,while considering Muggleborns and Squibs, and have Magical ability being the dominant trait (2 or 3 diminant Genes and 3 or 4 recessive ones, I forget the exact ratio now)

 

[iguana_tonante]

Wizards and witches are infected with a techno-organic virus developed by the Shadows. Sometimes latent virus get activated and/or deactivated in newborns by a random tachionic bursts emitted by passing Vulcan starships.

 

[Mike Farley]

Wizards and witches are infected with a techno-organic virus developed by the Shadows. Sometimes latent virus get activated and/or deactivated in newborns by a random tachionic bursts emitted by passing Vulcan starships.

This is what I always thought.

 

[Gaith]

The real reason is "midichlorians".

Even Master Yoda doesn't have a count that high!

See, I don't like that because it overplays heritage. One of the points of the series is that pedigree really isn't anything.

Except that Voldy just so happens to be Slytherin's last living descendant. What are the odds?!

 

[Sindatur]

See, I don't like that because it overplays heritage. One of the points of the series is that pedigree really isn't anything.

Except that Voldy just so happens to be Slytherin's last living descendant. What are the odds?!

In some version releases, but, in other releases Voldy was Slytherin's last living Ancestor

That one really caused some major debate as to wether it was deliberate or not and what it meant

 

[Alidar Jarok]

That sounds like a mistake to me.

I guess I have a take on the whole thing, which leads me to underplay certain things. Riddle is a powerful Wizard, but I wonder if his ambition knowing his heritage inspired him to be even more powerful. That being said, heritage is obviously not irrelevant, I just think it's overplayed by Slytherin when a clear message is that they are wrong for this.

 

[Sindatur]

That sounds like a mistake to me.

Yea, apparently she got it backwards and it slipped through on initial printing(s?) and was corrected in later printings

But, of course there was major debate about wether she accidentally let a cat outta the bag that she didn't mean to