SGU question

[BlackFire3]

after the episode when a sun causes the gate to malfunction and sends the crew thousands of years into the past. thousands of years later we see that they populated a fair portion of the planet they were on.

my question is would there be a large enough gene-pool to sustain the population from the few hundred of the original crew to the apparent thousands or millions that we see later.

 

[RoJoHen]

You'd need to make sure people had as many babies as possible.

 

[TheNatureRoy]

after the episode when a sun causes the gate to malfunction and sends the crew thousands of years into the past. thousands of years later we see that they populated a fair portion of the planet they were on.

my question is would there be a large enough gene-pool to sustain the population from the few hundred of the original crew to the apparent thousands or millions that we see later.

Biologists claim that the minimum number of individuals needed for a terrestrial vertebrate population to survive 'in the wild' (with the ill effects of inbreeding factored in) is around 4000. If you ignore the genetic issues, it's probably closer to 1000 or so.

 

[AJ86]

Someone actually did the maths on Gateworld, and it would be possible with negligible genetic drawbacks but the breeding would have to be heavily controlled, and half the males would have to wait for second generation females before they got any.

 

[RoJoHen]

and half the males would have to wait for second generation females before they got any.

That sounds icky.

 

[Brikar99]

and half the males would have to wait for second generation females before they got any.

That sounds icky.

Considering the number of women I've met who steadfastly only date "older guys," it sounds... normal.

 

[RoJoHen]

and half the males would have to wait for second generation females before they got any.

That sounds icky.

Considering the number of women I've met who steadfastly only date "older guys," it sounds... normal.

But these older guys, in this case, are their parents friends. That would be like hooking up with your aunt or uncle.

 

[Xerxus]

There's enough genetic diversity for a several generations at least.

If it's a big problem I imagine that the Novans would put research into eugenics.

 

[46379.1]

It is never stated that they does not discover other humans on other planets once they settle down on Novus.

 

[The Wormhole]

It is never stated that they does not discover other humans on other planets once they settle down on Novus.

Maybe not, but considering how SGU was so insistent that there only be "alien" aliens in the galaxies that Destiny travelled to it stands to reason that Novus society was only the Destiny crew's descendants.

 

[Guy Gardener]

clones.

gene jiggling that brothers and sisters and cousins can safely boff.

More time jumping that the population for 500 years in the future came back to fuck the first settlers because their gene pool dried up.

Stuff.

 

[AJ86]

It is never stated that they does not discover other humans on other planets once they settle down on Novus.

It's never stated because it's pretty implausible to begin with. How would they get there?

 

[Gary Mitchell]

It is never stated that they does not discover other humans on other planets once they settle down on Novus.

It's never stated because it's pretty implausible to begin with. How would they get there?

The Stargate?

 

[bullethead]

It is never stated that they does not discover other humans on other planets once they settle down on Novus.

It's never stated because it's pretty implausible to begin with. How would they get there?

The Stargate?

They can't dial the 9th chevron in SGU's present. How was anyone supposed to do it a few thousand years earlier, when the Ancients were long gone, the Asgard were busy with the Replicators, the Goa'uld were ruling a large portion of the galaxy's human population, and the Ori weren't aware of the existence of humans outside their galaxy?

 

[David cgc]

Well, obviously the Ancients seeded the planets when they did their explorations of the area.

Oh, wait.

 

[Robert Maxwell]

Assuming only an average growth rate of 1% per year and a starting population of 70, over 2000 years the population would be almost 34 billion. So, yeah, it's actually pretty plausible to have a population of many millions, if we assume numerous population-thinning disasters and other setbacks hurting the population growth.

That most of the crew were in their prime childbearing years is actually a good thing in this case.

 

[Saquist]

The concept of gene pool failures is all GUESS WORK from science.
It all depends on the "errors present in the gene pool and how quickly they can be weeded out. Some species are successful like the rodent species on one island I read about and then others aren't and have many birth fatalities.

 

[AJ86]

Working with averages and probability is hardly guesswork, but yes, without knowing the genetic makeup of every member it's impossible to accurately predict how they would do, and even then, we wouldn't be able to take into account the various mutations that would pop up with each generation. What we can tell though, is that their story is at least plausible.