c/science_memes · by fossilesque@mander.xyz · 167d

great grandaddy bur oak

494 points · 29 comments · view on lemmy.world

29 Comments

Remember_the_tooth@lemmy.world · 40 pts · 167d (15 replies)

Dendrologists: [heavy breathing]

In all seriousness, isn't it pretty unlikely that alien life could interbreed with terran life even if they also used DNA with the same bases?

ajmaxwell@lemmy.world · 39 pts · 166d (7 replies)

We won't know until we try

Remember_the_tooth@lemmy.world · 22 pts · 166d (6 replies)

Scientist 1: "How are things coming along with our test subjects?"

Scientist 2: "I don't know, it's about time to check back in with them."

Scientist 2: "Hey, Mike? How's it going?"

Mike: "Not too bad. There have been some challenges, but I think we got a few things worked out."

Scientist 2: "Oh...my. was that it's--"

Mike: "No, I don't think so, but it seems like it was mutually enjoyable, though, so write that down."

[Trilling noises in the background]

vrek@programming.dev · 5 pts · 166d (5 replies)

But think of the splinters... Oh god... Think of the splinters... Mike should get hazard pay

Remember_the_tooth@lemmy.world · 3 pts · 166d (4 replies)

Bold of you to assume Mike isn't paying for the privilege.

vrek@programming.dev · 3 pts · 166d (3 replies)

True, all I'm going to say is if you look up videos on "cbt therapy" make sure to put therapy in the search and/or have safe search on, as a result I believe Mike may enjoy the splinters

spankinspinach@sh.itjust.works · 1 pts · 166d (2 replies)

The upsetting part about this is the 't' already stands for therapy. And nothing else

vrek@programming.dev · 2 pts · 166d

Yeah, I'll give you a more complete response after I go to the atm machine where I'll enter my pin number. 😜

marcos@lemmy.world · 12 pts · 166d (2 replies)

It's extremely unlikely that their DNA has the same translation semantics into proteins.

Olgratin_Magmatoe@slrpnk.net · 7 pts · 166d (1 reply)

Not unless there is a common ancestor, which is theoretically possible. But yeah, extremely unlikely.

marcos@lemmy.world · 4 pts · 166d

Wow. So I went looking if people actually knew when our codon system appeared.

Turns out that there are 26 slightly different systems on Earth right now, and there are good reasons to expect random alien life to have a system that looks like ours, but is different enough to not be compatible.

thedeadwalking4242@lemmy.world · 11 pts · 166d (1 reply)

Incredibly. Even very closely related organisms can have a hard time breeding

Noodle07@lemmy.world · 5 pts · 166d

I know I'm having a hard time breeding

blackbrook@mander.xyz · 6 pts · 166d (1 reply)

Well it seems safe to say it's at least as unlikely as a terran species being able to breed with some randomly selected other terran species.

Remember_the_tooth@lemmy.world · 2 pts · 166d

Even when possible, it's often inadvisable as we learned from the monkapotamus in Drew Carey's famous documentary: https://youtu.be/BLbJC7LeC8E

ChicoSuave@lemmy.world · 39 pts · 166d (1 reply)

Some plant aliens land and discover the air itself gets them pregnant from all the pollen freely flying around from such numerous and primitive plant life. Terra is the plant equivalent of an unbridled sex planet.

DeltaWingDragon@sh.itjust.works · 8 pts · 166d

I've got a relevant SMBC for that

starman2112@sh.itjust.works · 13 pts · 166d

Xenophytophilia is my favorite word in the English language

Psaldorn@lemmy.world · 13 pts · 166d (2 replies)

If you like the idea of alien plant based fiction check out Semiosis by Sue Burke. Recommend going in blind

Barrymore@sh.itjust.works · 5 pts · 166d (1 reply)

Or the Infected trilogy by Scott Sigler

Psaldorn@lemmy.world · 4 pts · 166d

Ooh, I'll add it to the list

Kolanaki@pawb.social · 9 pts · 166d (2 replies)

What would happen if I crossbred with citrus? 🤔