As far as nicknames go, he guesses Jodi Foster isn't too bad.
"Of course!" he says cheerfully. "Do you know what the greatest recorded evolutionary advantage in humans is? A gene called ERAP2. In the 1300's, the Black Death killed somewhere between thirty and fifty percent of the European population, and aside from the horror it caused it did something really interesting: it didn't just cause social upheaval, it also caused a rapid micro-evolution in our genetics.
There were four genetic mutations found in many survivors of the Plague, but one, ERAP2, provided a 40% increased chance of survival. And these mutations occurred over the course of decades, which is incredibly fast compared to all previously known genetic mutation occurrences. The fastest one we knew of previously was the slow change toward lactose tolerance, and that took thousands of years!"
In full lecture mode, he barely stops for breath.
"I've been studying the genetics of every sample I can find to see if there's a chance the same might occur today. We know it's a virus that causes people to turn, but we barely got the chance to study it before the outbreak began. There might be people out there that already have a genetic variation that nullifies the virus, or it might be arising today -- either way, if I can find someone that has a greater chance of survival... well, gene therapy would be exceedingly difficult on a mass scale, but it would be a chance. A chance to turn the world around."
Finally, Reid sits, perched awkwardly on the edge of the chair like a stork coming in to roost, all gangly limbs. He doesn't know if he needs to explain any of what he just said, but he prefers to not treat people like they're idiots, and Daryl hadn't squinted at the consent form like it was gibberish.
no subject
"Of course!" he says cheerfully. "Do you know what the greatest recorded evolutionary advantage in humans is? A gene called ERAP2. In the 1300's, the Black Death killed somewhere between thirty and fifty percent of the European population, and aside from the horror it caused it did something really interesting: it didn't just cause social upheaval, it also caused a rapid micro-evolution in our genetics.
There were four genetic mutations found in many survivors of the Plague, but one, ERAP2, provided a 40% increased chance of survival. And these mutations occurred over the course of decades, which is incredibly fast compared to all previously known genetic mutation occurrences. The fastest one we knew of previously was the slow change toward lactose tolerance, and that took thousands of years!"
In full lecture mode, he barely stops for breath.
"I've been studying the genetics of every sample I can find to see if there's a chance the same might occur today. We know it's a virus that causes people to turn, but we barely got the chance to study it before the outbreak began. There might be people out there that already have a genetic variation that nullifies the virus, or it might be arising today -- either way, if I can find someone that has a greater chance of survival... well, gene therapy would be exceedingly difficult on a mass scale, but it would be a chance. A chance to turn the world around."
Finally, Reid sits, perched awkwardly on the edge of the chair like a stork coming in to roost, all gangly limbs. He doesn't know if he needs to explain any of what he just said, but he prefers to not treat people like they're idiots, and Daryl hadn't squinted at the consent form like it was gibberish.