• Question: is the genetic mutation of a human being actually possible? as seen in x men?

    Asked by rowe to Arttu, Ceri, James_M, Monica, Philip on 17 Jun 2011.
    • Photo: Arttu Rajantie

      Arttu Rajantie answered on 17 Jun 2011:

      Genetic mutation takes place all the time, but if the mutation is large then the embryo is usually not viable and does not develop into a human being. Even if it does, it is highly unlikely that it would actually get superpowers, but sometimes these mutations can be beneficial.

    • Photo: Philip Dolan

      Philip Dolan answered on 17 Jun 2011:

      As Arttu said, mutations do take place all the time (some times cancer turns up just because of a random mutation).

      But they, like everything else in the universe, seem to stick the set of physical laws we’ve already established.

      And these laws don’t easily allow for biological systems to generate massive magnetic fields, or to instantly teleport from A to B, or directly interrogate/observe another human’s neurological processes with no external equipment, as Magneto and Nightcrawler and Prof. X seem to.

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