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Post by garethl on Oct 4, 2011 17:22:14 GMT
This is just a question that popped up recently.
Does regeneration change a Time Lord's DNA?
If, for example, the police would take a DNA-sample. Would the police be able to identify him/her after he/she regenerates?
My guess would be yes, it changes, and no, they won't be able to identify him/her?
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Post by Rel Fexive on Oct 4, 2011 19:04:20 GMT
Since it would make it too easy to get away with stuff if changed completely, I would say it would read like regeneration-1 was a (distant?) sibling of regeneration-2. Still enough to bring them in for questioning but not enough to say it was them outright.
Plus, I think the less advanced the testing technology of the police in question the more weird the DNA would come out as. Tech up to our current level would just not work at all except in a very basic ("hey it's that weird DNA again!") way - Time Lord DNA has got to be very complex and/or different for them to have the physiology they have. Higher tech levels will be used to alien DNA so would cope much better.
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stahlman
3rd Incarnation
Doctor, stop wasting my time, will you?
Posts: 222
Favourite Doctors: second,third,fourth
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Post by stahlman on Oct 4, 2011 21:29:46 GMT
Is DNA a universal constant? That seems a bit too Star Trek / X files to me
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Post by Rel Fexive on Oct 4, 2011 23:22:01 GMT
For simplicity, probably, even if aliens just have something very similar that advanced tech can read/analyse just the same. Which also explains why pre-alien contact tests would just detect "weird" instead.
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Post by Curufea on Oct 5, 2011 2:49:00 GMT
DNA may not be the constant - but some form of replication programming is necessary for reproduction. For AIs for example, this would be the fundamental core programming. Obviously for non-carbon based life forms you'd not have DNA because you don't have amino acids. It'd be some other form of long chain chemical that can be broken down into packets and interpreted during birth.
I would have DNA change for regeneration - however, the biodata would remain the same. So you'd need "time capable" technology level to detect it.
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Post by Escher on Oct 5, 2011 3:15:31 GMT
In 'The End of the World' Jabe scanned the Doctor's DNA and saw he had a set of strands for each regeneration so I guess it changes.
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Post by da professor on Oct 5, 2011 9:24:56 GMT
My guess is that Timelords have multiple strands of DNA and the set which is EXPRESSED changes with regeneration. DNA testing would show up a hopelessly polluted sample to any tech not sufficiently advanced to know what was going on, but a state of the art lab run by a genius who already knew he was dealing with Timelord DNA, and what that entailed, might be able to make, or rule out, identity of a previously known individual for whom they already possessed a confirmed sample. The sample might have to be bigger than needed to test human DNA, and it would certainly take a lot longer to run the test, but it could allow UNIT to determine that a particular Timelord corpse is/is not that of the Doctor or the Master...the only two Timelords they have had enough contact with to acquire tissue samples.
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Post by garethl on Oct 5, 2011 12:59:58 GMT
Thanks for all the answers.
Does this mean you can predict how a next regeneration might look?
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Rassilon
Administrator
Grand Administrator
Posts: 751
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Post by Rassilon on Oct 5, 2011 17:59:12 GMT
Does this mean you can predict how a next regeneration might look? In the series, no. You could have some kind of future projection though like the Watcher in Logopolis or Cho-Je / K'anpo in Planet of the Spiders. However, some Time Lords like Romana and River Song could choose how they looked. Romana (Destiny of the Daleks) could temporarily slip into a new regeneration before finalizing it. River Song's "I'm concentrating on a dress size!" and then her surprise at her new look (Lets Kill Hitler) suggest she could partially affect her next regeneration.
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Post by Craig Oxbrow on Oct 5, 2011 21:08:02 GMT
And probably the Master as well - he appeared with the same face a few times, and even when he changed actors he had a definite style.
Basically (for out-of-character reasons) the Doctor is the worst regenerator we've seen.
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Post by zebaroth on Oct 6, 2011 0:47:34 GMT
And probably the Master as well - he appeared with the same face a few times, and even when he changed actors he had a definite style. Basically (for out-of-character reasons) the Doctor is the worst regenerator we've seen. read somewhere that most timelords could not control there regenerations a few like the master could
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Post by cliffordjones on Oct 6, 2011 5:44:26 GMT
And probably the Master as well - he appeared with the same face a few times, and even when he changed actors he had a definite style. Basically (for out-of-character reasons) the Doctor is the worst regenerator we've seen. read somewhere that most timelords could not control there regenerations a few like the master could Romana I chooses to regenerate into Romana II.
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Post by garethl on Oct 6, 2011 13:29:24 GMT
With multiple DNA-strands, it might be that some Time Lords can mix and match genes from multiple strands. A bit like controlled Chromosomal Crossover.
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Post by Escher on Oct 6, 2011 16:27:20 GMT
Lets not forget Jenny is Peter Davisons daughter. Forward thinking by the writers? If we impose a deeper meaning on this then Time Lord DNA transferred for breeding or cloning might include a previous incarnation's DNA...
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