Writer's Creed

For NaNoWriMo, I want to have a superheroes/outbreak sci-fi. I was wondering how I could use a fictional Z Chromozone.

A select few would have these Z Chromozone, which enables them to be immune to a virus. Any thoughts?

Writer's Creed.

moderan

That wouldn't work in terms of genetics...the double helix form doesn't allow for a third stairstep. So-called "junk DNA" (prions) are proving to be unusable as carriers of such mutation also. See this article for information:'Junk' DNA Now Looks Like Powerful Regulator, Scientists Find
Your options here include adding proteins to the cell composition or to utilize the "radiation theory" mutations so famously deployed in Marvel comics. You could stipulate changes in the mitochondrial DNA passed on from mother to child or add extraterrestrial elements that stimulate changes in the dna materials or functions.
The human genome project has quashed a lot of previously-used superhero generation tactics.
Otherwise you have the X-Files triple helix bit...which was derived from extraterrestrial biology. That's probably the only way you could use a fictive "z" chromosome and pass it off as a real possibility. A meteorite a la "the Colour Out of Space" or a virus a la "the Andromeda Strain" would serve as a delivery system.
Since we have no examples to examine, xenobiology is still something to play with, but it generally necessitates some knowledge of terrestrial biology.

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seigfried007

Danke for explaining that before I could get to it, Moderan

Xenobiology is a good bet, as are retroviruses and engineered changes to the human genome.

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Remoah

Have a look at The Andromeda Strain, as mentioned... havent read it but the plotline is fairly basic as follows (spoiler warning):

Ultra-Fast and very VERY deadly (99% fatality plus) virus lands on earth from UFO's ect... wipes out a village but the virus dies out quickly, leaving only two survivors, who survived because of sicknesses that lowered thier blood temprature just low enough to survive the actual virus...

Mayhap your heroes need not have actual POWERS, but be regular (as we see them) humans in a world of the sick and maimed, so to the masses (who are all sick/disabled) they seem superhuman, able to run, walk and stay upright all day without fatigue?

Baddies can be regular humans too?

I dunno, ideas.

Otherwise, no, the basic premise of X and Y is just naming of the chromosone IIRC, they could be Bill and Fred chromosones, so Z is just a way of saying it, nothing to do with the letter. Though triple-helix DNA or the like.
I used to try and justify alot of stuff in my writing but it never worked out, keep it simple and just say 'blood mutations' or something of the like.

moderan

LOL...You're welcome, Siegfried
Keeping it simple is an option but I always prefer to have actual knowledge of the subject. It makes your writing seem more authoritative, lends additional verisimilitude, and can also help to generate additional story ideas.

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"Better to write for yourself and have no public, than to write for the public and have no self." - Cyril Connolly

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seigfried007

Actually, X and Y are named for their shape unlike the other chromosomes, which are named for numbers.

Yikes, Moderan, you're on a roll of coolness today

I don't think you have to have a Ph.D in everything science oriented, but I have found that knowing something about the sciences involved really does give more story ideas and make sci-fi nuts less apt to call you fantasy, a hack, or worse.

For the record, I'm writing a sci-fi story with super humans (and with diseased humans who might think of the normal human populace as 'super').

My 'supers' aren't human and were engineered using extraterrestrial DNA, but they still have X and Y. My super-but-not-quite-that-supers were also engineered but used far less extraterrestrial and more human and animal DNA (hence, I get what's termed 'chimera' in modern science, but 'dog men' in the story, often as not).

My "Vamps" are people who were exposed to illegal drugs in utero and hence develop a very nasty strain of prorphyrria. Functionally, they're weaker than Joe Blow human, have terribly sensitive skin regardless of ethnic background, an allergy to onions nad garlic and periodic psychotic episodes due to the blood disease.

Lastly, I also had a retrovirus pretty much ruin the world by causing mammals (but ironically not humans) to use all protein for repairing or growing mass and sped up tehir metabolisms such that A) they were always hungry, B) they were often gassy as a result of complex carbohydrates speeding through their tracts, C) they grew very large, very quickly and D) they went insane from hunger


Sadly, this effect occured after a virus engineered to make non-human mammals sentient mutated

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moderan

*blushes* t'anks! and sorry about the misspelling of your name, Seigfried007.
SciFi people will tear apart the story looking for scientific inconsistency or inaccuracy-consequently it behooves the author of such to do so beforehand. Whereas I was familiar with the shape/name of X and Y, I did not mention such and we should all thank you for doing so. It isn't necessary to have a Ph.D., but a good scientific grounding is a good thing to have for a writer of any type of fiction. You never know when such may come in handy. And it is generally possible and even feasible to consult the authors of scientific papers...I've found such to be uniformly agreeable to conversation.
This particular area is one that I've done a good bit of research on because of a set of pieces in which I attempt to apply hard scientific principles to Lovecraftian character-morphs (Deep Ones, Ghouls, etc). Just happened to have some of the material at hand as I'm working on the novel that is the setpiece of that series today
However, plugs aside *laughs* superheroes are a hot item in the marketplace, with fictive versions of comic characters appearing on the stands and screen versions of the same, and such comic writers as Miller, Moore, and Gaiman working in the cinematic medium.
If you're going to move them from adolescent power-fantasies to more mature entertainments, then you have to involve a more discerning readership/viewership.

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"Better to write for yourself and have no public, than to write for the public and have no self." - Cyril Connolly

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PageOfCups

Sorry to nit pick, but prions are protiens that act as infectious agents (they're thought to be the cause of Mad Cow Disease and scrappie). I think you meant introns there.

moderan

...indeed...I still had the text from the article I quoted up above in my head. I sit corrected, Page of Cups.

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Athane

the term Z chromosome, could be changed to represent a specific gene sequence, not so much an enture chromosome, or a chromosome containing the sequence is classified as a Z chromosome

Lemex

Since the Y chromozome is a radiated and altered X chromozome, I always thought it would be more accurite for the next mutation to be a V chromazome.

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Zyphial

Damn! Beat me to it!

Anyway, one doesn't need a whole new chromosome for an individual to be immune/resistant/carrier (ie infected, but no symptoms) for a disease, and in fact the typical variation in human genetics covers this. Take small pox for example; it was bad in Europe, but when it got to the North America's it obliterated vast populations because they didn't have resistance, which was a genetic factor.

Things like an odd blood PH, abnormal salt content, an improperly structured protein or past exposure to a weaker strain... the list goes on. Is there any reason you want this new chromosome to exist other than immunity to a specific virus?

DarkHorse220

It's entirely possible for someone to have an extra chromosome. This is the cause of several genetic diseases, in fact.

What moderan is discussing is the DNA helix... which is two-stranded. But a chromosome is an entirely different factor. Having a differently-shaped DNA molecule isn't going to happen on Earth (well, it's not highly likely anyway), but a variable chromosome count is certainly possible.

As noted, there are other possibilities, though. Junk DNA is one; viral plasmids or even retroviral RNA sequences are another.

Still, I see nothing inherently wrong with an extra chromosome; just realize that X and Y are the two sex-linked chromosomes, while the other 22 pair are devoted to other purposes. A "Z" label wouldn't come up unless 1) a researcher was trying to be clever or 2) it was actually Z-shaped (more unlikely, considering the way DNA likes to fold up).

moderan

Hmm...I haven't heard of an extra chromosome causing genetic diseases, and would like information, if you'd care to elaborate.
Aren't chromosomes composed of DNA? That's always been my impression here, borne out by some research. A single DNA molecule and genes, chromosomal composition. Example here: learn genetics. Btw, you can download a genetics tutorial from that site
The first page here has a diagram showing the common human chromosomes: chromosomes and here's another site that has useful information for the OP: chromosomes, more info

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"Better to write for yourself and have no public, than to write for the public and have no self." - Cyril Connolly

"I'd rather have a bottle in front of me than a frontal lobotomy."-Tom Waits

seigfried007

Down's syndrome (two 21s) and Keinfelter's Syndrome (XXY) are both caused by extra chromosomes.

Yes, chromosomes are made up of DNA.

Extra chromosomes are caused by faults in meiosis (how we get sperm and eggs; a.k.a. gametogenesis) and said unusual gametes are more likely to occur in people with damaged DNA (by radiation, drugs, or age, usually), which is why older women bear more babies with Down's syndrome.

The goal of gametogenesis--specifically the meiosis part--is to take a normal diploid germ cell (46 chromosomes) and split it in half (thus resulting baby from said sperm or egg, each with 23 chromosomes, would have the normal number of chromosomes). Technically, it's a bit more complicated than that, but I'm not sure if it needs to be explained more than that for this purpose.

Faulty germ cells may have a lack of one chromosome or two of another. Thus, you could get an egg with two Xs, or a sperm with X and Y. Most babies with resultant issues from said faulty gametes are spontaneously aborted (miscarried).

Generally, mutations in the code suck for whoever has to bear them. For instance, men who are XXY tend to look... neutered... because of decreased testosterone, and are often functionally sterile.

To tell the
truth, I haven't seen a mutation serve a person better unless said mutation was culturally important.

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