Outside of the obvious ethical issues and finding the right genes for obedience, making a stormtrooper is something that is conceivable for both our universe and the galaxy far, far away. That anyone would want a "docile" stormtrooper is not the biggest mystery of Star Wars plots, though it would explain how a whiny kid from a backwater planet was able to roust the whole lot of them. However, this is very controversial in both animals and it may not be as simple as adding it to an embryo and producing a more docile soldier.
Humans carry many versions of this gene too and it appears it may have a similar role in humans as it does with cows. The cloners mention inserting genes into stormtroopers that make the clone more docile and obedient, but it is hard to tell if they exist in our humans? This has actually been extensively studied in cows where researchers have found a connection with forms of the gene DRD4 which codes for a receptor for the neurotransmitter dopamine and docility. It took more than genes to make him a great quarterback. You could clone Tom Brady, for example, but he is actually a terrible athlete.
Human personality characteristics are complex and are impacted by many genes as well as other factors, like the environment. Earlier this year researchers in China reported successfully using the gene editing technique known as CRISPR-Cas9 on a human embryo.Īlthough we may know the 'how' to do the engineering, the 'what' may pose some problems. The genetic engineering of human embryos has already been done too. Successful genetically engineered salmon, chickens, pigs, and cows have all made headlines in recent months. Genetic engineering: Similar to cloning, genetic engineering of an embryo has not progressed far in humans, but it has in other animals. So these are available and well studied in our galaxy. Any baseball fan is familiar with steroids and human growth hormones (hgh) that have plagued the game since the 1980s, but many may not be aware that in the United States growth hormones are an approved medical therapy to accelerate growth in kids who aren't growing fast enough. The enhancers make it possible to do it in half the time. Human growth enhancers: The growth enhancers are a big deal, according to the cloners, without these it will take an actual lifetime to grow a single soldier.
#STORMTROOPERS ARE NOT CLONES FULL#
The egg, now with a new, full genome in it, behaves like a fertilized embryo that can be implanted in a uterus, and normal pregnancy ensues. Then the genome is injected into an egg that has had its genome removed. First the whole genome is extracted from almost any cell (basically anything but a red blood cell which has no DNA and sperm or eggs which only have half). One way to do this would be to use a technique called somatic cell nuclear transfer. Credit: DisneyĬlones of one man: Many mammals to date have been cloned sheep, monkeys, rabbits, pigs just to name a few and humans are a real possibility. In the George Lucas movies, the galaxy is a very small place. In Attack of the Clones, the clones are all descended from the ancestor of the bounty hunter in Episode 4. They described their process as meeting three qualifications: 1) clones of one man, 2) human growth enhancers, and 3) genetic engineering to make the optimal soldier. In Attack of the Clones (Episode II), Star Wars fans are introduced to the 'cloners' of the planet Kamino who were charged with making millions of stormtroopers. Although that may still sound like science-fiction, making a stormtrooper is more realistic for our galaxy than many may realize. Regardless of how they look, it was decided in the prequels that stormtroopers are all clones of a single character. However, in watching the trailers for The Force Awakens, there appears to be a completely new interpretation on the stormtrooper. The stormtroopers that served Darth Vader in the original trilogy (Episodes IV-VI) were very different than the ones that helped eradicate the Jedi in episode III ( Revenge of the Sith). This week(1) will bring the long awaited latest installment in the Star Wars saga ( The Force Awakens, Episode VII), and with it comes the latest iteration of the stormtrooper.