Here's a sciency type question for you genetics people

[Joker]

Let's say there was a midget and a giant, and they had sex, and a child was born of this unholy union. What would the kid be? Is giantism a recessive or dominate trait? What about dwarfism? Would it be a giant midget (a regular sized person with disperportionate hands and head)? I must know...

 

[Silicon Surfer]

Giantism and dwarfism can come from multiple sources and produce different results. "Little People" frequently have normal children even when both parents are afflicted. Likewise there are two forms of giantism I have heard of. Agromegly (sp?) and true giants who are simply from a long line of large parents. The simple answer you want probably doesn't exist.

 

[Bill]

Let's say there was a midget and a giant, and they had sex, and a child was born of this unholy union. What would the kid be? Is giantism a recessive or dominate trait? What about dwarfism? Would it be a giant midget (a regular sized person with disperportionate hands and head)? I must know...

Dwarfism is a dominant trait. Midgets are caused by a defective pituitary gland. Dwarfs are people who are normal in proportion, but with smaller limbs. Midgets have all parts of the body stunted in growth. Giantism is caused by either/or genes and a defective gland. Usually the taller heights are due to the defective gland.

 

[redmarvel]

Also the child might end up to be a "sport" bearing traits from neither parent but instead from the grandparents or even great grandparents. It's rare, but it does happen. My younger sister was a "sport", she has grandma's blue eyes and blonde hair (though she shares the family chin and cheek bones). I take after my dad with the red hair and hazel eyes (which turn green when I'm excited or angry). One of my other sisters takes after mom, with dark hair and brown eyes. Face on few people think we're sisters, but in profile or when we talk, they can tell we are (we all have the same vocal level & timbre when speaking).

 

[Ice-man]

well its a 50/50 thing, but id think dwarfism is more of the recessive trait.

 

[Joker]

this thread hasnt really helped at all, seeing as I've gotten 2 conflicting answers, and then 2 other totally different answers...

 

[cookiva]

And none yet that show that it would probably be a goat that would be born.....

 

[teseract]

this thread hasnt really helped at all, seeing as I've gotten 2 conflicting answers, and then 2 other totally different answers...

*g* well that's nature for you, it does what it wants and when it wants to fool around it creates multiple causes for the same phenomenon.

 

[Ender Durden]

Also the child might end up to be a "sport" bearing traits from neither parent but instead from the grandparents or even great grandparents. It's rare, but it does happen. My younger sister was a "sport", she has grandma's blue eyes and blonde hair (though she shares the family chin and cheek bones). I take after my dad with the red hair and hazel eyes (which turn green when I'm excited or angry). One of my other sisters takes after mom, with dark hair and brown eyes. Face on few people think we're sisters, but in profile or when we talk, they can tell we are (we all have the same vocal level & timbre when speaking).

 

[redmarvel]

Apparently they also turn brown when I'm down... You can easily judge my mood by my eyes.

 

[Prison Mike]

I have hazel eyes from my paternal grandmother.

 

[Carcharodon]

They're not necessarily linked genetically. Meaning, they may not share a gene loci, and therefore both traits could be expressed. If this is the case, I don't think there's any way to tell which could be expressed more (as dominance and recessiveness would not come into play).

 

[Master Chief]

Apparently they also turn brown when I'm down... You can easily judge my mood by my eyes.

That is the coolest thing I have ever heard.

 

[Hotwire]

Let's say there was a midget and a giant, and they had sex, and a child was born of this unholy union. What would the kid be? Is giantism a recessive or dominate trait? What about dwarfism? Would it be a giant midget (a regular sized person with disperportionate hands and head)? I must know...

I'm just wondering what kind of lubricant they used. This just seems like a job that may be a bit too much for even K-Y.

 

[Tempest19]

They would have a GIANT HEAD and SMALL BODY.

Radical!

 

[Enriquespy]

They would have a GIANT HEAD and SMALL BODY.

Radical!

Cianide and Happiness...

 

[bullets]

id go by the genes of the mother.

 

[Carcharodon]

id go by the genes of the mother.

...how? Why?

...do we need a crash-course in genetics?

 

[tzarinna]

Apparently they also turn brown when I'm down... You can easily judge my mood by my eyes.

Lucky.
My aunt's pupils become slits, like cat eyes when she's extremely intoxicated. I wish I had that trait, mine just start floating around in my skull.

 

[Carcharodon]

I've been doing some reading, and it seems to me that gigantism has less to do with the development and gene expression specifically concerning the petuitary than it does with a corruption of oncogenes of indirect relation....i.e., genes that cause tumors of the petuitary. Basically.

This doesn't quite answer the question, but it does likely mean that the two aren't directly genetically linked, or rather, they don't share gene loci.

This means that it's likely that dominance and recessiveness wouldn't come into play, as I said earlier, and you'd likely see a mix of effects...effects that may not manifest themselves until later on in a child's development.

In all honestly, I'm not sure the person would survive long. Gigantism is known to significantly shorten lifespans, and dwarfism comes with its own set of problems as well. If both were to be expressed, that would be one sick individual.

 

[bullets]

i wonder how many people are googling this

 

[Carcharodon]

i wonder how many people are googling this

I did. I came across a published paper on the subject. It really helps if you've studied it before, though. You can make sense of the important stuff and determine how much of it is just crap.

EDIT: By subject, I meant gigantism. I haven't found anything yet that directly compares the two, or talks about possible expression of both in an individual.

 

[bullets]

this is kinda funny

The Man Who Was a Dwarf and a Giant
Written by Alan Bellows on December 1st, 2005 at 2:56 pm
From DamnInteresting.com
Very few details are known about the life of Adam Rainer, but in a way, he represents an extraordinary piece of medical history. He was born in Graz, Austria in 1899, and as he grew and matured, it became evident that his stature was significantly shorter than the average man. He was classified as a dwarf, standing only 3 feet 10.5 inches (1.18 m) in 1920, his 21st year.

But in his early twenties, Adam's height suddenly began to increase at an astonishing rate, and without any signs of stopping. By his 32nd birthday, his unusually short stature of under four feet was increased to an unusually tall stature of just under 7 feet 2 inches (2.18 m). This incredible sustained rate of growth– about 3.6 inches per year– exhausted his body and left him bedridden.

It seems likely that the secretions from the poor chap's pituitary gland– the gland reponsible for the body's growth hormones– went from a trickle to to a flood shortly after his 21st birthday. The malfunctioning organ caused his body to devote all of its resources to unchecked growth, leaving him weak and unable to stand.

He lived in this unfortunate condition until he died on March 4, 1950, aged 51. At the time of his death, he was measured at 7 feet 8 inches tall (2.34 m), twice the height he been at age 21. Adam was the only person in medical history to have been classified both as a dwarf and a giant.

 

[Carcharodon]

this is kinda funny

The Man Who Was a Dwarf and a Giant
Written by Alan Bellows on December 1st, 2005 at 2:56 pm
From DamnInteresting.com
Very few details are known about the life of Adam Rainer, but in a way, he represents an extraordinary piece of medical history. He was born in Graz, Austria in 1899, and as he grew and matured, it became evident that his stature was significantly shorter than the average man. He was classified as a dwarf, standing only 3 feet 10.5 inches (1.18 m) in 1920, his 21st year.

But in his early twenties, Adam's height suddenly began to increase at an astonishing rate, and without any signs of stopping. By his 32nd birthday, his unusually short stature of under four feet was increased to an unusually tall stature of just under 7 feet 2 inches (2.18 m). This incredible sustained rate of growth– about 3.6 inches per year– exhausted his body and left him bedridden.

It seems likely that the secretions from the poor chap's pituitary gland– the gland reponsible for the body's growth hormones– went from a trickle to to a flood shortly after his 21st birthday. The malfunctioning organ caused his body to devote all of its resources to unchecked growth, leaving him weak and unable to stand.

He lived in this unfortunate condition until he died on March 4, 1950, aged 51. At the time of his death, he was measured at 7 feet 8 inches tall (2.34 m), twice the height he been at age 21. Adam was the only person in medical history to have been classified both as a dwarf and a giant.

Cool, I was right. He lived a lot longer than I would have expected, though. *Shrug*

 

[Dew k. Mosi]

In the Phantom Tollbooth, which was an AWESOME book, the kid meets a guy claiming to be "The world's tallest midget" and "The World's SHortest Giant" as well has "The World's Fattest Thin Man" and "The World's Thinnest Fat Man"

In truth he was just a normal guy