I am currently working on a teen thriller story and I'm struggling with it. Help would be greatly appreciated. Is it possible for you guys to spit out a few ideas and/or suggestions pertaining to a biological (cell/genetic) experiment? I don't necessarily need the reason behind it. I just need to know what kind of experiment and what it's being done for. Something believable, of course, and something that could cause mutation in humans. Thank you in advance.
Cloning is always cool. Clones have diseases inherent to them (like progeria, which is rapid aging) and I wouldn't be surprised if some people tweaked the genes of some clones (it's possible to create people immune to some diseases with some genetic modifications, from birth).
Woah there. The level at which you are asking is really core storyline, and the writer should come up with that himself or herself. Asking for suggestions if you've plotted yourself into a corner is one thing. Asking to cime up with a story is an entirely different matter.
All I'm looking for are mere suggestions. I know it's asking a bit too much, and I should be thinking of this on my own, but I've been working on this for quite a while now. I was just looking for thoughts that were outside my little box - fresh, seen through different eyes. I apologize for crossing the line.
I guess that means you're still asking? Really, no one can give you pertinent suggestions for your story if you're not even sure yourself. Have you tried google? I typed in 'biological experiment' and got 21,100,000 hits. If you start there, then come back with a solid story concept, and need a slight nudge in the right direction if you're still stuck; I predict you'll get a warmer reception. Edited to add: I don't mean a question like, "What do you think of this idea?" I mean if you're stuck on a technical aspect of your idea and need to know if something is plausible.
cellular re-sequencing could become an aspect if you wish to have mutation in your story. DNA and stem cells are all over the news in the modern age, and how stem cells can grow into any other type of cell, and how DNA contains the pattern of how to make a person grow up. On that basis, by modifying a gene code and using similarly adapted stem cells, genomutation via cellular re-sequencing can be administered. Say for example, on a basic level, the DNA coding for the shape of your nose was somehow modified... as the older skin cells start to die off, the new skin cells created via the modified DNA would be forced to take over (so long as the 'prototype' strand was modified), and the body part would mutate as dictated by DNA in a very slow but painless way, as natural as growing up is today. To expand on that, changing someone's entire appearance, or organs would be possible in the same way, such as changing someone's gender with REAL, natural organs that would be fully functional. Of course, the process would be incredibly slow and complex, so it wouldn't be something that you could use for a shock story, but more a method of scientifically explaining mutation, provided you have a long enough period of time for it. Or, seeing as we're using non-existant sciences, you could create a dermal accelerator, which speeds up the rate at which dermal tissues grow, and thus the rate at which the older cells die and the new ones are created. This would be a form of snap mutation. Of course, you need to be a sci-fi buff to understand this properly.
I know more to my story then I've posted. Honestly, I didn't want anyone stealing the idea. I've heard that a writer shouldn't give too much of their story away at once, for that particular reason alone. Anyhow, thank you.
The rule is "Write what you know." If you know nothing of biology, what you write about biology won't sound realistic. You're going to have to do some research into the history of science. You don't have to go to college for a degree but you do need some studying. Just throwing in a few medical terms won't cut it.
Not always. Remember Star Trek and it's science? In the original series, they made up half the terms. If you can convincingly blag terminology, people will assume it's probable.
