"The genetic code does not, and cannot, specify the nature and position of every capillary in the body or every neuron in the brain. What it can do is describe the underlying fractal pattern which creates them."
— Academician Prokhor Zakharov, "Nonlinear Genetics", Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri
"To map the very stuff of life; to look into the genetic mirror and watch a million generations march past. That, friends, is both our curse and our proudest achievement. For it is in reaching to our beginnings that we begin to learn who we truly are."
— Academician Prokhor Zakharov, "Address to the Faculty", Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri
"DNA is not Lego bricks! You can't just rearrange the pieces and make it different!"
— Linkara on JLA: Act of God Part 1, Atop the Fourth Wall
Naomi: We're talking about gene therapy here. [...] It's not like installing new software on a computer. You can't just stick a bunch of DNA in your system and instantly change your whole physiology.
Liquid: ...But Octopus—
Naomi: Is a freak of nature.
Liquid: ...But Octopus—
Naomi: Is a freak of nature.
Liquid Snake: You got all the dominant genes and I got all the lame recessive genes and WAAAAAH
Solid Snake: [reading a book of 8th grade genetics] ...What?
Liquid Snake: WAAAAAH SHUT UP I HATE YOU I HATE YOU I HATE YOU
Solid Snake: [reading a book of 8th grade genetics] ...What?
Liquid Snake: WAAAAAH SHUT UP I HATE YOU I HATE YOU I HATE YOU
— Hiimdaisy: Let's Destroy Metal Gear
Rick: It's koala, mixed with rattlesnake, chimpanzee, cactus, shark, golden retriever, and just a smidge of dinosaur. Should add up to normal humanity.
Morty: I don't— that doesn't make any sense, Rick!
Morty: I don't— that doesn't make any sense, Rick!
This is where we need to suspend scientific skepticism somewhat, as designing a functional genome isn't as straightforward as cutting and pasting from one animal to another. In fact, this is so far from how things work that it would be like an architect, on losing a few pages from the plans of a multi-million dollar skyscraper, slipping in a few random pages from a cookie-cutter duplex and hoping for the best. The result would be a disaster.
— Andrew Maynard, Films from the Future: The Technology and Morality of Sci-Fi Movies, on Jurassic Park's dinosaurs being spliced with frog DNA
