Hunterindarkness wrote:

secondly, by a lot of hand waving and making things up

Index Xenos: The Kroot
By Graham McNeill
(...)
However the strangest quirk of Kroot digestion is their ability to extract potentially useful strands of their food's DNA. Adeptus Mechanicus Genetors have long been aware that much of the double helix structure of DNA is in fact blank. Used to separate those areas that do contain genetic information. The Kroot have somehow inherited the ability to incorporate useful DNA codes into their own genetic make up. Larger Kroot, called Shapers, who have an instinctive understanding of this process, can direct their kindred to consume certain prey in order that in successive generations, they may take on elements of those genes.

Kroothawk wrote:Index Xenos: The Kroot
By Graham McNeill
(...)
However the strangest quirk of Kroot digestion is their ability to extract potentially useful strands of their food's DNA. Adeptus Mechanicus Genetors have long been aware that much of the double helix structure of DNA is in fact blank. Used to separate those areas that do contain genetic information. The Kroot have somehow inherited the ability to incorporate useful DNA codes into their own genetic make up. Larger Kroot, called Shapers, who have an instinctive understanding of this process, can direct their kindred to consume certain prey in order that in successive generations, they may take on elements of those genes.

Iracundus wrote:

Kroothawk wrote:Index Xenos: The Kroot
By Graham McNeill
(...)
However the strangest quirk of Kroot digestion is their ability to extract potentially useful strands of their food's DNA. Adeptus Mechanicus Genetors have long been aware that much of the double helix structure of DNA is in fact blank. Used to separate those areas that do contain genetic information. The Kroot have somehow inherited the ability to incorporate useful DNA codes into their own genetic make up. Larger Kroot, called Shapers, who have an instinctive understanding of this process, can direct their kindred to consume certain prey in order that in successive generations, they may take on elements of those genes.

GW's bit there is what used to be thought was the case in real world science. The problem with this little bit is that modern research is increasingly revealing that the so called "junk" DNA bits are not actually junk or blank, but serve some role in modulating those parts that do encode for proteins. Another bit of GW science falls to the march of progress.

Iracundus wrote:GW's bit there is what used to be thought was the case in real world science. The problem with this little bit is that modern research is increasingly revealing that the so called "junk" DNA bits are not actually junk or blank, but serve some role in modulating those parts that do encode for proteins. Another bit of GW science falls to the march of progress.

Iracundus wrote:
Of all the various fields, GW manages to at least techno-babble to at least a somewhat plausible science fiction extent on most....except biology.

Sometimes its extensive and other times its as simple as "How do we get around the Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle? Heisenberg Compensaters! How do those work..? *cough* moving along..

Buffytrek wrote:

Sometimes its extensive and other times its as simple as "How do we get around the Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle? Heisenberg Compensaters! How do those work..? *cough* moving along..

A little off topic but the correct answer is: 'It works very well, thank you.' Someone asked it at a convention Q&A session and that was the answer that the tech guy gave to the audience member, from memory.
If you look at most science fiction as soon as it gets into specifics it dates rather badly, taking into account Star Trek alone with respect to the official timeline we should have already had the Eugenics Wars and sent a whole load of prisioners into space.