I was curious if anyone has an idea how much the body genetically mutates over an average lifespan.
Putting aside any ethical/moral issues, if people had tissue/genetic samples taken when they were born and froze these for use later in life, would the body still recognize it as 'self' or has it mutated so much over the years that it would now reject this original genetic makeup as a foreign substance?
Knowing one's genetic makeup at birth would seem to be an ideal reference point as things only get worse as you age (from a genetic point of view). Would having access to such data not open up possibilities for fighting cancer? I'm totally disregarding costs and logistics, just wondering if this is something that might be possible or common in the future.
