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What's the minimum number of people needed to survive an apocalypse?
Live Science ^ | 05/05/2021 | By Patrick Pester

Posted on 05/06/2021 3:38:00 PM PDT by BenLurkin

The short answer is, it depends... However, putting some of these conditions aside and focusing on population size, the minimum number is likely very small compared with the approximately 7.8 billion people alive today.

Smith's research into early human civilizations and space colonization gives him pretty good insight into our apocalypse survival hopes. He expects big cities would be most vulnerable if global civilization were to crumble, as they import almost all of their food and are heavily reliant on electricity. Surviving populations would, therefore, likely spread out to find resources.

A surviving population of just a few hundred people would need a way of maintaining a breeding system, Smith said. Inbreeding, or breeding between closely related individuals, is one major challenge small populations face.

A sufficient number of breeding-age individuals of the opposite sex, known as the effective population size, would also be required for successful interbreeding to take place.

A starting crew of just 98 people would be enough for a 6,300-year-long journey (travelling in a hypothetical spacecraft at speeds that are possible with current technology) to Proxima Centauri b, a potentially habitable Earth-like exoplanet orbiting Proxima Centauri, the nearest star to the sun, according to a 2018 study published in the Journal of the British Interplanetary Society led by Frédéric Marin, an astrophysicist...

The Proxima Centauri b crew would not consist of a random sample of 98 humans, but rather 49 unrelated breeding pairs, ready to pass on their genes. The population would only remain genetically diverse and healthy over time under certain conditions, so for example, the crew's breeding would have to be monitored and restricted. Furthermore, a larger starting crew of 500 would likely be a safer choice, as they would be more likely to retain their genetic diversity with more breeding pairs...

(Excerpt) Read more at livescience.com ...


TOPICS: Astronomy; Science
KEYWORDS: apocalypse; astronomy; catastrophism; minimum; people; repopulation; science; thebidencatastrophe; thecartercatastrophe; theobamacatastrophe
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To: lurk

Israel just jabbed 50% of their population and are now going after the kids. It may have to be Jews from outside to repopulate.


81 posted on 05/06/2021 10:51:29 PM PDT by USAF80
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To: wgmalabama

Actually it does. LOL.


82 posted on 05/07/2021 4:37:37 AM PDT by Codeflier (Covid-19 taught me: Two types of "conservatives", frightened safety seekers vs. freedom lovers)
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To: EEGator

That is a good point. But they could have different mothers. LOL.


83 posted on 05/07/2021 4:38:55 AM PDT by Codeflier (Covid-19 taught me: Two types of "conservatives", frightened safety seekers vs. freedom lovers)
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To: BenLurkin; 75thOVI; Abathar; agrace; aimhigh; Alice in Wonderland; AnalogReigns; AndrewC; ...
Thanks BenLurkin.



84 posted on 05/07/2021 6:46:17 AM PDT by SunkenCiv (Imagine an imaginary menagerie manager imagining managing an imaginary menagerie.)
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To: BenLurkin

The last time, humans were down to about 30,000. So, I am going with me and 29,999 others.


85 posted on 05/07/2021 9:30:49 AM PDT by Vermont Lt (. )
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To: Adder

The people who wrote the Bible obviously didn’t understand the concept of a gene pool. It’s a good story...but it’s a story.


86 posted on 05/07/2021 9:32:05 AM PDT by Vermont Lt (. )
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To: Vermont Lt

Oh of course.
Still we all came from a pool of only 1000 to 10,000 individuals. The pool was pretty shallow.


87 posted on 05/07/2021 3:16:30 PM PDT by Adder ("Can you be more stupid?" is a question, not a challenge.)
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To: BenLurkin

can’t guarantee anything but if you give me some contact info i may be able to give you some results of the situation if it occurs in my timeframe... 😁


88 posted on 05/07/2021 3:26:15 PM PDT by heavy metal (smiling improves your face value as well as making people wonder what the hell you're up to... 😁)
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To: wgmalabama; marktwain

I was gonna settle the good survivors in Boulder Colorado and settle the bad survivors in Las Vegas.


89 posted on 05/07/2021 8:22:20 PM PDT by Redcitizen
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