[In the world of Harry Potter,] magic appears to follow some of the same rules as other traits that are inherited, but what could be the genetic factors that explain why someone is born a witch or a wizard or without any magical ability at all?

A roomful of people at Future Con got a crash course in wizarding DNA and the basic workings of genetics on June 17, at a talk hosted by Eric Spana, an assistant professor in the Department of Biology at Duke University, in North Carolina.

Eric Spana describes wizard DNA at the Future Con panel, Harry Potter and the Genetics of Wizarding. Credit: M. Weisberger/Live Science

Is the wizarding gene recessive? Hagrid, the half-giant-half-wizard groundskeeper at Hogwarts, proves that it isnt, according to Spana. Giants have no magical ability, and Hagrid was born to a giant mother and a wizard father. For him to be born a wizard with only one copy of the wizard gene in his DNA, magical ability would have to be a dominant trait, said Spana.

If the wizarding gene is working correctly, it makes a certain type of protein. The phenotypeis magical ability. But if theres amutation in that gene Spana suggested calling it the SQUIB mutation a different type of protein turns the magic gene off. If one parents DNA carries a copy of the SQUIB mutation, it can turn off the wizarding protein, which cancels a childs ability to do magic.

We do this in fruit flies all the time, Spana said, referring to manipulation of heritable traits in general.

The GLP aggregated and excerpted this blog/article to reflect the diversity of news, opinion, and analysis. Read full, original post:Genetics of Wizardry: Were Harry Potters Magical Powers Written in His DNA?

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Genetics of Harry Potter: What wizardry can tell us about our DNA - Genetic Literacy Project