Genetics and Health?

[naix]

There has always been the perception that mixed race people are generally healthier than others. But is this really true?

Through personal experiences my siblings and I hardly ever get sick compared to our peers, and have never had serious illnesses. I would like to hear about everyone else's experiences in these regards. The theory that mixed race people are healthier can be explained through science apparently. (an article I read and connected to the topic)

At one point in mankind's life, there were fewer than 10,000 people left alive after a catastrophe, with fewer than 500 fertile females within the 10,000. Man only just survived. As such, scientists have said entire populations of humans have less genetic diversity than say a clan of gorillas. And the less diversity there is, the greater the incidence of weaker offspring through the receiving of unhealthy recessive traits. So technically speaking, we are already lacking in genetic diversity, (mankind as a whole) so the more we mix around the healthier we will be according to the theory.

Everyone's thoughts?

[palavore]

Looks like I'll be the first one to entertain your idea.

Jan 4, 2010 9:58:31 GMT -5 naix said:

There has always been the perception that mixed race people are generally healthier than others. But is this really true?

So when you say "healthy", you mean an innate immunity to diseases? But you see, as far as fitness goes, it's not the size of your arsenal that matters, it's how accurate you are in your environment. The best overall won't usually win in one place.

But I can see what you're taking about. It's like that dream car I always wanted: Korean price tag, Japanese fuel economy, German snob appeal, sleek Italian sexiness, and made in America. Even if I could get those countries to talk together and make me such a car, there are inherent engineering contradictions to such a demand.

The same goes for human biology.

Through personal experiences my siblings and I hardly ever get sick compared to our peers, and have never had serious illnesses. I would like to hear about everyone else's experiences in these regards. The theory that mixed race people are healthier can be explained through science apparently. (an article I read and connected to the topic)

I'd credit the difference in "health" to environment or acquired immunity. The more pathogens you are exposed to as a child (the more you play in the mud) the better your immune response--especially regarding allergies. A child's oral fixation (putting objects in their mouth) is actually a beneficial trait preserved by evolution. They're developing their immune system by sorting the bad from the very bad.

Man only just survived. As such, scientists have said entire populations of humans have less genetic diversity than say a clan of gorillas. And the less diversity there is, the greater the incidence of weaker offspring through the receiving of unhealthy recessive traits. So technically speaking, we are already lacking in genetic diversity, (mankind as a whole) so the more we mix around the healthier we will be according to the theory.

So what happens when two of the same colors are mixed together? You get the same color. This where we credit our adaptive biology--the ability of our immune system to change color when our skin can't. This is a more profound and meaningful trait than race, but our silly brains immediately comprehend only what it can see.

I'm not saying that individuals don't benefit from inherited immunities. I'm saying that every race and people can and have made that adaption. The only real question is how recent? From studying populations and the "echoes" of their innate immunities, science can trace the path that these diseases once took and the speed at which it surprised everyone.

So if you are a candidate for surviving the worst, thank the mud pie you ate as child and not so much your mother/father combination. You also can't rule out those radioactive bugs that go around biting people. ;D

BTW, you owe me a penny.

[milkman's baby]

If that were the case, then blonds and redheads would be known for having many genetic diseases and defects. Sweden is a country full of generations of breeding with recessive traits like blond hair and blue eyes (until fairly recently, anyway), and yet the Swedes are certainly not noted for poor health. Matter of fact, they are one of the healthiest nations but that is a whole other discussion (economic, political).

While the theories are certainly interesting and I'm not necessarily a bitter opponent of eugenics, I can't really buy this theory. You can't always try to speak of human race like animal breeding. The two don't always work in the same manner.

[naix]

Alright Palavore, I can see where you are coming from. Also, I forgot to mention a point. Sometimes race does play a part, so that for example an Asian may be the most prone to get a certain illness, and an African may be more prone to get another illness. But being mixed up, this might mean relative immunity to both, or if the theory is wrong, we would end up being more vulnerable.

Jan 4, 2010 22:55:08 GMT -5 milkman's baby said:

If that were the case, then blonds and redheads would be known for having many genetic diseases and defects. Sweden is a country full of generations of breeding with recessive traits like blond hair and blue eyes (until fairly recently, anyway), and yet the Swedes are certainly not noted for poor health. Matter of fact, they are one of the healthiest nations but that is a whole other discussion (economic, political).

While the theories are certainly interesting and I'm not necessarily a bitter opponent of eugenics, I can't really buy this theory. You can't always try to speak of human race like animal breeding. The two don't always work in the same manner.

The recessive traits I am talking about are not that. Notice that the egyptian pharohs who maried quite close to the family were often mentally unstable and sickly people. Basically what I am talking about is inbreeding, which is practiced in many places still. ( I know a guy whose parents are cousins..... from Iran) The recessive traits are when two of the same allele are matched when they shouldn't be (again not hair color, etc.) and that can lead to health problems later in life.

When you bring eugenics into the picture, the word "NAZI!" flashes into my mind! But... now that you bring animals into the picture, I guess you can compare certain aspects. Bulldogs often have respiratory problems, so breeding them out would reduce or get rid of those problems.

[betahat]

I think the evidence is pretty clear that inbreeding among small and close-knit communities does lead to higher incidence of some genetic illnesses. But I'm not sure that carries over to the general population. Sweden is not the same as the Faroe Islands or Ashkenazi Jews living in majority Christian populations. Not every population is subjected to the pressures that might cause Sickle-Cell to get selected in certain African-American populations because of the malaria resistance that accomponies it. I would say my siblings and I are a mixed bag health-wise - poor eyesight from the Asian side, some allergies from the European side, and a few things that come from god knows where because no relatives that we know of had them. I wouldn't want to generalize from our experience anyway.

[palavore]

^The autosomal recessive gene for cystic fibrosis also gives you the heterozygote advantage for surviving cholera, dysentery, and perhaps tuberculosis. It's also the most common lethal gene mutation in Europeans.

However, in the age of modern medicine (and sanitation), these genetic "advantages" cause more harm than good for Europeans because of their recessive disorders. I've identified Acinetobacter in the sputum of CF patients. That's a bad indication that they're going terminal. I mean, cholera is a hell of a lot easier to treat than CF.

BTW, myopia in Asians is a correlation of diet and behavior. It's the same with allergies. It's the combination of environment and genetics, nature and nurture.

Jan 4, 2010 23:12:36 GMT -5 naix said:

When you bring eugenics into the picture, the word "NAZI!" flashes into my mind! But... now that you bring animals into the picture, I guess you can compare certain aspects. Bulldogs often have respiratory problems, so breeding them out would reduce or get rid of those problems.

There was a show on Comedy Central called Crossballs: The Debate Show (2004). The aim of the show was to prank the experts with outrageous comedians (who also posed as experts). It was suppose to a satire on political dialogue in the U.S. media.

One of those expert (comedians) was a Nazi dog breeder by the name of Herr Besser. Later in the show he introduces his partner in the restoring the purity of the breeds, a Shih Tzu dog breeder wearing a uniform of the Imperial Japanese Army. The reactions from the guests were hilarious. ;D

"German shepherds are the best breed in the world and the only breed that we need."

[Ganbare!]

The mulatto population is old enough to tell if their genetic mixing allowed them to be healthier or have a longer life expectancy than their full-blooded counterparts.

In my opinion outside of degenerative genetic defects mixed-race individuals are not more immune to illnesses than others, there is no evidence confirming your theory.

Ashkenazi Jews because of intermarriage have a very similar genetic makeup and yet scientists found they had a gene variation responsible for synthetizing cholesterol effectively leading to better brain aging. Considering the proportionally colossal intellectual contribution of this people (sometimes at very advanced ages), I'm not sure your theory of inbreeeding is relevant to the Human genre .

[naix]

Jan 5, 2010 14:56:25 GMT -5 palavore said:

^

Jan 4, 2010 23:12:36 GMT -5 naix said:

When you bring eugenics into the picture, the word "NAZI!" flashes into my mind! But... now that you bring animals into the picture, I guess you can compare certain aspects. Bulldogs often have respiratory problems, so breeding them out would reduce or get rid of those problems.

There was a show on Comedy Central called Crossballs: The Debate Show (2004). The aim of the show was to prank the experts with outrageous comedians (who also posed as experts). It was suppose to a satire on political dialogue in the U.S. media.

One of those expert (comedians) was a Nazi dog breeder by the name of Herr Besser. Later in the show he introduces his partner in the restoring the purity of the breeds, a Shih Tzu dog breeder wearing a uniform of the Imperial Japanese Army. The reactions from the guests were hilarious. ;D

"German shepherds are the best breed in the world and the only breed that we need."

This made me lol. I am so searching youtube for that now.

[palavore]

Jan 6, 2010 0:51:22 GMT -5 naix said:

Jan 5, 2010 14:56:25 GMT -5 palavore said:

There was a show on Comedy Central called Crossballs: The Debate Show (2004). The aim of the show was to prank the experts with outrageous comedians (who also posed as experts). It was suppose to a satire on political dialogue in the U.S. media.

One of those expert (comedians) was a Nazi dog breeder by the name of Herr Besser. Later in the show he introduces his partner in the restoring the purity of the breeds, a Shih Tzu dog breeder wearing a uniform of the Imperial Japanese Army. The reactions from the guests were hilarious. ;D

"German shepherds are the best breed in the world and the only breed that we need."

This made me lol. I am so searching youtube for that now.

Good luck, the memory of that show has almost disappeared from existence. A torrent search might work better.

[s]

On average, I'd expect mixed people to be healthier.

However, apply raw numbers and the bell curve and even with the advantage mixed genetics gives one, I'd expect the people with the best genetics to be predominately pure race.

[catgirl]

Jan 4, 2010 22:55:08 GMT -5 milkman's baby said:

If that were the case, then blonds and redheads would be known for having many genetic diseases and defects. Sweden is a country full of generations of breeding with recessive traits like blond hair and blue eyes (until fairly recently, anyway), and yet the Swedes are certainly not noted for poor health. Matter of fact, they are one of the healthiest nations but that is a whole other discussion (economic, political).

While the theories are certainly interesting and I'm not necessarily a bitter opponent of eugenics, I can't really buy this theory. You can't always try to speak of human race like animal breeding. The two don't always work in the same manner.

Blonde hair doesnt mean you are inbred! I know some mixed individuals that are blonde, and I doubt that they are inbred.

We are usually attracted to people with different MHC class than ourselves to ensure that we have a diverse immune system against as many pathogens as possible. Its also easier to conceive if you and your partner have more differences in your MCH classes. Different MHC class doesnt always say different "race". You can find it in all races. But if you come from some isolated place and people havent moved for a LONG time, chances are smaller that you will find a good match....