User:Jzsdii

Hitler Had It All Wrong -   - Nature does not reward racial "purity". Not only is there a higher rate of birth defects when closely related parents have progeny, but there is a lower rate of problems when the parents have widely diverse genetic backgrounds. -   - One reason for this is that many birth defects are carried by recessive genes. This means that if both parents have the same recessive gene, their children have a greater chance of being born with the defect. However, if only one parent has the problem gene, their children have a much lower chance of inheriting that defect. Parents with widely diverse genetic backgrounds are much less likely to have recessive genes in common, which is highly beneficial for their children. -   - This is evident with the breeding of dogs. Although much care is taken to avoid close bloodlines, each breed has its own cluster of "problems". There is not enough genetic diversity to minimize recessive genes. The purity of their breeding is not to their advantage. -   - Throughout history, mankind has suffered through many scourges in the form of disease. We were lucky enough to have enough differences in our reactions to those diseases to always (so far) have had survivors. Although millions of people in Africa have AIDS, a few hundred seem to have a natural resistance. Researchers are studying them to try to determine if their immunity could be given to others. If we did not have the advantage of genetic diversity, we wouldn’t have enough differences in our immune systems to survive the many plagues or environmental hazards that have beset us. It is entirely possible that any one of those hazards could have wiped out the human race. -   - There is more proof in nature that genetic diversity is important. It is probably the main reason for most species having males and females. The entire complexity - two reproductive structures, gestation, birth, etc. - becomes a long, slow, cumbersome process; but nature seems to prefer it over any other. Even plants have males and females. The price is high for making sure that the next generation results from a mixing of genes, but it is a matter of survival. Genetic diversity is one of our strengths. --Jzsdii (talk) 05:11, 7 November 2008 (UTC)