Cousin Marriages May Be Taboo, but They’re Not Genetic Disasters

[Chica Yeyé 41]

I do have to admit that there is a cousin or two that I'd secretly like to get it on with based on their physical appearance. But... no can do.

Diana

That's what happens when we come from good looking families hermana. I tell you, a high % of my male cousins are quite handsome men. And then they talk

[DeadPoolX 9]

I don't know why so many believe that if first cousins or a brother and sister have a kid, it'll come out with tentacles and multiple eyes. That's simply not true. As long as there aren't generations of inbreeding, the chance of a genetic disaster is very slim. Sometimes even years of inbreeding don't cause the supposed "mutated freaks." Look at the UK's royal family. They're all related in some way, and yes, I know some of them look and act a bit odd, but none have three legs and a hump.

You obviously didn't read about that couple in Germany who are brother and sister, had a bunch of kids and most of them are disabled in some way.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/6424337.stm

Yeah, not pretty.

Diana

Such cases do exist. Overall, however, that is not the outcome in most situations. I wouldn't suggest such actions (since the potential for something to go awry is always there), but the chances of what occurring in that article are generally slim.

[lostinblue 1,989]

Just wondering...... Of all the people who have answered this post how many have taken a college level genetics course?

[DeadPoolX 9]

Just wondering...... Of all the people who have answered this post how many have taken a college level genetics course?

I have. What's your point?

[Amby 490]

Just wondering...... Of all the people who have answered this post how many have taken a college level genetics course?

I have but why does it matter

[mox 298]

Genetics? Aint Genetics that freaky Tom Cruise religion?

[Chica Yeyé 41]

Genetics? Aint Genetics that freaky Tom Cruise religion?

Good one.

[aidan80 9]

I don't know why so many believe that if first cousins or a brother and sister have a kid, it'll come out with tentacles and multiple eyes. That's simply not true. As long as there aren't generations of inbreeding, the chance of a genetic disaster is very slim. Sometimes even years of inbreeding don't cause the supposed "mutated freaks." Look at the UK's royal family. They're all related in some way, and yes, I know some of them look and act a bit odd, but none have three legs and a hump.

Give them time.. am sure one of them will form a hump or a third leg soon enough!

[DeadPoolX 9]

I don't know why so many believe that if first cousins or a brother and sister have a kid, it'll come out with tentacles and multiple eyes. That's simply not true. As long as there aren't generations of inbreeding, the chance of a genetic disaster is very slim. Sometimes even years of inbreeding don't cause the supposed "mutated freaks." Look at the UK's royal family. They're all related in some way, and yes, I know some of them look and act a bit odd, but none have three legs and a hump.

Give them time.. am sure one of them will form a hump or a third leg soon enough!

As soon as that happens, I bet it'll be on one of those "101 Strange & Unusual" shows or something.

[panamania79 2]

I have a cousin who had a long term relationship with her first cousin and even had a daughter together. Fortunately, the little girl is normal as can be but I still think it's gross to even have sex with a cousin. I mean, you're a hair away from being brother and sister, gross!

Diana

THANK YOU !

Genetics? Aint Genetics that freaky Tom Cruise religion?

Sceintology ?

[one...two...tree 2,762]

Check out the trailer....looks interesting.

http://kissingcousinsmovie.com/

[mox 298]

Genetics? Aint Genetics that freaky Tom Cruise religion?

Sceintology ?

Now you're just making up words.

[HAL 9000 96]

Just wondering...... Of all the people who have answered this post how many have taken a college level genetics course?

Graduate level genetics OK?

[panamania79 2]

In the western world, marriage between first cousins is labeled incest or inbreeding, and in the United States the practice is banned or restricted in 31 states. But a new essay argues that such laws are based on an outdated notion of the genetic risks involved in cousins marrying and reproducing. [T]hose laws "seem ill-advised" and "should be repealed," a geneticist and medical historian write…. "Neither the scientific nor social assumptions that informed them are any longer defensible" [Scientific American]. First cousins share about an eighth of their genes, and are therefore more likely to receive two copies of some recessive gene that poses health problems. Scientists had assumed that the children of first cousins would therefore be more likely to be born with birth defects. But coauthor Hamish Spencer writes that the risk of congenital defects is about 2 per cent higher than average for babies born to first-cousin marriages – with the infant mortality about 4.4 per cent higher – which is on a par with the risk to babies born to women over 40. "Women over the age of 40 have a similar risk of having children with birth defects and no one is suggesting they should be prevented from reproducing," said Professor Spencer [The Independent].

The editorial, published in the journal Public Library of Science Biology, focuses on the laws that restrict cousin marriages (China, Taiwan, and North and South Korea also ban the practice) and the stigma that is attached to such unions, especially in the United States. "Unlike the situation in Britain and much of Europe, cousin marriage in the U.S. was associated not with the aristocracy and upper middle class but with much easier targets: immigrants and the rural poor," they write [Wired News].

However, the authors note that the low rate that they cite for birth defects from cousin marriages is based on populations where the practice is rare; if cousins in such places marry, their offspring are likely to look outside the family for mates and will therefore bring new genes into the bloodline. Birth defects may be more likely in places where cousin marriages are commonplace, but the studies of this topic remain difficult and controversial. In February 2008, British Environment Minister Phil Woolas sparked a row in the United Kingdom when he attributed the high rate of birth defects in the Pakistani community to the practice of marriage between first cousins, the commentators said. Earlier studies estimated that between 55 per cent [and] 59 per cent of marriages continue to be between first cousins in Pakistan [CBC News].

http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/80beats/2008/12/29/cousin-marriages-may-be-taboo-but-theyre-not-genetic-disasters/

In my old 'hood,I grew up with this family who for some strange reason,all married first cousins.One of them even went so far as bringing her cousin over from "the old country" to marry him .The kids were all weird.