If people are at least 10% different, is race biological inexistent like some of us think? Many of us really don’t understand math and science and we make the mistake of making uneducated guesses based upon the little knowledge we have heard or think we know.
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Cynthia, the article did not mention race as a factor, only that they sampled people from Europe, Africa and Asia. I DO believe race is a social construct, and should not be viewed as a means to determining genetics. I am surprised that you are making this connection.
I have my BS in Biology, and was very good at math and science, but I don’t for one second think I know it all. It is my opinion (and you can take it for just that), that people vary from person to person genetically. In the past, they have already shown evidence to indicate that you may not be genetically similar to someone who looks like you (how people determine race in a lot of situations) and/or you may be more genetically similar to someone who doesnt share many physical features or region of origin with you.
I think if there is anything that we can take from that article, is that there is more genetic variation out there than we first thought…not that race somehow factors into it. I think there are certain things that are regional (you could equate this to race in all of it’s poor characterization), and probably more than likely based on natural selection foremost and genetic mutation (and/or evolution) to a lesser degree. that is just a fact of science. divergents happen out of need or just by chance, but they persist due to survival and/or mating practices. What say ye? =)
Comment by EmergingPhoenix — October 15, 2007 @ 5:37 pm
What you are saying is different from what the article is saying. I think it is wishful thinking for you and others to think that there is no biological difference in racial groups.
There is nothing wrong with being different. If others have used these biological differences in a negative way, that is on them. However, this doesn’t negate the truth. Our eyes should have told us that we are different especially since phenotypes are based upon genotypes.
Maybe if you take a look at the original article you will see that each group of people analyzed in the study (Africans, Europeans, and Asians) are genetically different and distinct.
Take a look at Fig. 7 in the Nature article. Here is the link:
Comment by Cynthia — October 16, 2007 @ 10:06 pm
The obvious is sometimes hidden in plain sight and another perspective needs to be revealed in order to identify the obvious truth.
This article has done just that for some. The only way I could see anyone denying these facts is that they have decided to deny the truth. It is interesting when Black people who have the training and the credentials on the subject, they are rejected by other black folks until white folks come along and say the same and then suddenly they get clarity. We have a lot to overcome.
Comment by wildbill — October 16, 2007 @ 10:11 pm
I did not get a chance to read the entire article, but I will. I did look at the graph though. Why is it that between people of Asian and European descent, the graph tries to draw some overlap? It even suggests more variation among people of european descent.
In the meantime, take a look at this article:
http://news.independent.co.uk/sci_tech/article3067222.ece
This is the product of this type of thinking. Why is it soo hard for people to view everyone as an individual? I am not saying there is something wrong with being different. To the contrary, instead of saying there is something different about each individual, this article is seeking to draw similarities among people based on region of origin. I believe that there is little to be gained by compartmentalizing large groups of people into neat little regional packets of DNA. Yes phenotype is dictated by genotype, but many variations of DNA can produce the same phenotype, as well as the same set of genes can produce vastly different phenotypes.
What about the vast majority of people living in both America’s and the Carribean islands, who are mostly of mixed race? Won’t that have to be acknowledged, or will we just continue to lump them all in the category of African descent? I think there are many political as well as scientific ethical issues to be taken into consideration, when you start to interpret DNA based on race. The problem is not the science of genetic distinctness, it is that we have yet to evolve out of the underlying (and mostly idiotic)conversation over race, and trying to draw lines in the sand of physical, intellectual, sexual, and/or aesthetic differences based on the purely fictional and HIGHLY political construct of race.
Comment by EmergingPhoenix — October 19, 2007 @ 2:00 pm