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Originally Posted by QazokRouge5
I've never been clear on what genetic deformities occur with incest. Anyone care to explain?
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That is because there is no clear answer. It is probably more accurate to say that a child born out of incest is at greater risk of losing some of their genetic diversity.
Most people would be familier with the concept of dominant & recessive genes (allele), though once again genetics are not nearly as simple as those two distinct categories.
Just in case here is a brief run-down on the difference:
A dominant trait (phenotype) occurs when there is either two dominant genes of the same type or one dominent gene and one recessive gene. (DD or Dr)
A recessive trait only occurs when there are two of the same recessive gene. (rr)
Since we inherit both types from our parents what traits make up a person depends very much on their culteral background and genetic history.
By having parents who are close relatives you increase the chances that the child will inherit identical recessive genes and therefore inherit more recessive traits than would normally occur.
That does not mean all recessive genes are bad, some are perfectly normal things like eye colour, others may determine whether a person has a certain genetic disorder. Dominant genes can also carry genetic disorders, but the process of natural selection means people with undesirable dominant traits are usually removed from the gene pool.
In short, a child born out of incest does not have any gaurentee of being born with genetic deformities, this for the most part is urban myth. If the parents have recessive genes that lead to genetic deformities then the child is more likely to inherit those deformities.