I mean, I know we all laugh about it but scientifically there is negligible risk from cousin marriage and it was the norm in most of the world for most of human existence.

Everyone was related somehow

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Posted by SlapahoeTribe

Tiger Nation

Member since Jul 2012

12129 posts

Posted on 12/8/23 at 8:57 am to fr33manator

Edgar Allan Poe, HG Wells, Albert Einstein, Thomas Jefferson, Charles Darwin … all married their first cousins.

Albert Einstein was a special one too. His wife was his first cousin on his mother’s side and (I think) his third cousin on his father’s side. She was actually born an Einstein and her “maiden name” when she married Albert was the last name she got from her first marriage.

This post was edited on 12/8/23 at 8:58 am

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Posted by mdomingue

Lafayette, LA

Member since Nov 2010

31242 posts

Posted on 12/8/23 at 9:24 am to fr33manator

quote:
I mean, I know we all laugh about it but scientifically there is negligible risk from cousin marriage and it was the norm in most of the world for most of human existence.

Everyone was related somehow

People misunderstand the pitfalls of reproduction with close relatives and think that it causes certain abnormalities within the genome. The pitfall is that genetic anomalies, specifically those that require the genetic defect or trigger in the genes from the parents, have an increased likelihood of occurring.

It's the same reason that specific breeds of animals, like certain breeds of dogs or horses that have been selectively bred for generations, tend to have a higher percentage of certain problems specific to that breed. Hence the term hybrid vigor which refers to the much smaller percentage of 'mutts' that have issues common to many tightly controlled breeds.

Still, there is something creepy about it