by Tanada » Sun 09 May 2010, 05:46:29
$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('eastbay', 'T')he small genetic diversity shared by various groupings of humans is responsible for spectacular differences. These include, but are in no way limited to, a very long list describing a host of such characteristics as eye, skin, and hair color, shape of teeth, thickness and shape of skulls, skeletal structure, height, and, yes it's true, cognitive and athletic aptitudes.
This wonderful human diversity, although created and shaped by tiny genetic differences, should be guarded, honored, and encouraged to flourish thereby avoiding a few more extinctions of our very own unique life forms (ok, we won't say 'races' if it's use at this time creates anger and is no longer politically correct) on our earth.
Ah I see, so these same tiny variations that create the differences between say the Doberman Pincer, Bull Mastiff, German Shepherd and Timber wolf must also be making them into 'unique life forms' ? So by your standards if we breed up a few hundred varieties of any species with inbreeding and character selection breeding in isolated populations it is just as good as having a separate species? We better get on with it for the species which are still alive so we can protect 'ecological diversity' right? No? But the Europeans have already breed hundreds of distinct phenotypes of Pigeons to demonstrate and enhance these very same kind of traits, surely that counts? No? Why not? Humans have done this with Dogs, Cats, Pigeons, Sheep, Cattle, Goats, Chickens, Ducks, Geese, Turkeys and so on and so forth to greater or lesser rates of success.
Genetic inheritance is a fascinating subject is it not? The fact that the last common ancestor in terms of Mitochondria with a Neanderthal is over 400,000 years before present while at the same time we have a 1% to 4% normal DNA inheritance tells us that there was inter breeding, but that none of the mDNA was passed down to our ancestors. Given that mDNA comes only from the Maternal line and that the Haldane Rule for primates is almost always Male sterile result then the possibilities abound. Neanderthal is almost completely gone, except for a few selfish gene's that have managed to keep themselves in the human population at large, mostly in European populations. But every human now alive can trace there 'mother descent' back about 74,000 years into central east Africa to Mitochondrial Eve, her mDNA is in all our cells slowly predictably altered over time.