Thursday 8 September 2011

Part 1 Notes Questions

1. For those that have something that prevents tyrosinase from functioning in full capacity skin, making their skin unable to be biologically or genetically darker, how would their child's skin be able to look "mixed-race" (or Black by the One Drop Rule) if they procreated with someone from Africa (currently, not who migrated thousands of years ago)?
2. Why wouldn't the idea of race being a myth be exposed more widely to the world? Because of how close-minded some people are, certainly not everyone would agree with it or believe, but most people might change their thinking instead of continuing on an idea developed six centuries ago. Has this rejection of the theory of race ever been published in any papers or broadcasted on the news internationally?
3. Does the huge variety of the gene pool in Africa explain why someone people are similar genetically to some people originally from Africa? Does it mean those non-Blacks who are similar may have came from the location the Africans are originally before migration?
4. How could someone in modern times who is, for example, African adapt to living in Alaska?

1 comment:

  1. Good questions. Here are my responses.
    1. Do you remember when you studies Genetics in 9th grade Biology...recessive and dominant genes? Well, the inhibitor that blocks the "dark" pigment melanin becomes less prominent in a biracial child. Only recently have people of different ethnicities begin mixing and having children. A recent phenomenon.
    2. This is a question most of your classmates also had. This theory is almost 100 years old! In the last few decades, as DNA science was discovered and refined, the evidence seems indisputable. Unfortunately, some people would resist (e.g. whites) because the theory does not support their race as biologically superior. Others have a hard time changing their mind after so many years of believing and being taught something else. Others go strictly on what they see (e.g. behaviors of others). The reason I felt strongly about teaching this course is because 16-18 year old brains are easier to mold then adults.
    3. That's exactly what it means. A person may trace their mother's DNA back to Africa, say 150 generations. However, the father's genes, and those recent generations would be responsible for the superficial, surface characteristics like skin color, hair, etc.
    4. They need to take vitaman supplements to stay healthy. Vice versa, a fair skinned person moving to Africa would need serious sunblock to avoid sunpoisoning.

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