Genetics has a lot to do with the way out children look or shape up in later life. However, you might have never thought that the more diverse parents’ genes are, the smarter and taller the kid is.
A new study published in the journal Nature proves this theory, surprising as it may seem.
A team of researchers looked at the data comprised in more than 100 studies published worldwide. This data was especially related to genetic information and health. The studies involved more than 350,000 people coming from different backgrounds.
Their findings were quite surprising, as they realized increased height as well as better cognitive skills could be linked to genetic diversity.
Pete Joshi, one of the lead study authors from the University of Edinburgh said that this discovery is particularly important because it answers some of the questions related to the positive aspects of genetic diversity:
“Our research answers questions first posed by Darwin as to the benefits of genetic diversity. Our next step will be to hone in on the specific parts of the genome that most benefit from diversity,” he said.
Another researcher involved in the study, Dr. Jim Wilson, who is also from the University of Edinburgh added that the study points out the importance of large-scale, comprehensive genetic analyses and their role in providing very important information regarding the evolutionary history of humanity.
The authors of the study looked at the genetic material of the individuals and even had cases where some of them displayed identical copies of genes from their parents. This meant that their ancestors were related.
It was previously thought that identical genetic material from parents whose ancestors were related would lead to various diseases, but the authors of the study said this was not an issue
What they did realize was the fact that children who were born from such parents had 10 months less formal education and were shorter by 1.2 cm, on average. Other differences were found in terms of lung function.
This is an important study because marriages between races are continuing to spread, so racial diversity should be under scrutiny from this point of view. In 2013, it was reported that 12 percent of marriages were between people belonging to different racial groups.
This particular study points out that there might be advantages to marriages between people who belong to various racial and ethnic backgrounds.
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