Yep, that's a good example. I'm actually a carrier (I have sickle cell trait). I became a carrier because my father (African) is also a carrier but my mother (Caribbean) isn't. Both of them look just as black as each other. My sister, thanks to the vagaries of genetics, isn't a carrier. Even though she wo…
Yep, that's a good example. I'm actually a carrier (I have sickle cell trait). I became a carrier because my father (African) is also a carrier but my mother (Caribbean) isn't. Both of them look just as black as each other. My sister, thanks to the vagaries of genetics, isn't a carrier. Even though she would tick the same box for "race" as me.
If I wanted to have a child, there'd be no way to know by "race" whether my prospective partner was also a carrier (if both parents are carriers there's a high chance the child will have anemia). The vast majority of black people don't have sickle cell anemia or trait and about 20% of the people who *do* aren't black. Sickle cell trait is a (fairly rare) medical reality, not a racial one. So, in this case, simply asking people whether they have sickle cell trait would be far more useful than asking them whether they have any genealogy from sub-Saharan Africa.
I'm not trying to argue that there aren't physiological realities regarding people from different parts of the world. I'm just saying that we can't meaningfully flatten these out by the concept of race. Melanoma risk, for example, is largely related to how dark somebody's skin is, which is broadly a function of how many of their ancestors lived near the equator. But at what point as we move away from the equator do people become a different "race"? What are the lines of latitude that separate black people from brown people from white people?
Yes, people with lighter skin are more likely to be at risk for skin cancer. Yes, people from sub-Saharan Africa are more likely to have sickle cell trait/anemia. It's useful to know these things. But while "race", by which I think you really mean skin colour, *feels* like a useful shorthand for people's differences, it almost never maps them accurately when you're trying to be even slightly precise.
Fun facts to Know and Tell: SCA survives because it confers malaria resistance. Living in the USA you are unlikely to be exposed to malaria but it's endemic in much of the world.
With two SCA alleles one is likely to come down with SCA and die from it. But with one, as you have, a malaria infection is far less lethal because the one allele has the effect of causing the red blood cells to rupture before the parasites are mature. Zero SCA alleles and malaria is a real danger.
This is just one of several genetic abnormalities that persist because of malaria. Another is favism, allergy to fava beans; this allergy does something similar to red blood cells.
Without the influence of malaria, many genetic deficits would have died our long ago.
I know this has nothing to do with racism.
"(if both parents are carriers there's a high chance the child will have anemia)"
😁 I knew it had something to do with malaria but wasn't clear on the details. I also get bitten by mosquitos less than my sister does which is a huge bonus.
"Here's one: sickle cell anemia."
Yep, that's a good example. I'm actually a carrier (I have sickle cell trait). I became a carrier because my father (African) is also a carrier but my mother (Caribbean) isn't. Both of them look just as black as each other. My sister, thanks to the vagaries of genetics, isn't a carrier. Even though she would tick the same box for "race" as me.
If I wanted to have a child, there'd be no way to know by "race" whether my prospective partner was also a carrier (if both parents are carriers there's a high chance the child will have anemia). The vast majority of black people don't have sickle cell anemia or trait and about 20% of the people who *do* aren't black. Sickle cell trait is a (fairly rare) medical reality, not a racial one. So, in this case, simply asking people whether they have sickle cell trait would be far more useful than asking them whether they have any genealogy from sub-Saharan Africa.
I'm not trying to argue that there aren't physiological realities regarding people from different parts of the world. I'm just saying that we can't meaningfully flatten these out by the concept of race. Melanoma risk, for example, is largely related to how dark somebody's skin is, which is broadly a function of how many of their ancestors lived near the equator. But at what point as we move away from the equator do people become a different "race"? What are the lines of latitude that separate black people from brown people from white people?
Yes, people with lighter skin are more likely to be at risk for skin cancer. Yes, people from sub-Saharan Africa are more likely to have sickle cell trait/anemia. It's useful to know these things. But while "race", by which I think you really mean skin colour, *feels* like a useful shorthand for people's differences, it almost never maps them accurately when you're trying to be even slightly precise.
Fun facts to Know and Tell: SCA survives because it confers malaria resistance. Living in the USA you are unlikely to be exposed to malaria but it's endemic in much of the world.
With two SCA alleles one is likely to come down with SCA and die from it. But with one, as you have, a malaria infection is far less lethal because the one allele has the effect of causing the red blood cells to rupture before the parasites are mature. Zero SCA alleles and malaria is a real danger.
This is just one of several genetic abnormalities that persist because of malaria. Another is favism, allergy to fava beans; this allergy does something similar to red blood cells.
Without the influence of malaria, many genetic deficits would have died our long ago.
I know this has nothing to do with racism.
"(if both parents are carriers there's a high chance the child will have anemia)"
One chance in four.
😁 I knew it had something to do with malaria but wasn't clear on the details. I also get bitten by mosquitos less than my sister does which is a huge bonus.