Ban on first-cousin marriages "not necessary"

sea-maid submitted, created time 7 months 2 weeks (www.newscientist.com)

It found that infant mortality is only 1.2 per cent higher among the children of first cousins compared with children that have more distantly related parents.

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When kissing cousins are good for kids

davidd submitted, created time 11 months 22 hours (www.nature.com)

In Western societies, "kissing cousins" are mocked, reviled and sometimes outlawed. Oddly, however, a new study suggests that a little bit of inbreeding might be beneficial to the family line.

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Female Antarctic seals give cold shoulder to local males

drunkard submitted, created time 1 year 11 months (www.eurekalert.org)

Female Antarctic fur seals will travel across a colony to actively seek males which are genetically diverse and unrelated, rather than mate with local dominant males. These findings, published in this week's Nature, suggest that female choice may be more widespread in nature than previously believed and that such strategies enable species to maintain genetic diversity.

Scientists from the University of Cambridge and the British Antarctic Survey (BAS) studied a colony of Antarctic fur seals (Arctocephalus gazella) on the subantarctic island of South Georgia

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Inbreeding gives some an advantage

newsdigg submitted, created time 1 year 11 months (www.nature.com)

For one group of African fish, incest is not only a way of life — it may also be a boon. . These fish have happy families and healthy kids. Runs against the usual view, inbred offspring less able to survive or reproduce? Maybe we should once again, meditate the prevailed doctrine.

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