Comments by "SepherStar" (@SepherStar) on "The Stream - Cousin marriages: tradition versus taboo" video.

  1. India and Pakistan have an unusually high rate of recessive genetic conditions due to this practice. It should be banned.
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  2. +Maryam Mirza The only deformity that would be due to poor nutrition would be spina bifida, which due to a folic acid deficiency in the mother in the very first days/weeks of pregnancy. Most of the deformities you see in these children are probably genetic in origin. As to why you see them more often in historically poor people rather than historically affluent people, there could be a few reason. 1. More affluent people can afford genetic testing and in vitro fertilization, to avoid babies with genetic defects. 2. More affluent people can afford pre-natal ultrasounds and can abort babies with defects. 3. More affluent people can be more selective with mates because they have more economic leverage.
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