Xac/280 Week 2 Dna Analysis Assignment

In Kenan Malik’s, The Meaning of Race: Race, History and Culture in Western Society, Paul Broca stated, “Race in the present state of things is an abstract conception.” He further stated that race is “a conception of continuity in discontinuity, of unity in diversity. It is the rehabilitation of a real but directly unobtainable thing.” Based on Broca’s statements, it is difficult to classify humans into racial categories because the definition of what makes a person a member of a particular race differs from region to region around the world. Scientists have collected data about the genetic make-up of people around the world in an effort to ascertain a person’s racial identity. Some groups of people do differ genetically from others, however, the methods used to categorized people depend on the genes examined. According to Bamshad and Olson (2003), many studies have demonstrated that roughly 90% of human genetic variation occurs within a population living on a particular continent, whereas about 10% of the variation distinguishes continental populations. On average, people from different populations are just slightly different from one another than are individuals from the same population. Accordingly, human populations are very similar, although they can be distinguished.

Human DNA is very similar to one another, but only about 0.1% is different from the next person. That 0.1% can tell a person’s eye color, hair color, and other physical features. DNA analyst are able to take a drop of blood, the size of a dime, and duplicate the number DNA found in that drop. With the ability to duplicate DNA, analysts can have a back-up, in the event a human error were to occur. Analyst can tell you exactly where your ancestors came from and the percentage that is still inside your DNA. DNA is a very powerful tool that can identify a murder if the individual left any blood, saliva, skin tissue, hair or semen. The education needed to be able make use of the DNA consists of a great deal of science classes.

There is also a great deal of research done on genetic differences versus perception. It was even proven that the concept of race is merely a social construct and not nearly as scientifically in-tune as many believe it is. A study conducted by Eric D’Arcy of Harvard University in 2002 on alleles revealed a substantial observation on genetic differences between races and a socially constructed perception. Scientists found that, while alleles that were region-specific did show up, they really only appeared and occurred in numbers barely enough to construct any sort of trademark. In fact, they were found only in about 1% of the people of that specific region.

DNA profiles are very useful as although 99.9% of human DNA sequences are the same in every person, there is also enough DNA present which is different; this allows you to be able to distinguish one individual from another. This is the case for everyone apart from monozygotic twins. (Joseph Wambaugh)

“These digital records and documents, combined with our proprietary online search technologies and tools, enable our subscribers to research their family history, build their family trees, upload their own records and make meaningful discoveries about the lives of their ancestors.” (Form 10-K 2016). It would appear that the purpose of the Ancestry.com service is to put the subscriber on a self-learning path to discovering more about their heritage, it wants people to be: “We are studying our mother tongues. We are dancing to folk tunes. We are climbing our family trees.” (Kabada 175). The less common but emerging method of utilizing Ancestry.com involves a subscriber receiving a DNA testing kit and sending back their data. Ancestry.com would then run the subscribers genetic information through their massive ever-growing database, and generate a report for the subscribe allowing them to trace their genetic lineage through history. “Ancestry.com sold approximately one million DNA kits for the year ended December 31, 2015, an increase of over 93% in comparison to the year ended December 31, 2014.” (Form 10-K 2016).

The question that seems to be an ongoing topic of discussions is whether or not biological differences has any scientific validity when relating to race. The concept of race was established over the years based on physical features and variations of skin tone. These variations stem from environmental conditions causing slight variations in our genome. The essence of Homo sapiens is the same with slight variations in the DNA strands know as alleles. These variations are what cause physical differences that make up what we have defined over the years classified as different races. The variations have not evolved enough to prevent reproduction amongst the races.

However there is no discernible difference in genotype between perceived ‘races’, as the variation observed in the morphologies and cultural patterns of geographically distinct groups are physical markers that are interpreted through social practice.1 Renowned geneticists, Francis Collins and Craig Venter after initially mapping the human genome, announced in June 2000 that 99.9% of humans are genetically identical despite perceived race.2 Subsequently, evolutionary biologist Richard Lewontin, then further substantiated that within that 0.1% of difference, 85% of phenotypical variation was prominent inside geographically distinct groups, while only 15% occurs between them.3 It has been proposed by academics such as Naomi Zack, that to continue to refer to race as a purely biological notion is detrimental to social understanding as it reinforces a false notion.4 Although observable difference between groups does exist as variation caused by the evolutionary process of random drift and adaption5, these differences are phenotypical and only become salient to racial philosophy when interpreted socially. DeSalle and Tattersall explain that variation is driven by environmental influence on genotype, highlighting that insights into cultural practice are more productive in discussions about difference. A case study provided by DeSalle and Tattersall uses the example of lactose intolerance, explaining that, “Among norther European populations, only about 1 to 15 percent

Numerous studies have proven to show that there are genetic differences between racial groups as noted in the article, “Racial Disparities Noted in the Immune System” by ScienceDaily. The study showed different gene

The racial categories, while seemingly culturally meaningful, are biologically arbitrary. Racial statutes cannot be mapped accurately in the human genome, or as a set of traits. Traits generally ascribed to a certain “race” rarely only occur within that “race.” Natural selection and evolution are mechanisms that distribute variation in ways that are not concordant with racial categorization. In order to understand the variation within the human race, one must understand how advantageous traits are passed on through generations, and that these traits are advantageous for a specific environmental situation. Some examples of these variations are dark skin, sickle cell disease, and nasal morphology.

Instead, as the author Wald Sussman states, “race is not a biological reality but a myth.” Scientific studies made by anthropologists, geneticists, sociologists, and psychologists have proved that regardless of the skin color, in general there are no genetic differences within a Caucasian, black, Mongolian, etc . According to the article, the reason of skin color depends more in morphological characteristics, that is, the part of the world where the person lives. People with darker skin usually live in areas with higher UVR; and people with lighter skin usually live in areas with less UVR and closer to the

Ethnicity, however, relates more to a person’s identity outside of their genetic material. This could be based off of what type of culture a person was raised in. A persons’ ethnicity can be reflective of their race, but it could also differ. Sometimes, as Henslin explains, ethnicities can be confused and seen as races. One example he gives is Judaism. Some people see being Jewish as a race. Although for some people their beliefs may be tied in with their race, no genetic material determines if you are Jewish or not. For many people it is passed down through generations, yet it is by educating and raising a child in that culture rather than them being genetically imbedded with Judaism. Being Jewish does not dictate a person’s skin

People across the globe show many behavioral differences that can be shaped by their cultural and socioeconomic influences. In the end, all humans have a nearly identical genetic code. Even though there are differences in skin and hair color, and height and weight the genetic code is nearly 100% identical.

Genetics once served a vital role in understanding different cultures and races around the world. Even though many commonly accepted distinctions between races have been proved to be inaccurate, they are still used to classify different groups of people. One of the most prominent examples is skin color. This trait is most commonly associated with Sub-Saharan Africa, and thought of as a trait of the black race. However, darker skin is common of peoples in Australia and South America. While dark skin can come from inherited traits, it is also largely a result of natural selection due to their environments which explains why peoples with dark skin tend to be located at or below the equator. We still use physical characteristics to judge others;

In the United States, immigration plays an important role in genetic diversity. Data from 2014 from the Kaiser Family Foundation shows that there are 62.2 percent Non-Hispanic White, 12.4 percent Black or African American, 5.2 percent Asian, 2 percent two or more races. 0.7 percent American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2 percent Native Hawaiian and other Pacific Islander, and 17.4 percent Hispanics (may be of any race). Different ethnicity has different genetic information; therefore, everyone from different ethnicities look different. With different genetic information, every individual cope with the environment in America differently. Therefore, different mutations in genetics can help individuals in different environments (Tilman).

Due to scientist’s interest in human genetic variation, human racial classification became a focus of scientific investigation by evolutionary biologists attempting to categorize individual humans based on presumed patterns of biological difference. Scientists had hoped to classify humans in the same way that they classified other species. These scientists attached hierarchical titles to these categorizations; they claimed that differences in skin color, physiognomy, and geography were associated with scientifically measurable differences in character, aptitude, and temperament (Smedley, 1998). However, studies supporting these claims have been unsound (Gould, 1981). Categorization of humans by racial and ethnic groups continues, as researchers must remain aware of this historical legacy of the science of heredity as the genomic era continues to develop (Bonham et al., 2005).