Friday, October 31, 2008

"Race" - a scientifically meaningless concept

OK, race obviously still has meaning from a social point of view. But as this timely and important article by Dave Brody of LiveScience.com points out, it has no scientific validity. He writes, "The notion that there’s a “race gene,” or even a definitive cluster of racially genetic material that might predispose a baby to any trait other than fuzzy placement in a wide range of two types of melanin (red and brown skin pigment), is not now scientifically supportable." He notes that Senator Obama's story of a multiracial background with roots in Kenya is effectively "the story of all of us."
While we are still in the early stages of a thorough understanding of human genetics, ".... already, it’s clear that nothing in the human genome can be categorized the way your college application insisted on inventorying you: White, Black, Asian, Latino, Native American."

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