Don't worry. "T5J8F8" is either lying or mistaken. The whole "Not biologically related" thing was only in the games. In the novels, manga and anime their "biologically related".
Okay, he/she/it lost me. Why was my last comment voted down. There was nothing rude or spoilerish about what I said. Or was this one those happenings simular to what happens at "YouTube" now and then.
This. Think of selective animal breeding. It takes generations for the traits you want/don't want to keep/weed out - it doesn't happen in one go. Man, the whole incest taboo tends to make most people not think before posting.
Trucidation said: This. Think of selective animal breeding. It takes generations for the traits you want/don't want to keep/weed out - it doesn't happen in one go. Man, the whole incest taboo tends to make most people not think before posting.
Keyword there: taboo. Its a taboo for a reason. And not the the kind where easing it up a little to account for margin of error can possibly lead to anything good.
Keyword there: taboo. Its a taboo for a reason. And not the the kind where easing it up a little to account for margin of error can possibly lead to anything good.
While incest is certainly bad news for the long-term health of a community, "taboo" by definition is a vehement prohibition based on expectations of superstitious punishment. It's taboo for a lot of religions to take in the blood of another -- due, of course, to the effects of STDs and bloodborne parasites, but has the unfortunate effect of also prohibiting believers from taking otherwise life-saving blood transfusions under modern medical technology and hygiene standards.
Something that is taboo is inherently /ir/rational. I wouldn't use it as a defense.
Well, I certainly hope, they're not blood-related, or else the risk of genetic diseases of their child increases considerably.
The odds are greatly increased, yes, but the odds of actually having it are still fairly low. The common numbers thrown out on the risks of incest are usually given out in a manner that would cause the most shock value. For example "6.8% to 11.2% for significant birth defects (extrapolated from first-cousin data)" and "31.4% for death and severe defect (4 data sets)", but that is "above [the] general population". What is the percent for the general population? They usually don't say, because the value is very low and if you increase that very low value by the increased risk, you'll still end up with a very low value.
For genetic disorders, having genetic screening done would help determine whether or not their family holds the potential for serious genetic disorders that could be a risk when having children. Having genetic screening/counseling done would also be a significantly more useful way in determining the risk in one's own family than using these general population values anyways. The information provided from genetic screening would also be very helpful, regardless of whether your relationship is incestious, consanguineous, or not, as it lets you know what you carry and what you may pass on to your children.
It's worth pointing out that I highly suspect such statistics are only representative of a first-generation inbreeding, and not systemic inbreeding.
Just look up the Habsburg Jaw and keep in mind that none of the Habsburgs actually engaged in brother-sister incest, but uncle/niece, aunt/nephew, or cousin incest (the kind Japanese animes don't think twice about).
Most people have no idea what recessive genes they carry, as they don't have access to affordable DNA analysis, so they have no idea what risks they are taking. An "irrational taboo" keeps the odds of interbreeding enough to cross the threshold of serious danger significantly lower, which achieves an entirely rational effect.
Likewise, you might try to spin "only a 30% increase above the general population" as being "low", but let me ask if you'd really want to take any sort of risk with the health of your child that you could avoid? If someone assured you that your risk of dying of lung cancer would only be 10% higher if you stayed in a hotel room with faulty asbestos lining, would you really think it's fine to stay the night there when you could just go to the next hotel down or just sleep in the car? What about when you sleep there for more than one night? Every little risk you take piles up, and small chances eventually become big gambles with enough rolls of the dice.