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From: simpson@lll-crg.ARpA (Rea Simpson)
Newsgroups: net.singles,net.med,net.bio
Subject: Re: If sodomy, why not incest?
Message-ID: <4078@lll-crg.ARpA>
Date: Tue, 22-Jul-86 16:55:26 EDT
Article-I.D.: lll-crg.4078
Posted: Tue Jul 22 16:55:26 1986
Date-Received: Wed, 23-Jul-86 07:56:04 EDT
References: <2588@mit-eddie.MIT.EDU> <892@ucbcad.BERKELEY.EDU>
Reply-To: simpson@lll-crg.UUCP (Rea Simpson)
Distribution: net
Organization: CRG, Lawrence Livermore Labs
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Xref: watmath net.singles:14606 net.med:4262 net.bio:622

In article <892@ucbcad.BERKELEY.EDU> sadoyama@pavepaws.UUCP (Eric J Sadoyama) writes:
>I've heard this reasoning many times, but never any proof or evidence
>for it. How is this any different, genetically, from the situation in
>herds, or other animal living groups, where the dominant male mates with
>*all* the females in the group, be they related or not? 
>

I think it has to do with the fact that you and your close relatives have
a lot of the same genes in common.  So if you have a "bad" recessive
gene in the family, mating with a relative will increase the chance of
that gene rearing its ugly face.  There's no guarentee that mating
with someone outside your family will not result in the same thing,
but your chances are probably better.

Rea