More focus on DNA studies

New Caledonia's indigenous rebuff DNA research
Researchers trying to trace the DNA of indigenous peoples have been rebuffed in New Caledonia.
According to the public broadcaster, New Caledonia's customary Senate, which represents the territory's Kanak people, has turned down bids by German and French researchers to obtain DNA samples.
The Senate said the DNA did not belong to any individual but to a clan.
Studies of the human genome have already been carried out in Fiji, Solomon Islands and Papua New Guinea to try to reconstruct migratory patterns in the Pacific.
(www.radionz.co.nz)

Ancient DNA shows Asian farmers first Pacific people
A professor from New Zealand's Massey University has proven farmers from Asia were the first people to settle in the Pacific, thousands of years ago. The research, which has been published in the journal, Nature, comes from DNA extracted from 3000-year-old skeletons in Vanuatu and Tonga.
It refutes the belief that early Pacific settlers were of predominantly Papuan ancestry.
One of the co-authors of the research, Professor Murray Cox, said the research could bring about health improvements for Maori and Pasifika people by helping scientists better understand their genetic makeup's.

"By understanding what genes they got from where and what those genes do we hope to have a better understanding of what is happening in these populations today and from that, better healthcare outcomes."
(www.radionz.co.nz)

Is it genetically safe to marry your cousin ?

The Genetics of Cousin Marriages
James MacDonald

In much of the world, consanguineous marriage between cousins is very common. For most Americans, however, marriage between cousins is at best a punchline, at worst a taboo. In many states, it is illegal for first cousins to get married. The objections are ostensibly based on the risk of genetic problems. But is there an actual risk?

In 2005, Owen Dyer reported in BMJ that “A Labour MP has called for a public debate on the genetic risks of marriages between first cousins in Britain’s Pakistani community, after reports of an unusually high rate of autosomal recessive disorders among children near her constituency. Ann Cryer, MP for Keighley in West Yorkshire, said on the BBC television program Newsnight: ‘We have to stop this tradition of first cousin marriages.'”

The genetic risks in question are related to something called unmasking. It goes something like this: We each receive one copy of each gene from each of our parents. Thus, we inherit two versions of each gene (called alleles); one is dominant and one recessive. For a recessive gene to actually manifest in an individual, both copies of the gene must be the recessive allele. If an individual inherits only one recessive allele of the gene, the individual is considered a carrier who can pass on the illness to their offspring. But when an individual inherits two copies of a dangerous recessive allele, they the gene is said to be unmasked and inherit the condition.
Additional story and graph at: https://daily.jstor.org/the-genetics-of-cousin-marriage/
https://daily.jstor.org/the-genetics-of-cousin-marriage/