Does Race Exist

Does Race Exist?

     People differentiate themselves based on their physical characteristics, traits and most importantly, their "race." What makes an individual a member of a particular race differs from region to region. Humans originated in Africa and then migrated over a vast period of time to all parts of the world. They learned to adapt to their different environmental changes and go through "survival of the fittest." These facial features and traits are influenced by natural selection and divide people into "races."Studies have shown that 90 percent of human genetic variation occurs within a population living on a given continent than whereas 10 percent of human variation distinguishes continental populations. Individuals from different populations, on average, are slightly more different from one another than individuals from the same population. Two groups that are genetically similar to each other might be exposed to different selective forces in their environments. Natural selection can define some of the differences between groups, making it easier to see the physical differences and harder to see the genetic similarities. In the "Journey of a Man" video, we were shown the tribe in Africa of the first ancestors of mankind called the Sanbushmen. Each individual face had physical characteristics that are seen in different areas of the world today. They had eyes and rounded foreheads of an Asian or Pacific Islander, lips and noses of an African or African American, and pointed chins and ears of a European. We could already see from the faces of the Sanbushmen that humans originated in Africa, having identical similarities, but through adaptation and mutation, have been modified.
     Genetic analysis can distinguish groups of people according to their geographic origin to a certain extent. Geneticists rely on polymorphisms in human's DNA to determine the degree of relatedness among groups. A study was done examining 100 different Alu polymorphisms in each of the 565 people born in sub-Saharan Africa, Europe and Asia. They sorted the people into groups only based on their genetic information, removing the identifying labels of origin. Once they placed the labels to the person accordingly, they realized that the groups correlated with origin and ethnicity, having one group of Europeans, one group of Asians and one group of Africans. The results of this study indicate that genetic analyses can distinguish groups according to their geographic origin. Populations have adapted to survive in their environment. They have also passed down mutations to their offspring which altered parts of their DNA. These different mutations alter health by preventing some diseases or influencing them. Several polymorphisms that differ in frequency from group to group affect health. Genetic variation plays a major role in individual susceptibility in diseases such as influencing AIDS because of the polymorphisms in CCR5 receptor gene found mostly in northeastern Europeans that increases HIV-1 infection leading to AIDS. Polymorphisms in genes might have an affect on one group and a different affect on another. Scientists can group individuals according to their probable ancestry by looking at their DNA and "genetic marker." Membership in geographically or culturally defined group can be correlated with health related genetic traits.