*Sana*
.~.Slave of Allah.~.
Assalamualaikum WaRahmatullahi WaBarakaatu,
Some interesting findings! If any one had something against marrying their cousins, after reading this you can reconsider the issue
. Lol I'm only kidding
There's nothing wrong with cousins getting married, scientists say
By Steve Connor, Science Editor
Wednesday, 24 December 2008
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/sc...y-1210072.html
Risk of babies having genetic defects 'has been overstated'
The risk of giving birth to babies with genetic defects as a result of
marriages between first cousins is no greater than that run by women over 40
who become pregnant, according to two scientists who call for the taboo on
first-cousin families to be lifted.
Women in their forties are not made to feel guilty about having babies and
the same should apply to cousins who want to marry, said Professor Diane
Paul of the University of Massachusetts in Boston and Professor Hamish
Spencer of the University of Otago in Dunedin, New Zealand. Although
first-cousin marriages are legal in Britain, there have been calls to ban
the practice because of reports that it has resulted in a
higher-than- average incidence of birth defects in certain immigrant
communities where it is common and culturally acceptable.
However, Professors Paul and Spencer said that the risk of congenital
defects is about 2 per cent higher than average for babies born to
first-cousin marriages - with the infant mortality about 4.4 per cent higher
- which is on a par with the risk to babies born to women over 40. "Women
over the age of 40 have a similar risk of having children with birth defects
and no one is suggesting they should be prevented from reproducing, " said
Professor Spencer, whose co-authored study is published in the online
journal Public Library of Science.
First-cousin marriages were once quite common in Europe, especially among
the elite - Charles Darwin married his first cousin Emma Wedgwood - but that
changed in the late 19th-century as people, especially women, became more
socially mobile and the risks became more evident. The stigma attached to
first-cousin marriages was supported by early studies into human genetics
suggesting that "recessive" versions of a gene (which are not expressed
unless there are two of them, one from each parent) are more likely to be
expressed in the children of genetically related parents, as well as more
likely to be defective.
Most states in America have either outlawed or restricted the practice, as
has China, Taiwan and both North and South Korea. Professor Spencer, an
evolutionary zoologist, said these laws should be repealed, especially in
America, where he said they were drafted in a way that discriminated against
the rural poor and immigrants: "Neither the scientific nor social
assumptions behind such legislation stand up to close scrutiny. Such
legislation reflects outmoded prejudices about immigrants and the rural poor
and relies on over-simplified views of heredity. There is no scientific
grounding for it."
In the UK, the issue came to the fore when the MP Phil Woolas, now the
Immigration minister, claimed earlier this year that first-cousin marriages
within Asian communities in Britain resulted in an increasing number of
children with health problems. "A lot of arranged marriages are with first
cousins, and that produces lots of genetic problems in terms of disability
[in children]," Mr Woolas said.
Peter Corry of St Luke's Hospital in Bradford estimates that among people of
Pakistani descent in the city, 55 per cent of whom marry first cousins, the
risk of recessive genetic disorders - the type due to related parents - is
between 10 and 15 times higher than in the general population. A 2004 study
found that 13 out of 1,000 Asian children born in the Bradford area had
inherited recessive disorders, which can lead to disabilities.
A family affair: Cousins who tied the knot
Jerry Lee Lewis
The rock 'n 'roll star infamously married his 13-year-old first cousin once
removed, 10 years his junior, in 1957. His popularity initially fell but
recovered when he began performing country and western music.
Jesse James
The Missouri outlaw married his first cousin Zerelda "Zee" Mimms in 1874 at
the height of the James-Younger gang's reign. They had two children and
remained together until Jesse's death, aged 34, 12 years later.
H G Wells
The science fiction author of The Time Machine and The War of the Worlds
married his first cousin Isabel Mary Wells in 1891 but left her after three
years to marry one of his students, with whom he had two children.
Edgar Allan Poe
The American gothic poet secretly married his 13-year-old first cousin,
Virginia Eliza Clemm, in 1834. She died of tuberculosis in 1847.
Johann Sebastian Bach
In 1707 Bach married his second cousin Maria Barbara Bach and had seven of
his 20 children with her.
Khalid Mahmood
The Birmingham MP married his first cousin, Rifat, when he was in his
twenties. They had a child - now a teenager - but separated in 1992.
Charles Darwin
The naturalist, whose work forms the basis for contemporary evolutionary
theory, married his first cousin Emma Wedgwood in 1839. They had 10
children, to whom he was a devoted father.
Wasalaam
Some interesting findings! If any one had something against marrying their cousins, after reading this you can reconsider the issue
. Lol I'm only kidding There's nothing wrong with cousins getting married, scientists say
By Steve Connor, Science Editor
Wednesday, 24 December 2008
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/sc...y-1210072.html
Risk of babies having genetic defects 'has been overstated'
The risk of giving birth to babies with genetic defects as a result of
marriages between first cousins is no greater than that run by women over 40
who become pregnant, according to two scientists who call for the taboo on
first-cousin families to be lifted.
Women in their forties are not made to feel guilty about having babies and
the same should apply to cousins who want to marry, said Professor Diane
Paul of the University of Massachusetts in Boston and Professor Hamish
Spencer of the University of Otago in Dunedin, New Zealand. Although
first-cousin marriages are legal in Britain, there have been calls to ban
the practice because of reports that it has resulted in a
higher-than- average incidence of birth defects in certain immigrant
communities where it is common and culturally acceptable.
However, Professors Paul and Spencer said that the risk of congenital
defects is about 2 per cent higher than average for babies born to
first-cousin marriages - with the infant mortality about 4.4 per cent higher
- which is on a par with the risk to babies born to women over 40. "Women
over the age of 40 have a similar risk of having children with birth defects
and no one is suggesting they should be prevented from reproducing, " said
Professor Spencer, whose co-authored study is published in the online
journal Public Library of Science.
First-cousin marriages were once quite common in Europe, especially among
the elite - Charles Darwin married his first cousin Emma Wedgwood - but that
changed in the late 19th-century as people, especially women, became more
socially mobile and the risks became more evident. The stigma attached to
first-cousin marriages was supported by early studies into human genetics
suggesting that "recessive" versions of a gene (which are not expressed
unless there are two of them, one from each parent) are more likely to be
expressed in the children of genetically related parents, as well as more
likely to be defective.
Most states in America have either outlawed or restricted the practice, as
has China, Taiwan and both North and South Korea. Professor Spencer, an
evolutionary zoologist, said these laws should be repealed, especially in
America, where he said they were drafted in a way that discriminated against
the rural poor and immigrants: "Neither the scientific nor social
assumptions behind such legislation stand up to close scrutiny. Such
legislation reflects outmoded prejudices about immigrants and the rural poor
and relies on over-simplified views of heredity. There is no scientific
grounding for it."
In the UK, the issue came to the fore when the MP Phil Woolas, now the
Immigration minister, claimed earlier this year that first-cousin marriages
within Asian communities in Britain resulted in an increasing number of
children with health problems. "A lot of arranged marriages are with first
cousins, and that produces lots of genetic problems in terms of disability
[in children]," Mr Woolas said.
Peter Corry of St Luke's Hospital in Bradford estimates that among people of
Pakistani descent in the city, 55 per cent of whom marry first cousins, the
risk of recessive genetic disorders - the type due to related parents - is
between 10 and 15 times higher than in the general population. A 2004 study
found that 13 out of 1,000 Asian children born in the Bradford area had
inherited recessive disorders, which can lead to disabilities.
A family affair: Cousins who tied the knot
Jerry Lee Lewis
The rock 'n 'roll star infamously married his 13-year-old first cousin once
removed, 10 years his junior, in 1957. His popularity initially fell but
recovered when he began performing country and western music.
Jesse James
The Missouri outlaw married his first cousin Zerelda "Zee" Mimms in 1874 at
the height of the James-Younger gang's reign. They had two children and
remained together until Jesse's death, aged 34, 12 years later.
H G Wells
The science fiction author of The Time Machine and The War of the Worlds
married his first cousin Isabel Mary Wells in 1891 but left her after three
years to marry one of his students, with whom he had two children.
Edgar Allan Poe
The American gothic poet secretly married his 13-year-old first cousin,
Virginia Eliza Clemm, in 1834. She died of tuberculosis in 1847.
Johann Sebastian Bach
In 1707 Bach married his second cousin Maria Barbara Bach and had seven of
his 20 children with her.
Khalid Mahmood
The Birmingham MP married his first cousin, Rifat, when he was in his
twenties. They had a child - now a teenager - but separated in 1992.
Charles Darwin
The naturalist, whose work forms the basis for contemporary evolutionary
theory, married his first cousin Emma Wedgwood in 1839. They had 10
children, to whom he was a devoted father.
Wasalaam
