Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- noun A loss of vigor and general health that sometimes characterizes organisms that are the product of inbreeding.
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vendingmachine commented on the word inbreeding depression
Although severe inbreeding depression in humans seems to be highly uncommon and not widely known, there have been several cases of apparent forms of inbreeding depression in human populations. Charles Darwin, through numerous experiments, was one of the first scientists to demonstrate the effects of inbreeding depression. Charles's wife, Emma, was his first cousin. He attempted to study the theory of inbreeding within his own children. Of the ten Darwin children, three died before the age of ten. Of the rest, three had childless long-term marriages. As with animals, this phenomenon tends to occur in isolated, rural populations that are cut off to some degree from other areas of civilization.
A study has provided the evidence for inbreeding depression on cognitive abilities among children, with a high frequency of mental retardation among the offspring having greater values of inbreeding coefficient. The depression on growth parameters (height, weight and body mass index) due to inbreeding among children has revealed the significant increase in underweight cases with increasing inbreeding coefficients.
A notable example is the Vadoma tribe of western Zimbabwe, many of whom carry the trait of having only two toes due to a small gene pool. Another example is Fumarase deficiency, a rare genetic disorder that leads to severe mental retardation. Over half of the known cases are in the isolated and adjoining polygamous Reformed Mormon communities of Hilldale, Utah and Colorado City, Arizona.
March 23, 2016