Cousin marriage OK by science

I would comment a nice response but right now I'm trying to hold the vomit from coming out of my mouth.

Eww. My cousins are like my siblings. Gross.

My dad's family tree is more like a family DAG (directed acyclic graph). I'll blame all my faults on that.

Great News, can't wait to call My cuz now...2009 is shaping up to be a good year.

They might approve, but I do not. Noppers. Pandora's box.

Another big, fat inbreeding problem is this practice of sperm banks.
These imbeciles are spreading their genetics all 'round the neighborhood.

did science consider what would happen if this gose on for a few generations?

Inbreeding is breeding between close relatives, whether plant or animal. If practiced repeatedly, it leads to an increase in homozygosity of a population. A higher frequency of recessive, deleterious traits in homozygous form in a population can, over time, result in inbreeding depression. This may occur when inbred individuals exhibit reduced health and fitness and lower levels of fertility.

Livestock breeders often practice inbreeding to "fix" desirable characteristics within a population. However, they must then cull unfit offspring, especially when trying to establish the new and desirable trait in their stock.

In plant breeding, inbred lines are used as stocks for the creation of hybrid lines to make use of the heterosis effect. Inbreeding in plants also occurs naturally in the form of self-pollination.

BAD SCIENCE

I think the comparison with middle-aged women bearing children is interesting.

'It's all relative in West Virginia'... or so they say. However, there is truly something inherently wrong with wanting to be in a non-plutonic relationship with a known family member.

Now that'll give you a reason to get gussied up for the family reunion.

I agree there should not be a law about this, but I think society (even if just US society) will keep this from being commonplace for a very long time.

As a man of science i can safely say that science does not always necessarily coincide with morals.

I have ancestors where the 1st cousins got married. You must be a red neck if your family tree does not branch! :)

there might not be any scientific setbacks to marrying your first cousin, but really people...

Yuck.