#genetic stuff

[dragoneyes613]

Deadfoot was born with a twisted paw.

His son Crowfeather had two littermates, Hillkit and Downkit, who were stillborn. 

Crowfeather also had an older brother Eaglekit who died as a kit, although that may have been due to the fact that WindClan had been driven out by ShadowClan at the time - the stress and exhaustion of constant travel, not enough food to eat, etc.

Crowfeather’s son Breezepelt, by Nightcloud, had two littermates who died at birth.

Crowfeather’s son Jayfeather, by Leafpool, was born blind.

This is an awful lot of kit deaths and birth defects for one family line.

[brasskingfisher]

TIL about the Blue Fugates of Kentucky and suddenly the state of the US makes sense....

Ok, so in case you've never heard of these folks, they were a particular family who settled in Kentucky around 1820, and who had a genetic condition affecting their haemoglobin which made it much less effective at carrying oxygen and therefore left them with blue looking skin...

However, being genetic, the preservation of this trait requires at least some degree of incest/serious lack of genetic diversity within the local community. Which, you know, in the early 19th century Southern US isn't that remarkable (if you're living in a rural community your marriage options are going to be understandably limited)...

However, the inbreeding continued well into the 20th century (they were discussed in medical journals and their condition diagnosed in 1964), and the last known family member with blue skin was born in 1975 (and is possibly still alive). I'll repeat that THE LAST KNOWN INHERITOR OF THIS TRAIT WAS BORN IN NINETEEN SEVENTY FUCKING FIVE!!!!

Now, no shame to these folks, but 150 years is more than enough time to notice something strange is going on, and the 1960s is FAR too late to realise that you shouldn't be having kids with your own relatives (or at the very least that marriages between certain families generally produce weird offspring).

[solacekames]

I finally bit the (expensive) bullet and signed up for 23andme. Let’s see how it goes! I’m interested about ancestry, although I doubt I’ll have any surprises on either side of the family... my main reason is health and breast cancer worries.