Tay-Sachs, the `Jewish disease,’ almost eradicated. Of course, as the article implies, the allele is still hanging around, genetic testing has been so successful that those who carry it (that is, they are heterozygotes) don’t bring forth children (I also assume that some couples use selective abortion?). If there is a fitness hit on heterozygotes there will still be a gentle negative selection pressure over the long term. Harpending & Cochran have predicted that Tay Sachs carries might have a 5 point IQ advantage over controls, and if IQ is now negatively correlated with fitness, that might do it.
Additionally, if you are Jewish, and you know the carrier/non-carrier status in your family, on average, would you say the carrier(s) is/are brighter than the non-carrier(s)? If you want, submit your answer below. The one example I can think of, the carrier is definitely smarter.
| Who is smarter? | |
| Non-Carriers | |
| Carriers | |
| About the same | |
| Free polls from Pollhost.com | |
Related: The Natural History of Ashkenazi Intelligence (PDF). Posted by razib at 01:11 AM