DNALC Blogs » traits

Designer Babies and Fitter Families

Susan Lauter — Tue, 13 Jul 2010 15:17:46 +0000

So-called “designer babies” have generated fervent discussion in recent weeks, sparked by the latest online dating trend: a sperm and egg bank with the goal to make beautiful people. For some, genetic manipulation is a moral necessity, for others it is an ethical outrage. We are reminded of the eugenics movement.

“Better Babies” contests, originally conceived to promote child welfare and physical development, were the first eugenics contests run at a state fairs (the first held in 1908). By 1920, “Fitter Families” contests were also held at state fairs, where human “stock” was judged alongside cows, pigs, and produce. Contestants completed family trait forms, were examined physically and psychologically, and were graded and awarded prizes as a result. The image below may indicate that there was even a swimsuit competition!

Visit the topics “Better Babies Contests” and “Fitter Families Contests” on the Image Archive on the American Eugenics Movement site to explore images of the movement.

One Hundred Years Later….Eye Color Genes "Visualized"

Susan Lauter — Mon, 17 May 2010 16:05:18 +0000

Understanding the inheritance of eye color has been a challenge for decades. Most parents try to make their best guess about their unborn child’s eye color, hoping for that warm brown or the more rare bright blue outcome.

"Eye Colors in Man," from The Trait Book, ERO Bulletin No. 6, by Charles B. Davenport, 1912 (Archive Image #1913)

Davenport and other eugenicists oversimplified eye-color inheritance early in the last century, and we have since come to discover that several genes determine eye color.

Recently, a group in the Netherlands has taken our understanding a step further by using high resolution imaging and analysis of nearly 6,000 individuals to identify eye-color using a color spectrum, while previous studies utilized color categories (blue, green, brown). The researchers photographed the subjects’ eyes and identified the color on a spectrum that evaluated hue and saturation. Then they conducted a genome-wide association study and found three new regions on chromosomes 1, 17, and 21 that contribute to eye-color-variation, adding to the seven already known genes. They claim that using their prediction model, 50% of eye-color variation can now be explained. Davenport wouldn’t believe his eyes!

It’s All Your Parents’ Fault

Susan Lauter — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 17:58:09 +0000

Eugenicists looked at a diversity of “traits” and asserted that many of them were genetically inherited, excluding any other cause. The subjects of the studies often came from unique populations, including circus performers, residents in mental institutions, and even historical figures, long deceased.

A quick search in the Eugenics Archive reveals some of the traits studied by Eugenicists:

Civic leadership
Musical ability
Dressmaking
Epilepsy
Dwarfism
Giantism
Carpentry
Deafness
Eye color
Insanity
Longevity
Shiftlessness
Cancer
Blindness
Albinism
Hemophilia
Boat building
Degeneracy
Poverty
Feeblemindedness
Cleft palate
Hare lip
Manic depression
Hair color, texture
Polydactyly
Height
Literary ability
Inventiveness
Color blindness
Mechanical skill
Artistic ability
Alcoholism
Thalassophilia (love of the sea)

Eugenicists failed to recognize that not all familial traits are biologically inherited, or that traits that are inherited can have complex causes. They did not consider that in addition to genes, families share customs, work environments, and eating habits that can affect their physical, mental, and emotional development.

Reading over the list, it is evident that Eugenicists were on target with some of their assertions. In my personal experience, my husband has long suffered from Thalassophilia, but my children have yet to express that trait. It must be recessive.

For further exploration:
From the Archive: Traits Studied By Eugenicists by Jan Witkowski, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
DNAftB Concept 14: Mendelian genetics cannot fully explain human health and behavior.