12/16/05

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Skin Color Gene Discovered

A mutant zebra fish has helped researchers at Pennsylvania State University find the gene responsible for skin color. According to prevailing scientific wisdom, human skin darkened some 1.5 million years ago to compensate for diminishing body hair (about the same time as the invention of the Epilady), which protected against birth defects caused by ultra-violet rays. Among those humans who migrated out of Africa, dark skin absorbed so much sunlight in northern latitudes that not enough vitamin D could be derived, so natural and sexual selection (or some belligerent designer) favored paler skin. This was before we had Flintstone Chewables.

The discovery of the gene will no doubt benefit humanity by allowing parents to choose skin color the way they can now choose eye color or gender. And with any luck, some savvy geneticist will be able to turn the knowledge into a race-specific weapon for bio-warfare.

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