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Showing posts from March, 2026

Offspring of an African American and a European American Is Not Half Black and Half White

 There is a very common misconception that offspring of European American parent and an African American parent are half black and half white.  This stems from the following: Race (human categorization) A race is a categorization of humans based on shared physical or social qualities into groups generally viewed as distinct within a given society.[1] The term came into common usage during the 1500s, when it was used to refer to groups of various kinds, including those characterized by close kinship relations.[2] By the 17th century, the term began to refer to physical (phenotypical) traits, and then later to national affiliations. Modern science regards race as a social construct, an identity which is assigned based on rules made by society.  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Race_(human_categorization) Miscegenation Miscegenation (/mɪˌsɛdʒəˈneɪʃən/ mih-SEJ-ə-NAY-shən) is the interbreeding of people who are considered to be members of different races.[1] The word, now usually...

Genetics Of Rh-Negative Blood And The Basques

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  This is a blog post about people with Rh negative blood. I grew up being very interested in Rh negative group.  My mother had told me that I had rare blood and that I was Rh negative.  After I joined the navy at the age of 19 in 1991, I got my dog tags which revealed that my blood type is O positive. My mother was wrong about me having Rh-negative blood. My genetic testing results also shows that my blood type is O positive.  I've been wondering what made her think that I have rare blood type and that it was Rh negative.   The Rh blood group system is a human blood group system. It contains proteins on the surface of red blood cells. After the ABO blood group system, it is the most likely to be involved in transfusion reactions. The Rh blood group system consisted of 49 defined blood group antigens in 2005. As of 2023, there are over 50 antigens among which the five antigens D, C, c, E, and e are the most important. There is no d antigen.  RHD (Rh Bl...

The Many Ethnic Groups and Languages of Africa - The Most Diverse Continent

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  This is a blog post about the ethnic groups of Africa which is a continent that consists of over 50 countries and has thousands of ethnic groups. What I have noticed about ethnic groups is that there no clear definition of what they are.  That's what I am noticing in countries in general. In regards to Africa,  I am seeing names of specific ethnic groups like Wolof, Mandinka, Fulani being listed for certain countries, and those ethnic groups are in multiple countries.  I am also seeing nationalities being listed for ethnic groups like Somali for Djibouti. I am seeing the continental backgrounds like African, European for Cabo Verde which is where my maternal grandfather's paternal grandparents immigrated to USA from when it was still a Portuguese colony. Of course, there is stuff like Bantu, Berbers, Arabs for ethnic groups I see color race names listed for ethnic groups like White for Saint Helena, Ascension, and Tristan da Cunha. The color race names make no sens...