Marrying Your Cousin: Is It Actually As Bad As We Thought?
Marrying your cousin has long been considered taboo, but new research says that procreating with your cousins may not be as risky as previously thought. Popular Science's Eleanor Cummins breaks down the findings.
Eleanor Cummins, Editorial Assistant at Popular Science, breaks down the findings. Columbia University data scientist Yaniv Erlich studied a family tree of 13 million people to see how marrying various relatives impacts the risk of genetic birth defects. He found that one set of first cousins having children doesn't necessarily pose a high risk of having children with birth defects, but if the trend continues beyond one generation, then the risk increases exponentially.
The Environmental Protection Agency is proposed banning a cancer-causing chemical that can be found in products like car break cleaners, laundry spot removers and some arts and crafts sprays.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued a warning to doctors, saying a key drug used to prevent respiratory infections in babies is in limited supply.
