by John Young
I mentioned this factoid several years ago in a podcast: there is only one biological race on this planet of which some of the members are immune to the HIV virus: Caucasians.
And only 1% of Caucasians are fully immune, though 15% carry one half of the needed genetics.
With a trait that valuable, that rare and recessive to boot; any degree of racial admixture threatens to eliminate that trait altogether from the human genome.
Now a http://news.yahoo.com/s/yblog_thelookout/20110603/us_yblog_thelookout/first-man-functionally-cured-of-hiv is reporting Timothy Ray Brown to have been functionally cured of HIV by a bone marrow transplant from a Caucasian man who has two copies of the gene and is thus immune to HIV.
Doctors say Timothy Brown will now live a complete life. Once our gene pool is diluted, this will no longer be an option.
Just food for thought about why, in practice, preserving human biodiversity through avoidance of racial admixture — including our own Folk — is so important.