These racial patterns make up what is called a "life-history" or "reproductive strategy." The traits evolved together to meet the trials of life-survival, growth, and reproduction. Race differences make sense in terms of human evolution. Modern humans evolved in Africa about 200,000 years ago. Africans and non-Africans then split about 110,000 years ago. Orientals and Whites split about 40,000 years ago.
The further north people went "Out of Africa," the more evolution selected for larger brains, slower growth rates, greater longevity, lower hormone levels, less sexual potency, less aggression, and less impulsivity. Advanced planning, self-control, and rule-following are cultural manifestations of these gene-based evolutionary strategies. Surviving in cold environments required increased intelligence and larger brains. The wider hips of white and Asian women evolved to allow them to give birth to larger brained babies.
What are the implications of this research? One is that we should stop blaming white racism for all society's problems. If blacks are good at certain sports, and Orientals do well in schools, it cannot be because each group is trying to "overcome the prejudice of white society," because each group shows the same pattern of strengths and weaknesses in their countries of origin.
Sometimes it is claimed by those who argue that race is just a social construct that the human genome project shows that because people share roughly 99% of their genes in common, that there are no races. This is silly. Human genes are 98% similar to chimpanzee genes and 90% similar to those in mice, which is why these species make good laboratory animals. But no one claims that mice, chimpanzees, and humans are nearly the same! That would be laughable. Similarly, although men and women are genetically 99% the same, it is foolish to believe that sex is just a "social construction."
Much confusion arises because there are several sets of genetic measures. A much more realistic story comes from looking at the 3.1 billion base pairs that make up the 30,000 genes.
People differ in 1 out of every 1,000 of these base pairs. Each change in a base pair can alter a gene. Technically, base pair differences are called single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs). The 99% figure is based on DNA sequences which do not differ between people or even most mammals. These can give the impression that human groups and chimpanzees are almost identical because these genes code for similar internal organs, eyes, hands, and so on. Though humans and mice look very different, any anatomy student can tell you, even their internal bone structures are very similar.
The February 23, issue of Science magazine reported that 2.8 million SNPs were already being sold by Celera Genomics to scientists trying to crack the code of human behavior. Base pair differences are important and SNPs clump together in races. Just one change in the base pair for hemoglobin, for example, causes sickle-cell anemia, from which many Blacks suffer. Other base pair differences affect IQ, aggression, and mental illness. The 3.1 billion base pairs provide plenty of room for large racial differences.
If races did not exist, we would not find the same racial pattern all around the world and over time. The scientific evidence shows that the politically correct mantra "race is just skin deep" is a case of deep denial.
http://www.lrainc.com/swtaboo/stalkers/jpr_insight.html
