From Mark Bruce
Marleston, South Australia
Could there be a connection between the effect reported by Fox and the
research suggesting that we are attracted to people who look like our parents
(2 February, p 26)?
The semen of a genetically similar man will appear less foreign
than that from a man who is less genetically similar. It will provoke a less
vigorous immune response in the female—whose immune system will become
accustomed to it more quickly, with a lower chance of fetal rejection.
All this adds up to a better chance of having a healthy baby. Which is the
name of the game isn’t it? I do realise that there are other issues such as the
problems of being too genetically similar (as with siblings) and that genetic
dissimilarity provides the offspring with a greater immune repertoire. But the
idea is sound, is it not?
