Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

  • RESEARCH HIGHLIGHT

‘Extreme inbreeding’ revealed by massive human-genome survey

Analysis suggests that roughly one in 3,600 people studied were born to closely related parents.
The painting 'Zeus and Hera on Mount Ida, 1775, Lens, Andreas or Andries (1739-1822).

According to Greek legend, the goddess Hera (right) had children with her brother Zeus (centre), providing a mythological example of extreme inbreeding. Credit: Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna/Bridgeman Images

Genomic analysis has provided a new way of investigating a tricky topic: the prevalence of extreme inbreeding in humans.

Access options

Rent or buy this article

Prices vary by article type

from$1.95

to$39.95

Learn more

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

Nature 573, 167 (2019)

doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-019-02633-1

References

Subjects

Latest on:

Nature Careers

Jobs

Nature Briefing

Sign up for the Nature Briefing newsletter — what matters in science, free to your inbox daily.

Get the most important science stories of the day, free in your inbox. Sign up for Nature Briefing

Search

Advanced search

Quick links