Eli5: Why does inbreeding cause genetic malformations?
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Take hair for example. The strength, density, and longevity of your hair is carried on the X gene. Men get 1 of them. Women get 2. As a result, men’s hair suffers in middle/old age which we call “male pattern baldness.” Women get two chances at good hair. Men get one.
Good genes can cover for bad ones.
Every generation you get new genes, and the good ones cover for the bad ones.
But if all you’ve got is bad genes, there’s no good gene to pick up the slack, and you start seeing the bad genes express themselves.
Just like you could have someone *carrying* genes for blue eyes while *expressing* the brown eye genes you got from your other parent, you’re *carrying* a bunch of shitty genes and *expressing* the good ones.
You and your siblings are *carrying* *THE SAME SHITTY GENES* while expressing healthy ones. If you breed, there’s a 25% chance your child gets SHIT from both sides with no healthy gene to fall back on, so while you’re *carrying* it, your child will *express it.*
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