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Recessive to Dominant Gene Change
Name: Deanna J.
Status: Educator
Age: 30s
Location: N/A
Country: N/A
Date: December 2002
Question:
In our GED studies class,the type of genetic codes
presented brought up this question.We used Michael Jackson as a
example.Is it possible that the recessive gene can become the dominate
gene over the course of 1 persons life span.Thus a dark complected person
becomes a white complected person or visa-versa.If so,why and how does
this occur.
Replies:
Michael Jackson's skin color has not changed in his life time. He claims to
have a disease called vittiligo (I am not sure if that is the correct
spelling) in which his skin has patches of white. This disorder occurs in
all races. It is where some of the pigment producing cells are not working
properly, so they do not produce pigment. The rest of them are.
He
claims to
use skin lightening makeup to even out the tone of his skin. (Of course, he
could have used skin darkening makeup to cover the light areas!) Either
that, or he has artificially lightened his skin another way. However, unless
some new phenomenon has been discovered that I do not know about, once you
are
created at fertilization your genetic program is set for life and does not
change in your lifetime.
vanhoeck
I am not an anthropogeneticist, but the case of M.
Jackson seems to be a skin disease, in which the skin
cells loose their property to build melanin (the color
compound of skin). Thus, white patches appear,
frequently on face and hands, later all over the body.
The skin is left unprotected against sun rays. With a
person with dark complexity, such white patches are
even more visible than with a white person. The
unattractive discoloring has probably forced the
artist to hide his face whenever he can.
Trudy Wassenaar
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Update: June 2012
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