The Vadoma Ostrich People Of Zimbabwe
Posted by Ross Rosenberg
Deep within the confines of western Zimbabwe can be found the Vadoma tribe, who are also called the “ostrich people”. This is because of a genetic condition called ectrodactyly, which effects one in four of the children within this population. Ectrodactyly is also known as “lobster claw syndrome” and can effect both the hands and feet. In the case of the Vadoma the middle three toes are absent and the two outer ones are turned in.
Ectrodactyly is a dominantly inherited genetic mutation and there are some who theorize that such mutations are usually passed on if they prove beneficial, leading to the hypothesis that their feet may aid in tree climbing. However, more likely is that the defect remains prevalent because of rampant inbreeding. It is against tribal law for members to marry outside the tribe.
I assume that I am not the only person aquiver with the anticipation of this being co-opted as an “extreme” body modification?
Startling secrets of ostrich people [This Is Local London]
Categories: Africa, Clips, Medical, Science
Posted at 3:16 pm on October 9, 2007
5 Comments -
I have both you and Digg on dropdown RSS Firefox feeds. I just woke up from a groggy not-studying doze, and opened up Firefox instead of, well, studying. I clicked on one of the menus and started opening nearly every tab, thinking at the same time, “Holy shit, Digg fantastically improved… and also got a new site design, and hired Ross Rosenberg away… oh.”
Comment by Stefan White — October 9, 2007 @ 4:17 pm
If this is a dominant trait, and one parent has it, that would mean half the children would display this trait. If both parents had it, you’d expect three-quarters of the children to have feet like this.
Unless I’m wrong.
Comment by Miss Cellania — October 9, 2007 @ 7:41 pm
Miss C.- You are absolutely right. However, ectrodactyly is an autosomal (non-sex determining) dominant disorder. The only explanation that I can come up with for the 1 in 4 statistic would be that some children or born to parents without the gene.
Or Ripley’s is simply wrong which is all together possible as well.
Comment by Ross Rosenberg — October 9, 2007 @ 8:37 pm
Third option – having the gene does not mean the gene is expressed or expressed fully. Most traits like this are not just on off switches- other things can over ride the expression of the gene or limit its expression. So the 1 in 4 may be correct for individuals who have full expression of the gene, where as 3/4 of the individuals have the gene. So, somehow, we end up with 2 in 4 having the gene but not expressing it, 1 in 4 having full expression, and 1 in 4 being normal with normal genes.
Comment by strixus — October 9, 2007 @ 10:00 pm
[...] The Vadoma Ostrich People Of ZimbabweDeep within the confines of western Zimbabwe can be found the Vadoma tribe, who are also called the “ostrich people”. This is because of a genetic condition called ectrodactyly, which effects one in four of the children within this … [...]
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