What Scientists Found After Analyzing Cases of Inbreeding in the UK

Charles II, the last of the Spanish Hapsburgs. Generations of inbreeding left him infertile, in addition to numerous additional health problems. (Credit: Wikimedia Commons)



Inbreeding, or mating between two closely-related people, is a strong taboo across the world. There's good reason for this, of course. The potential for sexual abuse and lasting trauma is high, and the odds of inheriting rare genetic diseases goes up exponentially among children who are the result of inbreeding.



But in