Inbreeding...

 Inbreeding creates more homozygosity in a population, allowing a certain genotype and phenotype to dominate. While we have constantly been told that inbreeding will magnify bad mutations or genes it can also do the opposite. Inbreeding can magnify the beneficial gene making that offspring more desirable among the species. If we are breeding for qualities that we like, it may turn in to assortative mating. This is when an individual prefers to mate with another that looks more like them. This means that choosing a mate is no longer random; size, coloration, and many other factors are now important. Humans, typically, are assortative maters. We choose someone based on their personality, height, religion, hobbies, and so much more. Generally speaking most people choose to have partners with similar interests. 

    While inbreeding may help to showcase our dominant beneficial genes, it can cause problems when harmful recessive genes arise due to inbreeding. When two similar genetic organisms mate, the odds of the offspring receiving the same recessive gene twice increase. Inbreeding also can cause a lack of diversity in your population, making it more susceptible to changes in your environment. What works great now, may not later on. 

    An example of bad outcomes of inbreeding is Charles Darwin himself. Darwin married his first cousin Emma, both having come from families of inbreeding. Together they had ten children. Three died very young, three were infertile, and the children were often sick. Charles Darwin drew the conclusions that his children had inherited the weak recessive genes of Charles and Emma. 

    An example of inbreeding that is good and bad would be man's best friend. We have bred dogs to look and act the way that we have desired for centuries. While it is hard to imagine now, with most dogs sleeping in our beds and wearing sweaters, most breeds once had a specific job. Jack russell terriers were created to be small and fast so that they could run foxes out of their holes. Blood hounds were bred to have long ears to prevent wind from scattering nearby skin cells while the dog smells the ground and the wrinkled faces are supposed to help trap the scent. Inbreeding in dogs has led to certain medical problems being more prominent in certain breeds, but as you can see inbreeding has its pros and cons.