Concept

Human variability

Summary
Human variability, or human variation, is the range of possible values for any characteristic, physical or mental, of human beings. Frequently debated areas of variability include cognitive ability, personality, physical appearance (body shape, skin color, etc.) and immunology. Variability is partly heritable and partly acquired (nature vs. nurture debate). As the human species exhibits sexual dimorphism, many traits show significant variation not just between populations but also between the sexes. Sources of human variability Human variability is attributed to a combination of environmental and genetic sources including: For the genetic variables listed above, few of the traits characterizing human variability are controlled by simple Mendelian inheritance. Most are polygenic or are determined by a complex combination of genetics and environment. Many genetic differences (polymorphisms) have little effect on health or reproductive success but help to distinguish
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