Could Shawn Knowles Carter, Jr. look like this? |
Fresh off the news that Beyonce and Jay-Z's baby will have a 2,200 square foot nursery, it seems safe to draw the following conclusions about their baby-to-be:
- Shawn Knowles Carter, Jr. will be both very rich and very famous.
- We can probably expect a prepubescent singing, rapping, or acting debut (see: Will Smith's kids)
- Assuming equally likely inheritance of the traits of his/her parents, this baby could wind up with some very distinctive facial features.
Scenario #1: Trait is dominant, Jay-Z carries two copies of the JZN gene
Jay-Z's genotype: JJ
Beyonce's genotype: jj
Cross: JJ x jj
j | j | |
J | Jj | Jj |
J | Jj | Jj |
Expected results of cross: each baby has a 100% chance of inheriting Jay-Z's nose (genotype: Jj).
Scenario #2: Trait is dominant, Jay-Z is heterozygous for the JZN gene
Jay-Z's genotype: Jj
Beyonce's genotype: jj
Cross: Jj x jj
j | j | |
J | Jj | Jj |
j | jj | jj |
Expected results of cross: 50% chance of inheriting Jay-Z's nose (genotype: Jj), 50% chance of not inheriting the trait (genotype: jj)
Scenario #3: Trait is recessive, Jay-Z and Beyonce are both homozygous
Jay-Z's genotype: jj
Beyonce's genotype: JJ
Cross: JJ x jj
j | j | |
J | Jj | Jj |
J | Jj | Jj |
Scenario #4: Trait is recessive, Jay-Z is homozygous, Beyonce is a carrier
Jay-Z's genotype: jj
Beyonce's genotype: Jj
Cross: Jj x jj
j | j | |
J | Jj | Jj |
j | jj | jj |
Expected results of cross: each baby has a 50% chance of inheriting the recessive trait for Jay-Z's nose (genotype: jj)
Total probability
Because in this admittedly limited analysis all scenarios are equally likely, we must weight them accordingly to find the total probability:
(1/4)(100%) + (1/4)(50%) + (1/4)(0%) + (1/4)(50%) = 1/2
Conclusion
Mendelian genetics confirm the obvious -- Beyonce and Jay-Z's baby likely has a 50-50 chance of inheriting one of her father's most prominent features. Watch the Crib drops Feb 2012...stay tuned.
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