>> PRODUCTION FUNDING FOR "QED WITH DR. B" IS PROVIDED BY -- AMERICAN ELECTRIC POWER FOUNDATION.

BOUNDLESS ENERGY FOR BRIGHTER FUTURES.

AND BY VIEWERS LIKE YOU.

THANK YOU.

>> PRODUCTION FUNDING FOR "QED WITH DR. B" IS PROVIDED BY -- AMERICAN ELECTRIC POWER FOUNDATION.

BOUNDLESS ENERGY FOR BRIGHTER FUTURES.

AND BY VIEWERS LIKE YOU.

THANK YOU.

>> I'M DR. FREDERIC BERTLEY, IMMUNOLOGIST AND EDUCATOR.

SCIENCE IS EVERYWHERE AND FOR EVERYONE.

AND IT'S ALL AROUND US, SHAPING OUR LIVES EVERY SINGLE DAY.

IN THIS SERIES, WE'LL LOOK AT CUTTING-EDGE RESEARCH, TALK TO THE SCIENTISTS WHO ARE CHARTING NEW FRONTIERS AND SOLVING TODAY'S PROBLEMS TO MAKE ALL OUR LIVES BETTER.

WHEN A SCIENTIST OR MATHEMATICIAN DEMONSTRATES PROOF OF CONCEPT IN THEIR WORK, THEY OFTEN USE A TERM "QED."

QUOD ERAT DEMONSTRANDUM.

THAT ROUGHLY TRANSLATES TO QUITE EASILY DEMONSTRATED.

WELCOME TO "QED WITH DR.

B."

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>> TODAY WE'RE TALKING ABOUT HUMAN VARIATION.

AND TO TALK ABOUT HUMAN VARIATION, WE HAVE TO TALK ABOUT TIME, A LOT OF TIME.

SO MUCH TIME, IT BOGGLES THE MIND.

SO I'M HERE AT A FOOTBALL FIELD TO GIVE YOU A BETTER PERSPECTIVE.

WE LOOK AT A STANDARD FOOTBALL FIELD OF 100 YARDS.

LET'S SAY THAT EACH YARD REPRESENTS 3000 YEARS.

THEN THE LENGTH OF THE ENTIRE FOOTBALL FIELD IS 300,000 YEARS.

RECENT STUDIES SUGGEST THAT OUR SPECIES, HOMOSAPIENS, MAY HAVE EXISTED FOR ROUGHLY 300,000 YEARS OR THE LENGTH OF OUR FOOTBALL FIELD.

AND IN THE GRAND SCHEME OF THINGS, THAT'S JUST A SMALL LITTLE BLIP OF TIME.

AFTER ALL, THE EXTINCTION OF NON -- DINOSAURS HAPPENED ABOUT 66 MILLION YEARS AGO.

USING OUR FOOTBALL FIELD ANALOGY, THAT'S 220 FOOTBALL FIELDS BEFORE PRESENT DAY.

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AND THIS RIGHT HERE IS 100,000 YEARS AGO.

IT IS THOUGHT THAT HOMOSAPIENS BEGAN TO MOVE OUT OF AFRICA AS FAR AS 100,000 YEARS AGO.

THEY LEFT IN WAVES THAT BROUGHT THEM TO ALL CORNERS OF THE GLOBE.

THEY ENDED UP IN DIFFERENT CLIMATES.

AND OVER MANY GENERATIONS, HUMANS ADAPTED TO THOSE CLIMATES.

EVENTUALLY, THERE WERE CHANGES TO THE DNA OF HUMANS LIVING THERE.

AFTER MANY GENERATIONS, HUMANS LIVING IN VERY HIGH ALTITUDES LIKE TIBET BECAME GENETICALLY ADAPTED TO LIVING IN LOW-OXYGEN ENVIRONMENTS.

THESE ADAPTIONS PROTECT THEM FROM HYPOXIA OR HIGH ALTITUDE SICKNESS.

IN PLACES WHERE POPULATIONS WERE DEPENDENT ON MILK FOR SURVIVAL, WE SEE LACTASE PERSISTENCE, THE ABILITY TO CONTINUE TO PRODUCE LACTASE IN ADULTS SO THAT THEY CAN DIGEST MILK.

AND ONE OF THE MOST NOTABLE VARIATIONS IS ONE WE CAN SEE EVERYDAY IN THE MIRROR.

FOR THAT, WE NEED TO TALK ANTHROPOLOGIST DR. NINA JABLONSKI WHO HAS STUDIED THE EVOLUTION OF HUMAN SKIN PIGMENTATION.

HER BOOK, "THE BIOLOGICAL AND SOCIAL MEANING OF SKIN COLOR," WAS PUBLISHED IN 2012.

AND IT ROCKED WHAT WE KNOW ABOUT ADAPTION.

YOUR RESEARCH SAYS "SKIN COLOR IS A HUMAN ADAPTION IN RESPONSE TO THE EXPOSURE OF THE SUN'S UV RAYS."

LET'S START WITH SOME BASICS.

WHAT ARE THE ADVANTAGES TO HAVING DARKER SKIN NEAR THE EQUATOR?

>> THE EARTH IS BATHED WITH ULTRAVIOLET RADIATION.

AND IT TURNS OUT THAT THE UV IS PARTICULARLY HIGH NEAR THE EQUATOR WHERE OUR ANCESTORS ARE FROM AND WHERE THE EARLIEST MEMBERS OF OUR OWN SPECIES, HOMOSAPIENS, EVOLVED AND WHERE WE HAVE SPENT MOST OF OUR TIME IN HISTORY.

DARK SKINS TURNS OUT TO BE THE BEST POSSIBLE SUNSCREEN, PROTECTIVE AGAINST THE HARMFUL EFFECTS OF ULTRAVIOLET RADIATION.

NATURE HAS USED IT MANY TIMES IN MANY DIFFERENT ORGANISMS AND IT'S USED IT IN HUMANS.

BASICALLY, THE DARK PIGMENTATION, MELANIN, IS THIS SUPERIOR NATURAL SUNSCREEN THAT ABSORBS ULTRAVIOLET PHOTONS, ENERGY, AND IS DARK IN COLOR.

SO IT ABSORBS PHYSICAL LIGHT AND ULTRAVIOLET RADIATION.

MELANIN, BECAUSE IT IS PROTECTIVE AGAINST MANY ASPECTS -- MANY HARMFUL ASPECTS OF ULTRAVIOLET RADIATION EXPOSURE, PROTECTS AGAINST ONE REALLY CRITICAL ONE WHICH IS THE BREAKDOWN OF THE VITAMIN CALLED FOLATE WHICH WE GET WHEN WE EAT GREEN VEGETABLES AND CITRUS FRUITS AND WHOLE GRAINS.

FOLATE TURNS OUT TO BE INCREDIBLY IMPORTANT TO THE MAKING OF DNA WHICH IS THE INHERITANCE, MACHINERY AND ALL OF OUR CELLS.

IT'S ALSO REALLY IMPORTANT FOR REPAIRING DNA.

SO FOLATE IS ONE OF THESE COMPREHENSIVELY IMPORTANT MOLECULES THAT'S REALLY ESSENTIAL TO LIFE.

>> SO THERE'S SO MANY ADVANTAGES TO DARK SKIN.

WHY ARE WE NOT ALL DARK SKINNED?

>> AROUND 60,000 YEARS AGO, A FEW POPULATIONS OF PEOPLE STARTING MOVING OUT OF THE TROPICS, OUT OF THESE REALLY HEAVY UV RICH AREAS INTO AREAS WITH MUCH LESS SUN AND MUCH MORE SEASONAL UV.

AND UNDER THOSE CONDITIONS, HAVING A LOT OF MELANIN IN THE SKIN ACTUALLY WASN'T HEALTHY.

HAVING TOO MUCH NATURAL SUNSCREEN ACTUALLY PREVENTED SOME UV RAYS FROM PENETRATING THE SKIN.

WE KNOW THAT SOME WAVE LENGTHS OF ULTRAVIOLET RADIATION ARE ACTUALLY NEEDED IN THE BODY FOR BEGINNING THE PROCESS OF PRODUCING VITAMIN D IN THE SKIN.

IF YOU LIVE UNDER REALLY -- SORT OF CLOUDY AND OUT OF THE TROPICS SUN CONDITIONS, YOU DON'T GET VERY MUCH OF THESE IMPORTANT WAVELENGTHS DURING THE YEAR.

SO IT TURNED OUT IN EVOLUTION TO BE VERY IMPORTANT THAT LOSS OF PIGMENTATION OCCUR.

SO AROUND THE WORLD, WE SEE PEOPLE WHO HAVE LIGHTLY PIGMENTED OR MORE APPROPRIATELY DEPIGMENTED SKIN.

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>> THAT'S REALLY INTERESTING.

SO THERE SEEMS LIKES THERE WAS AN INTERESTING INTERSECTION OF TWO FORCES THAT HELPED YOU VISUALIZE THE WORK FOR YOU.

>> YEAH.

>> LOOKING AT DATA FROM NASA AND AS ANY GOOD HUSBAND WIFE SITUATION, YOUR HUSBAND'S EXPERTISE IN GEOGRAPHY PLAYED A ROLE.

CAN YOU TELL US ABOUT THAT?

>> IT PLAYED A HUGE ROLE.

HIS INTEREST AND EXPERTISE IN GEOGRAPHY AND HIS ABILITY TO TAKE SOME IMPORTANT DATA SETS THAT WE RECEIVED FROM NASA AND WE WERE ABLE TO ACTUALLY SEE JUST THE MAGNITUDE OF DIFFERENCE IN THE INTENSITY OF ULTRAVIOLET RADIATION BETWEEN THE EQUATOR, THE TROPICS AND THE -- CLOSE TO THE POLES.

>> THAT'S AMAZING.

SO IF YOU BACK MAPPED THE EARTH'S SPHERE, YOU SEE LEVELS OF UV AND THAT CORRELATES WITH THE LIGHTNESS OR DARKNESS OF YOUR SKIN.

>> YEAH.

I MEAN, IT'S -- >> UNBELIEVABLE.

>> -- IT'S SUCH A COOL RELATIONSHIP.

IT TURNS OUT THAT ULTRAVIOLET RADIATION INTENSITY ACCOUNTS FOR OVER 85% OF THE VARIATION IN SKIN COLOR THAT WE SEE IN THE WORLD'S INDIGENOUS PEOPLES.

SO BY FAR, THE VAST MAJORITY OF SKIN COLOR HAS BEEN CAUSED BY NATURAL SELECTION IN RELATION TO ULTRAVIOLET RADIATION LEVELS.

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>> WHAT'S YOUR TAKE ON RACE IN THE SOCIAL CONSTRUCT?

WHERE DO YOU LAND?

>> RACE IS A SOCIAL CONSTRUCT, BUT THAT DOESN'T MAKE IT ANY LESS REAL.

WE CREATED THESE SOCIAL CONSTRUCTS AND WE'VE BEEN LIVING WITH THEM MORE OR LESS GLOBALLY IN VARIOUS VARIATIONS FOR HUNDREDS OF YEARS.

AND SO, THEY ARE PART OF THE WAY THAT WE THINK AND SORT OF IN THE ATMOSPHERE.

WHAT WE CAN DO IS RECOGNIZE THAT NOW AND WORK TOWARD A WORLD THAT ISN'T FRAMED IN THIS WAY.

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>> SO FAR, WE LEARNED THAT SKIN COLOR IS A HUMAN ADAPTATION THAT IS DETERMINED BY EXPOSURE TO UV RADIATION OVER TIME.

REMEMBER, OUR FOOTBALL FIELD REPRESENTS 300,000 YEARS OF MODERN HUMANS ON EARTH.

AND THIS HERE, AT THE 33 YARD LINE, ROUGHLY 100,000 YEARS AGO REPRESENTS APPROXIMATELY WHEN OUR SPECIES STARTED MOVING OUT OF AFRICA.

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RIGHT ABOUT HERE, REPRESENTS 2,000 YEARS IN THE PAST.

2,000 YEARS AGO, ABOUT THE TIME THE EGYPTIANS INVENTED COUNTERWEIGHTS TO LIFT HEAVY THINGS, AND CHINA FIRST INVENTED SOY SAUCE AND THE COMPASS.

THIS LAST LITTLE BIT, THIS TINY SLIVER OF SPACE, INCLUDES EVERYTHING FROM THE MIDDLE AGES TO THE PRESENT DAY.

DURING THIS BIT OF TIME, THE CONVERSATION ABOUT SKIN COLOR BECAME COMPLICATED AND POLARIZING.

TO HELP US FIND SOME CLARITY, I SAT DOWN WITH DR. ANN MORNING, ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR OF SOCIOLOGY AT NYU AND AUTHOR OF "NATURE OF RACE: HOW SCIENTISTS THINK AND TEACH ABOUT HUMAN DIFFERENCE."

HOW DO YOU EXPLAIN WHAT WE MEAN BY RACE BEING A SOCIAL CONSTRUCT?

>> WHEN WE SAY THAT RACE IS SOCIALLY CONSTRUCTED, THERE ARE REALLY TWO THINGS THAT WE WANT TO GET ACROSS.

ONE IS THE IDEA OF RACE AS SOMETHING THAT WE'VE BUILT, WE'VE CONSTRUCTED.

AND THAT MAKES IT AN INVENTION.

SO RACE IS REALLY AN IDEA THAT WE HUMAN BEINGS HAVE COME UP WITH.

AND THEN THE SECOND PIECE THAT WE TRY TO GET ACROSS IS ALSO THE IDEA THAT RACE IS A BELIEF OR AN IDEA THAT WE COLLECTIVELY CREATED.

IT'S A SOCIAL CREATION.

IT'S NOT JUST SOMETHING -- THE WORK OF SOME MADMAN SOMEWHERE BUT IT'S AN IDEA THAT WE'VE ALL REALLY SHARED AND INFLUENCED AND THEN PASSED ALONG FROM ONE GENERATION TO THE NEXT.

AND SO WHEN WE SAY THAT RACE IS A HUMAN INVENTION, A SOCIAL CONSTRUCT, WE ARE BASICALLY CHALLENGING PEOPLE TO RETHINK WHAT THEY THINK ABOUT HUMAN BODIES.

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>> IF WE KNOW IT'S A SOCIAL CONSTRUCT -- BUT AS YOU WERE JUST TALKING ABOUT, MANY PEOPLE FEEL LIKE WE CAN CATEGORIZE PEOPLE INTO RACES BASED ON THE PHYSICAL ATTRIBUTES.

WHY IS THAT NOT RIGHT, SINCE WE PHYSICALLY LOOK DIFFERENT?

I MEAN, WE DO SAY PEOPLE ARE TALL.

WE DO SAY PEOPLE ARE SHORT.

>> WHAT IS SO INTERESTING ABOUT EXPLORING THE WAYS IN WHICH RACE IS SOCIALLY CONSTRUCTED AND NOT BIOLOGICALLY GROUNDED IS THAT, AGAIN, IT SEEMS TO DISPUTE THE EVIDENCE THAT WE HAVE BEFORE OUR VERY EYES.

AND SO, YOU'LL HEAR PEOPLE SAY ALL THE TIME, "BUT I CAN SEE RACES.

I CAN TELL WHAT RACE A PERSON IS FROM SEEING THEM.

SO HOW COULD THAT POSSIBLY BE A HUMAN INVENTION?"

AND WHAT'S REALLY GOING ON WHEN WE SAY THAT WE SEE A PERSON'S RACE IS THAT WE'RE LOOKING AT CERTAIN BITS OF INFORMATION FROM PEOPLE.

WE'RE LOOKING AT CERTAIN THINGS ABOUT THEM, LIKE THEIR SKIN COLOR, OR THEIR HAIR TEXTURE OR THEIR EYE SHAPE.

AND THEN WE'RE TAKING THAT INFORMATION AND WE'RE FILTERING IT INTO A KIND OF MODEL WE HAVE IN OUR HEADS, KIND OF LIKE A LITTLE COMPUTER PROGRAM IN OUR HEADS, WHICH TELLS US WHERE TO ASSIGN PEOPLE TO A RACIAL CATEGORY BASED ON THOSE INPUTS.

AND WHERE THE SOCIAL INVENTION COMES IN IS THAT OUR SOCIETY TELLS US TO LOOK AT JUST SOME THINGS AND THEN COME TO SOME CONCLUSION ABOUT A PERSON'S RACE.

IF YOU THINK, FIRST OF ALL, OF THE RAINBOW, RIGHT?

IT'S FULL OF COLOR.

THERE'S LOTS OF DIFFERENT COLORS.

JUST LIKE, YOU KNOW, THE HUMAN SPECIES DOES INCLUDE BIOLOGICAL DIVERSITY.

RIGHT?

THERE IS VARIATION IN OUR BIOLOGICAL TRAITS AS WE MOVE AROUND THE GLOBE.

AND THAT'S TRUE ON THE SURFACE LEVEL IN TERMS OF WHAT WE LOOK LIKE AND IT'S ALSO TRUE AT THE GENETIC LEVEL AND IN OTHER LEVELS THAT ARE VISIBLE TO US LIKE WHAT BLOOD TYPE WE HAVE OR WHETHER WE'RE LACTOSE INTOLERANT AND KIND OF STUFF LIKE THAT.

BUT, WHAT THE RAINBOW ALSO HELPS US UNDERSTAND IS THAT THERE ARE NO CLEAR CUT DIVIDING LINES ANYWHERE ALONG THAT SPECTRUM.

THERE'S NO, YOU KNOW, RED SHADES GRADUALLY TO ORANGE, WHICH GRADES GRADUALLY INTO YELLOW, AND SO FORTH.

SO, THERE'S NO CLEAR CUT LINES.

SO, WHEN WE AS HUMAN BEINGS COME ALONG AND SAY, "THERE ARE TWO RACES IN THE WORLD, OR THREE RACES, OR FOUR RACES, OR FIVE RACES IN THE WORLD."

IT'S LIKE WE'RE TRYING TO CHOP UP THE RAINBOW AT PLACES THAT ARE CONVENIENT TO US OR THAT SEEM REASONABLE TO US.

BUT, THOSE DIVIDING LINES AREN'T COMING FROM THE RAINBOW ITSELF.

THEY'RE COMING FROM OUR IDEAS OF WHAT SHOULD GO TOGETHER.

>> THE CENSUS IS A PRIME EXAMPLE OF HOW WE CONSTRUCT RACE IN THIS COUNTRY.

IT'S ALSO USED IN OTHER COUNTRIES AS WELL.

CAN YOU SPEAK ABOUT THE CENSUS AND WHAT THAT SAYS ABOUT THE UNITED STATES?

>> SO, THE UNITED STATES FIELDED ITS FIRST CENSUS IN 1790 AND ON THAT VERY FIRST CENSUS, WE HAD A RACE QUESTION AND WE HAVE ALWAYS HAD A RACE QUESTION EVER SINCE.

AND THAT SETS US APART FROM OTHER COUNTRIES.

ONE OF THE REASONS THAT RACE HAS PLAYED SUCH A PROMINENT ROLE IN OUR SOCIETY AND THAT'S REFLECTED ON OUR CENSUS, IS SIMPLY BECAUSE IT WAS KIND OF A NEW SEXY IDEA THAT WE GLONGED ONTO WHEN WE WERE WRITING THE CONSTITUTION AND THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE.

AND PUTTING TOGETHER THE FIRST POLITICAL INSTITUTIONS OF THIS NATION.

IT WAS WRITTEN INTO THE CONSTITUTION IN THE 3/5 CLAUSE WHICH DETERMINED THAT SLAVES, PEOPLE OF AFRICAN DESCENT WOULD BE TREATED AS 3/5 OF A PERSON, OF A WHITE PERSON.

IT ALSO APPEARED IN OUR VERY FIRST IMMIGRATION LAWS WHICH DETERMINED THAT YOU HAD TO BE WHITE IN ORDER TO BECOME A CITIZEN.

AMAZINGLY ENOUGH, AMERICAN INDIANS DIDN'T MAKE IT ONTO OUR CENSUS UNTIL THE 1800s EVEN THOUGH OBVIOUSLY THEY WERE HERE.

BUT, THAT TELLS YOU SOMETHING ABOUT THE WAYS IN WHICH THESE CATEGORIES, THESE RACIAL CATEGORIES DID REALLY REFLECT SOME OBJECTIVE REALITY.

EITHER ABOUT THE NATION ITSELF, OR WHO WAS IN IT, OR ABOUT HUMANITY AND ITS DIVERSITY.

IT REALLY SHOWS US THAT THOSE CATEGORIES JUST REFLECT OUR CHANGING IDEAS ABOUT RACE.

SO, REALLY SHOWS IT IS THE RULE, NOT THE EXCEPTION ON OUR CENSUS.

AND IT'S REALLY THE ULTIMATE GROUP THAT THESE CATEGORIES ARE COMING FROM OUR IMAGINATIONS THAT WE'RE CONSTRUCTING.

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>>> SO, WE'VE LOOKED AT HUMAN VARIATION ON THE OUTSIDE, LIKE SKIN COLOR.

BUT, WHAT ABOUT AT THE GENETIC LEVEL?

WE SEQUENCED THE HUMAN GENOME IN 2003.

THAT'S NOT A VERY LONG TIME AGO.

IN FACT, IN OUR FOOTBALL ANALOGY, THAT'S RIGHT ABOUT HERE ON OUR GOAL LINE.

SO, CAN WE MAKE ANY NOTE OF HUMAN VARIATION AT THE DNA LEVEL?

LET'S TALK TO AN EXPERT.

DR. CHARLES ROTIMI IS A DIRECTOR OF THE TRANS-NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF HEALTH, CENTER FOR RESEARCH AND GENOMICS AND GLOBAL HEALTH AT THE NIH.

WHAT DOES HUMAN VARIATION LOOK LIKE THE GENETIC LEVEL AND CAN WE SEE RACIAL DIFFERENCES IN THE DNA?

>> WHAT WE DO SEE IT IS ABSOLUTELY NO CONSISTENT WAY TO DIFFERENTIATE RACIAL GROUPS USING GENETIC INFORMATION.

YES, WE DO VARY TO SOME STRAINS AS HUMAN BEINGS.

WITHOUT VARIATION, INDEED THERE IS NO RISE THAT WE ARE INDEED DIFFERENT RACIAL GROUPS.

THE IMPORTANT THING HERE IS THAT WE SHARE A COMMON ANCESTRY, ALL OF US.

AND THAT IS WHY OVER 99% OF OUR GENOME IS SHARED, IS COMMON TO ALL HUMAN BEINGS AROUND THE WORLD.

>> WHAT IS YOUR RESEARCH ON DISTINCT POPULATION ACTUALLY TEACH US?

>> WE LOOK AT ABOUT 6,000 DIFFERENT INDIVIDUALS FROM DIFFERENT ETHNO-LINGUISTIC GROUPS AND ANCESTRY ACROSS THE WORLD.

AND WE LOOKED AT THE INFORMATION FROM THEIR GENOME.

WE USE A COMPUTER PROGRAM, YOU KNOW, TO SEE ASSIGNED ANCESTRY.

YOU KNOW, TO THESE POPULATIONS.

AND WHAT WE DISCOVERED WHICH WAS ACTUALLY QUITE INSTRUCTIVE IS THAT WE ARE ABLE TO IDENTIFY ABOUT 21 ANCESTRIES ACROSS THE WORLD.

11 OF THOSE 21 WERE FROM AFRICA ALONE.

BUT, IT HAS MORE IMPORTANTLY OVER 97% OF THOSE INDIVIDUALS THAT WE STUDIED HAS MIXED ANCESTRY.

>> WOW.

>> WHICH AGAIN, SPEAKS TO THE FACT THAT WE HUMANS, WE ARE VERY GOOD WHENEVER WE TRAVEL, WE GO TO NEW PLACES.

WE ARE VERY GOOD AND EFFICIENT AT SHARING DNA.

[LAUGHTER] AND WE JUST CONTINUE TO WEAVE BEAUTIFUL PATTERNS OF OUR GENOME.

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FROM AN ANCESTRY POINT OF VIEW AND A CONCEPT OF RACE, THERE IS REALLY VERY FEW INDIVIDUALS, IF ANY, MAYBE IN SOME STILL VERY REMOTE PLACES IN AFRICA, THAT YOU SEE INDIVIDUALS WHO ARE JUST ONE ANCESTRY.

WE ALL START FROM THE DEFAULT THAT WE ARE MIXED.

SO, OUR ANALYSIS DID NOT HELP OR GIVE US ANY INCLINATION THAT WE CAN USE GENOMICS TO SYSTEMICALLY IDENTIFY PEOPLE ALONG THE RACIAL GROUPS THAT WE HAVE DEFINED SOCIALLY.

IF YOU CAN TRY TO USE GENOMICS THAT DEFINE RACE AS MUCH AS WE CAN, BUT WHERE YOU'RE GOING TO END UP IS A SITUATION THAT LOOKS LIKE A SOUP.

NO MATTER HOW YOU CUT THAT SOUP, IT'S GONNA STAY MIXED.

OVERALL, WE ARE JUST TOO SIMILAR.

>> THAT IS GREAT.

SO WITH THAT, WOULD IT BE FAIR TO SAY GENETICS AND GENOMICS HAS PROVEN THAT, IN FACT, THERE IS ONE RACE?

IT'S THE HUMAN RACE?

>> ABSOLUTELY WITH NO DOUBT.

WE HAVE ONE HUMAN RACE.

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>>> WE'VE ESTABLISHED THAT BIOLOGICALLY, THERE'S REALLY NO SUCH THING AS RACE.

SOCIALLY ON THE OTHER HAND, NOT ONLY DO WE RECOGNIZE RACE, WE USE IT AS A TOOL TO THINK ABOUT AND JUDGE ONE ANOTHER, WHETHER WE LIKE IT OR NOT.

AT THREE MONTHS OLD, BABIES CAN TELL FACES APART BY COLOR.

OUR BRAINS ARE WIRED TO CATEGORIZE.

IT'S PART OF HOW WE MAKE SENSE OF THE WORLD.

HOW USE CATEGORIZATION LATER IN LIFE IS A UNIQUE AREA STUDY.

KELLY CAPATOSTO IS AN EXPERT ON RACE AND COGNITION WORK AND IS A SENIOR DATA AND POLICY SPECIALIST WORKING AT OHIO STATE UNIVERSITY'S KIRWIN INSTITUTE.

SHE'S INVOLVED IN TEACHING OTHERS ABOUT IMPLICIT BIAS.

WHAT IT MEANS AND HOW THERE'S NO SUCH THING AS COLOR BLINDNESS.

>>> EXPLAIN TO US WHAT IS IMPLICIT BIAS.

>> WE DEFINE IT HERE AT THE KIRWIN INSTITUTE AS THE UNCONSCIOUS ATTITUDES OR STEREOTYPES THAT IMPACT OUR UNDERSTANDING, ACTIONS, AND DECISIONS.

SO, WHAT WE MEAN BY THAT IS THAT AS INDIVIDUALS WE STRIVE TO BE FAIR, TO BE LOGICAL, AND OBJECTIVE; BUT ULTIMATELY WE ALL FALL SHORT BECAUSE WE CARRY WITH US THESE PRECONCEIVED NOTIONS AND THESE JUDGEMENTS ABOUT PEOPLE EVEN IF WE DON'T WANT OR INTEND TO.

SO, THAT'S WHAT WE MEAN WHEN WE SAY THAT OUR BIASES CAN BE IMPLICIT OR UNCONSCIOUS.

>> SO, YOU'VE DEFINED FOR US WHAT IMPLICIT BIAS IS, WHICH IS TERRIFIC.

CAN YOU TALK A LITTLE BIT MORE ABOUT WHAT COLOR BLINDNESS IS ON THE OTHER SIDE?

>> YES.

SO, COLOR BLINDNESS, IT'S THIS IDEA OR NOTION THAT I DON'T SEE COLOR.

I MIGHT JUST SEE YOU FOR WHO YOU ARE AS A PERSON, YOUR PERSONALITY, OR WHAT YOU BRING TO THE TABLE.

BUT, IN THE SCIENTIFIC COMMUNITY, WE KNOW THAT THIS ISN'T TRUE.

WE ARE CONSTANTLY TRANSLATING INFORMATION ABOUT THE INDIVIDUALS THAT WE SEE AND HOW PERCEIVE THEM.

AND WHAT SOMEONE'S RACE IS OR WHAT SOMEONE'S ETHNICITY IS, AS WELL AS GENDER AND OTHER KIND OF SURFACE-BASED IDENTITIES ARE SOME OF THE FIRST THINGS THAT WE REGISTER AS HUMAN BEINGS.

EVEN THOUGH THAT MIGHT BE A GOAL TO SEE ALL PEOPLE EQUALLY AS A VALUE OR A CONSTRUCT, IT'S NOT SOMETHING THAT ADDS UP IN TERMS OF THE SCIENCE AND HOW WE PERCEIVE OTHERS.

>> IS THERE THE CHANCE THAT TECHNOLOGY MIGHT BE COLOR BLIND?

I MEAN, WE HAVE COMPUTING, ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE, ALGORITHMS.

>> WELL, I'M REALLY GLAD THAT YOU BROUGHT THAT UP.

IF HUMAN BEINGS, IF HUMAN DECISION MAKERS HOLD ALL THESE BIASES WITH US, THEN MAYBE THE SOLUTION IS TO BE ABLE TO LOOK TOWARDS ALGORITHMS, NEW TECHNOLOGIES, ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE, AND DATA TO BE MORE OBJECTIVE.

BUT, IN REALITY THERE IS STILL A COUPLE PROBLEMS WITH THAT PREMISE, WITH THOSE IDEAS.

AND FIRST IS THAT HUMAN BEINGS ARE THE ONES THAT ARE DESIGNING THESE ALGORITHMS AND HOW THEY WORK.

SO, ACTUALLY THOSE IMPLICIT BIASES CAN BE IMBEDDED INTO THE ALGORITHMS THEMSELVES.

>> SO, DO YOU HAVE AN EXAMPLE YOU CAN SHOW US RIGHT NOW ABOUT HOW AN ALGORITHM MIGHT POSSIBLY HAVE IMPLICIT BIAS?

>> YES.

WE CAN LOOK TO THAT EXAMPLE RIGHT NOW.

SO, LET'S START OFF WITH A SITUATION THAT CAN BE A LITTLE BIT ANXIETY-INDUCING FOR EVERYONE.

LET'S SAY THAT YOU HAVE A JOB INTERVIEW.

YOU'RE TRYING TO LOOK AS SHARP AS POSSIBLE.

SO, YOU DO A QUICK SEARCH ENGINE SEARCH TO SEE WHAT PROFESSIONAL HAIRSTYLES ARE.

AND WHAT DO YOU SEE BEING DEPICTED WITH WHAT THOSE RESULTS SHOW?

>> AS SOMEONE WHO HAS GONE FOR SEVERAL JOB INTERVIEWS AND, YOU KNOW, AT THIS POINT I DON'T HAVE HAIR, BUT I PREVIOUSLY DID HAVE HAIR.

I DON'T SEE ANY ANYBODY THAT I CAN IDENTIFY WITH TO FIGURE OUT HOW I SHOULD LOOK FOR AN INTERVIEW.

>> RIGHT.

THERE'S NOT A LOT OF DIVERSITY THERE.

AND THIS IS HAPPENING NOT JUST WITH THIS SEARCH THAT'S HAPPENING HUNDREDS AND HUNDREDS OF TIMES REPLICATED OVER OUR DAYS, AND OUR WEEKS, AND OUR EXPERIENCES.

SO, WE MIGHT THINK THAT IS JUST ONE SMALL OR INSIGNIFICANT PIECE.

BUT, WHAT THE REAL PROBLEM IS THAT I'M A USER JUST TYPING THIS IN, I DON'T KNOW THAT THOSE BIASES AND THOSE STEREOTYPES ARE BEING IMBEDDED WITH WHAT I'M SEEING IN FRONT OF ME.

AND I DON'T KNOW THAT THOSE ASSOCIATIONS ARE BEING STRENGTHENED OVER TIME.

>> WHAT WOULD YOU RECOMMEND TO LAY PEOPLE AS TO HOW WE CAN COUNTERACT THAT?

BECAUSE WE ARE STRIVING TO HAVE LESS BIASES.

>> YEAH.

SO, THE FIRST STEP TO UNDERSTANDING HOW TO CHALLENGE AND COMBAT OUR BIASES IS SIMPLY TO JUST BE AWARE OF THEM.

TO RECOGNIZE BIAS IN THE WORLD AROUND YOU, BUT ALSO WITHIN OURSELVES.

WHAT I THINK FAR TOO OFTEN, SOLUTIONS TO ADDRESS IMPLICIT BIAS OR EVEN TO ADDRESS RACISM IN GENERAL FOCUS TOO MUCH ON THE INDIVIDUAL AND INDIVIDUAL BEHAVIOR.

IT'S NOT JUST THIS CONVERSATION ABOUT BAD APPLES, BUT HOW BIASES AND RACISM CAN BE ENGRAINED WITHIN OUR POLICIES AND WITHIN OUR LAWS THEMSELVES.

UNTIL WE FOCUS ON OUR POLICIES, AND UNTIL WE FOCUS ON OUR INSTITUTIONS, THEN IT'S GONNA BE MUCH MORE DIFFICULT TO FIND REAL SOLUTIONS THAT ARE ACTIONABLE.

>>> TODAY WE TALKED ABOUT HUMAN VARIATION.

WE LEARNED THAT SKIN COLOR IS AN ADAPTATION TO THE EXPOSURE TO UV RAYS AND THAT SKIN COLOR VARIES WIDELY ACROSS THE PLANET.

REMEMBER THE RAINBOW COLORS?

WE LEARNED THAT RACE REALLY IS A SOCIAL CONSTRUCT AND IN FACT, WE ARE ALL 99.9% IDENTICAL.

AND WE LEARNED THAT IMPLICIT BIAS HAPPENS TO ALL OF US.

AND THE TAKE AWAY HERE IS TO RECOGNIZE IT AND LET IT INFORM THE WAY WE RESEARCH AND THE WAY WE LIVE.

THAT'S QUITE EASILY DEMONSTRATED.

"QED WITH DR.

B."

FIND US ON FACEBOOK, TWITTER, AND INSTAGRAM.

AND I'LL SEE YOU NEXT TIME.

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>> Announcer: PRODUCTION FUNDING FOR "QED WITH DR. B" IS PROVIDED BY AMERICAN ELECTRIC POWER FOUNDATION.

BOUNDLESS ENERGY FOR A BRIGHT FUTURE.

AND BY VIEWERS LIKE YOU.

THANK YOU.