種族之間是否有遺傳上的差別，或地球上的種族之間的性狀的不同是否有DNA作為基礎？
這個問題雖然比較敏感，但是，許多遺傳學家和醫生還是認為種族之間的差別是存在遺傳基礎的。
首先，醫生們早就發現，不同種族對藥物出現不同的反應，這不是什麼秘密。去年，FDA就批准了一款專門針對黑人的藥物（並非說這個藥物對其他種族沒有用，只是研究發現，對黑人的效果比較更好）。

如果說不同種族在DNA序列上的差別不是那麼清楚的話，最新的研究發現，亞洲人（中國北京地區的人和日本東京地區的人）的基因表達，竟然有20％的基因和歐洲白人的基因表達存在統計意義上的差別。研究了4000個基因的表達，有1000個基因在亞洲人和歐洲白人之間存在表達量的顯著差別。
比如有個叫UGT2B17的基因，白人的平均表達量是中國人和日本人的27倍！
他們發現了有35個基因，在種族之間的表達量差別超過2倍。

他們還發現，從los angeles的亞裔和從北京來的樣品，基本沒有差別。說明，這些基因表達量的差別和環境無關，基本是遺傳因素造成。

DNA順序的改變可以改變形狀，DNA表達量的多少對生物形狀也有非常重大的影響。

Letter

Published online: 7 January 2007;

Common genetic variants account for differences in gene expression among ethnic groups

Richard S Spielman1, Laurel A Bastone2, Joshua T Burdick3, Michael Morley3, Warren J Ewens4 & Vivian G Cheung1, 3, 5

Variation in DNA sequence contributes to individual differences in quantitative traits, but in humans the specific sequence variants are known for very few traits. We characterized variation in gene expression in cells from individuals belonging to three major population groups. This quantitative phenotype differs significantly between European-derived and Asian-derived populations for 1,097 of 4,197 genes tested. For the phenotypes with the strongest evidence of cis determinants, most of the variation is due to allele frequency differences at cis-linked regulators. The results show that specific genetic variation among populations contributes appreciably to differences in gene expression phenotypes. Populations differ in prxxxxence of many complex genetic diseases, such as diabetes and cardiovascular disease. As some of these are probably influenced by the level of gene expression, our results suggest that allele frequency differences at regulatory polymorphisms also account for some population differences in prxxxxence of complex diseases.