What role do popular misunderstandings about biology and genetics play in modern, everyday conceptualizations?

What role do popular misunderstandings about biology and genetics play in modern, everyday conceptualizations of human differences and “race”? What role has the misuse of science played in guiding/influencing the process of “naturalizing difference”? What could one do to dispel these misunderstandings? (i.e. are there better ways to understand and yze the geographic distribution of human genetic and biological variation than “race”?)