MoEnzyme
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Fastest case of human evolution
« on: 2010-07-02 06:58:04 » |
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Often I think of evolution happening in pre-history over hundreds of thousands to millions of years, but this brings the reality of human evolution to within historic time frames. -Mo
Scientists Cite Fastest Case of Human Evolution
By NICHOLAS WADE
Published: July 1, 2010
intro:
Quote:Tibetans live at altitudes of 13,000 feet, breathing air that has 40 percent less oxygen than is available at sea level, yet suffer very little mountain sickness. The reason, according to a team of biologists in China, is human evolution, in what may be the most recent and fastest instance detected so far.
Comparing the genomes of Tibetans and Han Chinese, the majority ethnic group in China, the biologists found that at least 30 genes had undergone evolutionary change in the Tibetans as they adapted to life on the high plateau. Tibetans and Han Chinese split apart as recently as 3,000 years ago, say the biologists, a group at the Beijing Genomics Institute led by Xin Yi and Jian Wang. The report appears in Friday’s issue of Science.
If confirmed, this would be the most recent known example of human evolutionary change. Until now, the most recent such change was the spread of lactose tolerance — the ability to digest milk in adulthood — among northern Europeans about 7,500 years ago. But archaeologists say that the Tibetan plateau was inhabited much earlier than 3,000 years ago and that the geneticists’ date is incorrect. |
full article: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/02/science/02tibet.html?src=mv
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