Sunday, July 24, 2011

Everything Evolves...

...even us. It's hard for us to really understand, because we experience things individually on a personal timescale, compared to which the development of our genetic inheritance goes on at a geological pace. But are we evolving? Yes. The gene for the "alcohol flush reaction" which is common among Asians arose around 10,000 years ago, and a set of genes to help cope with low oxygen levels (read: high altitudes) may have evolved among Tibetans as recently as 3,000 years ago.

Researchers are finding that the human genome is constantly changing, and that many traits are influenced by dozens of genes at a time, enabling those traits to be selected for more quickly in response to changing environmental pressures.

Read more here: Adventures in Very Recent Evolution via NYTimes.com

No comments:

Post a Comment