The latest research on the Neolithic Tyrolean Iceman, Ötzi, reveals surprising information about his appearance and ancestry. Contrary to previous beliefs, Ötzi had dark skin, dark eyes, and male pattern baldness. The high-quality genome analysis also shows that he had a significant early Anatolian
Study highlights the epigenetics of life at high altitudes
Humans inhabit an incredible range of environments across the globe, from arid deserts to frozen tundra, tropical rainforests, and some of the highest peaks on Earth. Indigenous populations that have lived in these extreme environments for thousands of years have adapted to confront the unique challenges that they present.
Approximately 2% of people worldwide live permanently at high altitudes of over 2,500 meters (1.5 miles), where oxygen is sparse, UV radiation is high, and temperatures are low. Native Andeans, Tibetans, Mongolians, and Ethiopians exhibit adaptations that improve their ability to survive such conditions. Andeans, for example, display increased chest circumference, elevated oxygen saturation, and a low hypoxic ventilatory response, enabling them to thrive at exceptionally high elevations.
High-altitude living has changed more than just the genes of some Peruvians
Dec. 22, 2020 , 4:00 PM
Human evolution is at work in the Andes mountains. The Quechua, an Indigenous people in Peru who have lived at altitudes above 2500 meters for at least the past 11,000 years, have evolved genetic adaptations to survive their harsh environment. A new study finds these extreme conditions can change chemical modifications that control the activity of that DNA. These “epigenetic” alterations are the first evidence that growing up in the mountains can alter not just genes, but how the body uses them.
Scientists have long wondered whether environmental stress, like low oxygen concentrations, can shape gene activity in highland people, says anthropologist Cynthia Beall of Case Western Reserve University who studies high altitude adaptations in Tibet. This “pioneering” research shows it is not only possible, says Beall, who was not involved with the study, but likely that epigenetic