Posted on 07/03/2014 3:43:35 PM PDT by BenLurkin
orget climbing Mt. Everest for most humans, just eking out a living on the harsh Tibetan plateau is challenge enough. But Tibetan people have thrived there for thousands of years, and a new study says it's thanks to a genetic adaptation they inherited from an ancient human relative..
The study, published Wednesday in the journal Nature, identifies a long segment of DNA shared by the extinct people known as Denisovans and modern-day Tibetans. The segment contains the gene scientists think gives Tibetans a lung up over lowlanders at high altitudes.
No one knew the Denisovans ever roamed the Earth until four years ago, when scientists sequenced the DNA of a finger bone unearthed in a cave in the Altai Mountains of southern Siberia. The genome exhibited similarities to that of modern humans and our extinct Neanderthal relatives, but it was different enough to be considered a distinct species.
Like Neanderthals, Denisovans mated with their human contemporaries, scientists soon discovered. People of Melanesian descent who today inhabit Papua New Guinea share 5% of their genetic makeup with the Denisovans.
(Excerpt) Read more at latimes.com ...
Maybe they are kin to the Stratos Cloud Minders.
But...But...all peoples is equals, so how can this be?
Someone has a genetic advantage?!
Can’t be. We’re all the same under the skin.
So Sayeth El Supremo Court.
Thanks for posting. Good read.
Nope!
Like the song said “I am the Ape Man.......”
so Bigfoot existed after all?
I’m so fascinated with this. Good article from the LA Times, thanks so much for posting.
The Siberian Times has an interesting article too, without the Tibetan reference, however:
http://siberiantimes.com/science/casestudy/news/siberian-girl-comes-back-to-life-after-more-than-50000-years/
A visit to the Altai Mountains, where the Denisovian tooth was found, is on my bucket list. Has been since reading Entering The Circle, a fascinating book by a Russian/Siberian psychiatrist, Olga Kharitidi, who had some very strange experiences there with a shaman.
The National Geographic Genome Project can tell you whether you have Denisovian genes. And/or Neanderthal. https://genographic.nationalgeographic.com/denisovan/
WOW! People adapted to where they lived. I am amazed. It happens all the time. Just look around.
It will please Vaal
Good article. Thanks
Yes, Vaal was one of the better episodes.
Tibetans inherited high-altitude gene from ancient human
http://news.sciencemag.org/archaeology/2014/07/tibetans-inherited-high-altitude-gene-ancient-human
Interbreeding Helped Modern Humans Adapt to New Environment
http://www.archaeology.org/news/2280-140703-tibetans-denisovans-genes
I gots a question, good sir.
If two “species” can interbreed and produce offspring, are they really two different species?
Not being snarky. Just confused.
The Neandertal Enigma"Frayer's own reading of the record reveals a number of overlooked traits that clearly and specifically link the Neandertals to the Cro-Magnons. One such trait is the shape of the opening of the nerve canal in the lower jaw, a spot where dentists often give a pain-blocking injection. In many Neandertal, the upper portion of the opening is covered by a broad bony ridge, a curious feature also carried by a significant number of Cro-Magnons. But none of the alleged 'ancestors of us all' fossils from Africa have it, and it is extremely rare in modern people outside Europe." [pp 126-127]
by James Shreeve
in local libraries
The test for whether things were the same species used to be, can they produce *fertile* offspring — hence, a mule is sterile, as are lion-tiger hybrids, and their parents are two different species. That also works to an extent in botany, as it is possible to produce stable hybrids that are not sterile but won’t produce their own kind.
My view on humans is, the use of the term species is an incorrect convention, but that it will pass away as more and more reliance is placed on genetic studies, and morphological divisions lose their importance in the understanding of our ancestors. :’)
Thanks.
“WOW! People adapted to where they lived. I am amazed. It happens all the time. Just look around.”
Best post of the thread! Yes, we ADAPT! It has a lot more to do with ADAPTING than it has to do with genes!
Hope that helps.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.