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“Life at high altitudes forced ancient Tibetans to undergo the fastest evolution ever seen in humans, according to a new study. The most rapid genetic change showed up in the EPAS1 gene, which helps regulate the body's response to a low-oxygen environment. One version, called an allele, of the EPAS1 gene changed in frequency from showing up in 9 percent of the Han Chinese to 87 percent of Tibetans. Such genetic changes suggest Tibetan ancestors split off from the Han Chinese population about 2,750 years ago, researchers say. But only those most evolutionarily suited for life at high altitudes survived when they moved to the Tibetan Plateau. “It took only a few hundred generations to change the allele frequency, which can only happen if a lot of people have died,” said Rasmus Nielsen, an evolutionary biologist at the University of California at Berkeley. “In that sense, it must have had a strong effect on fitness.” The Tibetan example of human evolution beats the previous record holders in northern Europe, who evolved lactose tolerance to digest the milk sugar lactose over the course of about 7,500 years.” More at link! http://www.livescience.com/health/Tibetans-underwent-fastest-evolution-seen-in-h… added by: DeliaTheArtist