• POLITICS
  • SCIENCE
    • Astronomy
    • Physics
    • Biology
    • Geology
    • Environment
    • Medicine and Health
    • Sociology
    • Psychology
  • MOVIES & TV SHOWS
  • TECHNOLOGY
    • Artificial Intelligence
    • Virtual Reality
    • Bionics
    • Nanotechnology
    • Engineering
    • Robotics
    • Space Exploration
    • Transport
    • Industry and Service
  • GADGETS
    • Mobile Devices
    • Wearables
    • Consoles
    • Hi-Tech
  • GEEK CULTURE
    • Gaming
    • Comics
    • Thingamajigs
  • MUSIC
  • SOFTWARE
    • APPS
      • Android
      • iOS
      • Windows
  • HARDWARE
  • CARS
  • Advertise
  • Geek Reply Jobs
  • Contact Us
Geek Reply
  • HOME
  • Editorials
  • Geek Squad
  • GeekReply Jobs
  • Contact Us
  • Facebook

  • Twitter

  • Google+

  • LinkedIn

  • RSS

Biology

Scientists say that Tibetans are adapted to high altitude environments thanks to a 8,000-year-old mutation

Scientists say that Tibetans are adapted to high altitude environments thanks to a 8,000-year-old mutation
Salinas A
August 18, 2014

The Tibetan Plateau, an environment where the Tibetans have adapted to live over thousands of years, where others barely survive, has raised curiosity among the scientists from the University of Utah who led a study to find the cause for the genetic adaptation. A DNA change made 8000 years ago contributes to the adaptation of the Tibetans who live is such low oxygen air. Scientists were stunned to see that after taking blood samples they discovered that the gene EGLN1 changed by a single DNA base pair about 8000 years ago and caused 88% of the Tibetans to have the genetic mutation.

“These findings help us understand the unique aspects of Tibetan adaptation to high altitudes, and to better understand human evolution,” said Josef Prchal, M.D., senior author and University of Utah professor of internal medicine. As they continued the study they also found out that the genetic mutation is almost absent in lowland Asians. The advantage of this genetic mutation is that Tibetans do not have the problems associated with high altitude like the others without the mutation have, such as the fact that low oxygen causes the blood to become thick which in the long term can result in heart failure. But there is still much more that they have to study and understand. Perhaps the genetic mutation makes other variations and changes to the body given that they are so perfectly adapted to such high altitudes.

As oxygen is so important for us, a deeper understanding of high altitude adaptations may lead to treatments of various diseases, cancer included. The Tibetans live at up to 4,300 meters altitude and this study made scientists realize that they have something unique to offer to the rest of the world. “There is much more that needs to be done, and this is just the beginning,” professor Prchal concluded.

W3Schools
Related Itemsadaptationhigh altitudemutationTibetans
Biology
August 18, 2014
Salinas A

Related Itemsadaptationhigh altitudemutationTibetans

More in Biology

Chinese Dinosaur Might Have Been as Iridescent as a Hummingbird

Aaron GreenbaumJanuary 17, 2018
Read More

Scientists Discover Velociraptor’s Cousin, and It Looks Like a Swan

Aaron GreenbaumDecember 6, 2017
Read More

Researchers Use Stem Cells to Help Rats with Paraplegia Walk Again

Aaron GreenbaumNovember 17, 2017
Read More

Scientists Discover Jellyfish Sleep Even Though They Don’t Have Brains

Aaron GreenbaumSeptember 21, 2017
Read More

Ancient Fossils Rewrite Evolutionary Timeline of Complex Animals

Aaron GreenbaumSeptember 11, 2017
Read More
Homo sapien skulls from Jebed Irhoud

New Evidence Modifies Homo sapiens Chronology and Behavior

Brian TrailJune 11, 2017
Read More

A Portuguese Fish Can Clone Itself

Aaron GreenbaumMay 26, 2017
Read More

A Major Initiative Will Catalyse Organ And Tissue Regeneration

Varun RainMay 3, 2017
Read More

The Teleocrater: Dinosaurs May Have Been More Closely Related to Crocodiles Than We Thought

Aaron GreenbaumApril 15, 2017
Read More
Scroll for more
Tap

Game Deals

  • Popular

  • Latest

  • Comments

  • Three Great Online Marketing Solutions for Your Small Business
    Opinion PiecesNovember 22, 2019
  • AMD 2nd gen radeon rx
    AMD Introducing 2nd Gen rDNA-Based Navi GPU Powered Radeon RX Lineup At CES 2020
    HardwareNovember 18, 2019
  • MacBook Pro 16-inch
    16-Inch MacBook Pro Confirmed – Up To 80% Performance Boost, Magic Keyboard, More
    HardwareNovember 13, 2019
  • Mario Kart Tour app
    The Most Downloaded iOS Apps Of 2019 Have Been Revealed
    iOSDecember 4, 2019
  • Stellar Data Recovery Professional for Mac
    Stellar Data Recovery Professional for Mac- It can surely save the day
    ReviewsSeptember 26, 2019
  • Edifier S880DB
    Edifier S880DB Bluetooth Speakers – The best gift you can give yourself
    ReviewsDecember 12, 2019
  • 2013’s Tomb Raider Released for Free to Google Stadia Subscribers
    UncategorizedDecember 10, 2019
  • Apple wearables 2019
    Apple’s Wearables Shipments Skyrocket In Q3 2019
    GadgetsDecember 9, 2019
  • Anthem Origin
    EA Still Bafflingly Charging $60 For Anthem On Origin
    GamingDecember 5, 2019
  • Just 10% Of iPhone X Users Want Apple To Remove The Notch, Survey Says – My WordPress Website says:

    […] There are lots of requests that Apple users are…

  • The 9 most plausible rumors in regards to the new iPhones – Mark Swarrts says:

    […] Just 10% Of iPhone X Users Want Apple To…

  • Onimusha: Warlords HD PS4/Xbox One Box Art Revealed - GameSinners says:

    […] mean for the series, as its success could result…

  • 5 Essential Tips to Setup a Web Hosting Business | Your Own Website says:

    […] Source link […]

Geek Reply

Greetings techies! We are Geek Reply, a website whose main goal is to bring you all the latest news and updates from within the industry and beyond. What can you expect to find here?

Professional journalism coupled with expository writing for the most part, but we also give our honest opinion or throw in a pinch of humor for good measure when we deem it necessary. Our team is comprised of enthusiasts from across a wide variety of fields ranging from smartphone junkies to camera nerds, and everything in between. But perhaps you were looking for your daily dose of science news or hoping to read about the latest apps. If that’s the case, don’t worry, you came to the right place.

GeekReply Secured with GeekReply Scured
Nintendo Switch GeekReply

Copyright © 2017 GeekReply

The mysterious Siberian craters have been given a simple explanation, albeit a very worrying one
Nomophobia is now considered to be the newest disease of the 21st century