Mutations Helped Humans Survive Siberian Winters

sciencehabit writes "Researchers have identified three genetic mutations that appear to have helped humans survive in the frigid climate of Siberia over the last 25,000 years. One helps the body's fat stores directly produce heat rather than producing chemical energy for muscle movements or brain functions, a process called 'nonshivering thermogenesis.' Another is involved in the contraction of smooth muscle, key to shivering and the constriction of blood vessels to avoid heat loss. And the third is implicated in the metabolism of fats, especially those in meat and dairy products—a staple of the fat-laden diets of Arctic peoples."

Comments

Re:Dairy for 25k years?

[myowntrueself]

Lactase nonpersistence is the ancestral state, and lactase persistence only became advantageous after the invention of agriculture, when milk from domesticated animals became available for adults to drink..... http://x.co/sfIC

Agriculture is absolutely not required for milk to become available for adults to drink.

Animal husbandry is required and you find that in many nomadic, non agricultural, societies.