GN415 2007

The evolution of lactose tolerance

There is a really interesting paper that just came out in the journal Nature Genetics that explains why some people are able to digest dairy products as adults, and others aren't.  It turns out that two different mutations have been selected in Europeans and east Africans that affect the expression of the lactase gene in the intestine.  The mutations must have risen independently in different early pastoralist societies.  You can access the article through the NCSU Libraries Journals site (the URL is http://www.nature.com/ng/journal/v39/n1/abs/ng1946.html).  There is also a neat summary that may be more intelligible in the same issue, at http://www.nature.com/ng/journal/v39/n1/full/ng0107-7.html.

Any comments?

Posted at 10:20AM Jan 08, 2007 by GIBSON, GREG in General  |  Comments[1]