A genetic variation has evolved in populations that have eaten a plant-based diet over hundreds of generations, such as in India, Africa, and parts of East Asia.
A different version of the allele adapted to a marine diet was discovered among the Inuit people in Greenland, who mainly consume seafood.
The adaptation allows these people to efficiently process omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids and convert them into compounds essential for early brain development and controlling inflammation.
In Inuit populations of Greenland, a previously identified adaptation is opposite to the one found in the long-standing vegetarian populations: While the vegetarian allele has an insertion of 22 bases (a base is a building block of DNA) within the gene, this insertion was found to be deleted in the seafood allele.
[Paleo diet works if you have Inuit genes]"The opposite allele is likely driving adaptation in Inuit," says Kaixiong Ye, a postdoctoral researcher working in the lab of Alon Keinan, associate professor of biological statistics and computational biology at Cornell University.
Related Stories
The Orange County Register reports on an ongoing survey of the sea floor around Greenland.
The authors of Bathymetry data reveal glaciers vulnerable to ice-ocean interaction in Uummannaq and Vaigat glacial fjords, west Greenland (DOI: 10.1002/2016GL067832) measured "seafloor depths 100–1000 m deeper than in existing charts." They explain that, near Greenland, salty 2.5°C water lies beneath 1°C water with a lesser concentration of salt. Hence glaciers in deep water are likely to melt more, due to contact with warm sea water, than those in shallow water.
Further information:
Oceans Melting Greenland portal
UC Irvine press release
UC Irvine Magazine essay
Related stories:
Scientists: Greenland Ice Sheet is Melting Freakishly Early
Greenland Was Once Ice Free
In Greenland, Another Major Glacier Comes Undone
Vegetarianism Reflected in the Genes
(Score: 2) by RamiK on Thursday March 31 2016, @08:20PM
If anyone wondering... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lactase_persistence [wikipedia.org]
compiling...
(Score: 4, Insightful) by jmorris on Thursday March 31 2016, @08:37PM
Amazing how we keep finding Human Biological Diversity (HBD) everywhere we actually go looking for it. However it is known that evolution stopped at the neck, everyone must chant that in unison so we can spot the racists when they don't say it loudly enough.
(Score: 2) by bitstream on Thursday March 31 2016, @08:42PM
This gene thing is just a social construction. Better think really hard about it and perhaps grow a tail.. :-)
(Score: 0, Troll) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday March 31 2016, @10:50PM
Man, now all we need to do is be willing enough to entertain the possibility that thinking you're supposed to be the gender you're not just might be a disorder that can be cured with drugs. Don't worry, we just gotta keep it up long enough to actually get a couple studies done on it, and then we might be able to slow this weird slide into determining science based upon feelings instead of experimentation.
(Score: 3, Insightful) by Azuma Hazuki on Thursday March 31 2016, @10:52PM
Apropos of not much, trans* peoples' brain scans look like the opposite gender. They are no more basing their science on feelings than someone with BSE is.
I am "that girl" your mother warned you about...
(Score: 2) by Runaway1956 on Friday April 01 2016, @04:59PM
Citations?
Abortion is the number one killed of children in the United States.
(Score: 2) by Azuma Hazuki on Friday April 01 2016, @05:34PM
I believe a user by the name of Beryllium Sphere (r) posted several in an earlier thread. Sorry, too busy/lazy (yes you can be both) to find 'em right now.
I am "that girl" your mother warned you about...
(Score: 3, Interesting) by frojack on Friday April 01 2016, @12:06AM
Amazing how we keep finding Human Biological Diversity (HBD) everywhere we actually go looking for it.
And its also interesting how the exact same study can lead to totally different conclusions [rt.com].
"Changes in the dietary omega-6 to omega-3 balance may contribute to the increase in chronic disease seen in some developing countries," Brenna and his co-author, Kumar Kothaplli, told Science Daily,
This research could explain why vegetarians are nearly 40 percent more likely to suffer from colorectal cancers than meat eaters, The Daily Telegraph reported [telegraph.co.uk].
Some how that angle was entirely missed in the original submission.
No, you are mistaken. I've always had this sig.
(Score: 4, Insightful) by jmorris on Friday April 01 2016, @12:29AM
Both could be true, one or neither could be. If it is true that populations who have been eating a largely vegetable diet for generations have developed some genetic features to make it more survivable it doesn't exclude the possibility that in general a mostly vegetable based diet causes problems.
The abysmal state of science these days, it isn't really sensible to believe anything until multiple studies over decades and sometimes not even then.
(Score: 2) by gringer on Friday April 01 2016, @12:29AM
The human population is too large to evolve as a whole, but there's plenty of scope for small subpopulations to adapt to their environment.
Ask me about Sequencing DNA in front of Linus Torvalds [youtube.com]
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday April 01 2016, @03:18AM
You mean like neurodegenerative disease prevalence in certain populations?
Science can't even predict height, which would seem to be a simple phenotype, based on genetics. Do you think it is advanced enough to predict anything of value besides obvious disease phenotypes at this point?
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday April 01 2016, @02:07PM
it seems that evolution for your ancestors did, in fact, stop at the neck. let me guess. people with your skin color also happen to be the most evolved humans on the planet because reasons.
(Score: 2) by Runaway1956 on Friday April 01 2016, @05:07PM
"most evolved" is a meaningless term.
It IS conceivable, however, that humanity has branched a number of times, and certain portions of the race are more adept at certain mental exercises than other portions.
Women, for instance, are generally huggy-feely group thinkers. Men, on the other hand, often enjoy being the lone, rugged individualist. Women are known to be superb communicators, men on the other hand tend to communicate less, and when they do communicate, they fail to fill the bandwidth with feelings and emotions.
Knowing that the mental processes of the two sexes differ somewhat - can you deny any possibility that some segments of the human race might be better or worse than other segments at select mental and/or abstract exercises?
Abortion is the number one killed of children in the United States.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday April 01 2016, @10:08PM
Knowing that the mental processes of the two sexes differ somewhat
Since there are only roughly 20 genes that are unique to the Y chromosome, do you think that those genes are directly responsible for the mental process differences?
It is much more likely that those genes play an indirect role that is heavily influenced by "nurture". This becomes even more obvious when you consider how variable the abilities of individuals within the same sex are. I'm sure you've met men who are "huggy-feely" group thinkers or women who are more of a "rugged individualist" despite the presence or absence of the entire Y chromosome.
can you deny any possibility that some segments of the human race might be better or worse than other segments at select mental and/or abstract exercises
I'm sure that there are some differences but they would be difficult to assess in an unbiased way and with enough statistical power to make predictions (which may or may not be relevant to real life). It would be difficult to make a test that would only measure the genetic contribution (and not nutrition, fetal development, education, epigenetic modifications or any other "nurture" contribution) to such a complex phenotype.
Besides the genetic and "nurture" problems of a diverse, outbred population that influence an incredibly complex phenotype with questionable practical usefulness, the topic has also been poisoned by racial/gender supremacists and, in recent times, by anti-racial/gender supremacists or new kinds of racial/gender supremacists. Now, considering all this, would you actually believe any conclusions made by anyone to be unbiased by preconceived notions, sufficiently powered, with proper statistical analysis, and with the correct experimental controls?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Y_chromosome#Genes [wikipedia.org]
(Score: 2) by Runaway1956 on Saturday April 02 2016, @02:11AM
"do you think that those genes are directly responsible for the mental process differences?"
Hell, man, I don't know, and I don't know what to think. That is what science is for - to explore ideas and possibilities. I'm not a neuroscientist, not even a neurosurgeon. I'm tossing ideas out there, primarily because I know people are different. There are far to many people telling us that there is no difference between the races, between the sexes, etc ad nauseum - yet, we are all DIFFERENT. Maybe - just maybe - genes have little to do with our various mental capaciities - but just maybe a black man can solve problems that I am incapable of solving, and I am capable of solving problems that he is incapable of solving. Or, maybe it's not capable vs incapable, but just a difference of ease and speed in solving those problems.
"difficult to assess in an unbiased way"
And, there you hit one nail on the head. Everyone brings their biases along with them. In a world that is dominated by a group who thinks one way, how can we get an unbiased study of other ways of thinking? I get so tired of the SJW slant on things, but at the same time, heterosexual white males DO dominate academia. Said group's studies of other group's ways of thinking are by nature, biased.
But, all of that shouldn't stop us from exploring the possibilities.
Abortion is the number one killed of children in the United States.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday April 02 2016, @01:18PM
"all of that shouldn't stop us from exploring the possibilities"
Exploring possible conclusions would be incredibly premature at this stage of scientific understanding.
Observation of and correlation with possible genetic determinants in individuals with very similar genetics and "nurture" (twins or inbred populations) would be an obvious first step. Experimental validation of the putative determinants could possibly be done in chimpanzees, but they are obviously not remotely close enough to humans to truly validate any hits. Beyond this stage, "nurture" really begins to fuck things up unless some of the putative determinants have a really substantial effect that can dominate "nurture" even as you slowly drift away into more diverse populations. At this same stage, genetics would also begin to fuck things up as the more minor genetic determinants would become much more variable and obscure the analysis.
Skipping to the final stage, it would be incredibly obvious that "white" or "black" are inadequate genetic categories and that only with a hand-waving meta-analysis of multiple genetic groups within each race would produce a conclusion. The quantitative value of a difference would also be much smaller than a standard deviation within each race.
(Score: 2) by ilPapa on Thursday March 31 2016, @09:23PM
I would like a Maxwell Street polish with extra onions, fries and a purple drink.
It's food that's indigenous to my region, and most of the people who eat this are barely a step above cave men, so I figure it's probably totally paleo. Thoughts?
You are still welcome on my lawn.
(Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday March 31 2016, @10:20PM
According to Wikipedia, purple drank [wikipedia.org] originated in the 1960s, the Maxwell Street Polish [wikipedia.org] was invented in 1939, and the generation time for humans is around "22 to 32 years." [wikipedia.org] If the diet you describe has a strong selective effect, or if you are a member of a species with a shorter generation time, then yes, you may be well adapted to it.
(Score: 2) by dyingtolive on Thursday March 31 2016, @10:31PM
To be fair, I think he actually meant "drink" when he said it, which is the second definition here: http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=purple+drink [urbandictionary.com]
Not that it's much better. All things considered, purple drank is probably better for both, body AND soul.
Don't blame me, I voted for moose wang!
(Score: 2) by ilPapa on Saturday April 02 2016, @03:16AM
In Chicago, "purple drink" is grape pop (aka "sugar water purple"). Purple drank on the other hand, is often called "lean", or just "drank".
You are still welcome on my lawn.
(Score: 3, Insightful) by Azuma Hazuki on Thursday March 31 2016, @11:06PM
il Papa, just call them "nigger" and get it over with. We know that's what you're saying. Why are you afraid to show what kind of racist you are? Why do you think we won't figure it out with the "barely abvoe cavemen" reference? Come on now, in for a penny, in for a pound
I am "that girl" your mother warned you about...
(Score: 2) by dyingtolive on Friday April 01 2016, @01:43AM
Was that the angle? I kind of felt like I'd be totally down for that meal, and I'm one of the whitest guys a person could meet.
Don't blame me, I voted for moose wang!
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday April 01 2016, @06:30AM
Well spotted! Naïvely, I took the GP post as a classist slur against blue-collar Chicagoans. It hadn't dawned on me that Africans lived in caves, but Europeans never did. The residents of Chicago are descended from Africans. Now it makes sense.
(Score: 3, Informative) by Phoenix666 on Friday April 01 2016, @12:42PM
Chicagoans are actually ghouls [wikipedia.org]. Its downtown was built on the site of an Indian burial ground [earlychicago.com] (see the Hopewell entry). They prefer brains and livers, brats when they can't get those.
Washington DC delenda est.
(Score: 2) by Runaway1956 on Friday April 01 2016, @05:11PM
You can't be sure that he was talking about black folk. There are still a lot of people who act as if Slovaks are subhuman. Or, American Indians. Or Arabs. Indians from India. Chances are that you are right, but blacks aren't the only people treated like dirt.
Right now, today, Turkey is engaged in yet another genocidal war, trying to rid itself of some inconvenient Kurds, who just won't die off.
Abortion is the number one killed of children in the United States.
(Score: 2) by Azuma Hazuki on Friday April 01 2016, @05:33PM
Very true :( ye gods, you would think in this age of science seeing that we've all got basically the same DNA across racial lines would put an end to this.
...then again, if people can't figure out that we all bleed red and scream in pain, something as abstract as science won't help.
I am "that girl" your mother warned you about...
(Score: 2) by ilPapa on Saturday April 02 2016, @03:12AM
You think most of the people who eat Polish sausage are black? Azuma, you need to get yourself to Chicago someday.
You are still welcome on my lawn.
(Score: 2) by Azuma Hazuki on Saturday April 02 2016, @04:24AM
I spent some time sleeping in one of the train stations. Not exactly a citywide tour of the place's best eateries, I'll admit.
I am "that girl" your mother warned you about...
(Score: 1, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday March 31 2016, @10:55PM
And people laughed when I said I wonder whether are mixed up genes are making us fat. Our food is all mixed up, and our genes are all mixed up.
(Score: 2) by KiloByte on Thursday March 31 2016, @11:53PM
And people laughed when I said I wonder whether are mixed up genes are making us fat.
It's food not genes that makes you fat. You might process food a bit more or a bit less efficient, but when intake is less than expenditures, there's no way you won't lose weight. You see, on uncle Adolf's diet in Auschwitz no one grew fat.
Ceterum censeo systemd esse delendam.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday April 01 2016, @02:05AM
Typhus is what made those people look so malnourished. There was a typhus epidemic, which is why heads were shaved when entering the concentration camps. To SAVE LIVES... People didn't start starving until the Allied powers destroyed the German supply lines.
Why would "death camps" try to save people? Careful, don't question the established war propaganda narrative.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday April 01 2016, @03:43AM
Not sure if you're trolling, but the concentration camps where they kept people weren't the same places where they'd kill them. The prisoners outnumbered the captors by a significant amount, so it is important to make sure the 'prisoners' had sufficient hope for the future. Otherwise you end up with a mass riot that you have to deal with.
(Score: 2) by Reziac on Friday April 01 2016, @03:14AM
Actually, if you are sufficiently hypothyroid, you'll gain weight no matter how little you eat, because it's utilized so inefficiently that some of your intake always winds up stored as fat. I know someone who is overweight and maintains that weight on (are you sitting down?) 300 calories/day.
And there is no Alkibiades to come back and save us from ourselves.
(Score: 2) by KiloByte on Friday April 01 2016, @10:05PM
Cool, looks like you've invented a system for gaining matter (and thus energy) from nothing.
Ceterum censeo systemd esse delendam.
(Score: 2) by frojack on Friday April 01 2016, @12:14AM
Not only that but your "are" and your "our" are also mixed up.
Further, I suspect you've also mixed up your Jeans for those of your little brother, which of course makes you look fat.
No, you are mistaken. I've always had this sig.
(Score: 2) by Runaway1956 on Friday April 01 2016, @05:15PM
with two cheeks, each of which weigh ~80 pounds, he doesn't "look fat"
Abortion is the number one killed of children in the United States.