Almost since the 1871 publication of “The Descent of Man,” in which Charles Darwin applied his theory of natural selection to the human species, biologists have argued over whether the dramatic series of evolutionary events that led to the emergence of Homo sapiens continues to this day.
Some have argued that culture and technology have eclipsed [...]

Tags: agriculture, evolution, G6PD deficiency, Gregory Cochran, Henry Harpending, lactose tolerance, sickle-cell anemia

Last week in the Spittoon we reported on a new study that identified an interesting genetic trade-off — a genetic variant known that has one effect on a person’s vulnerability to malaria, and the opposite on susceptibility to HIV infection. The “Duffy negative” version of the gene, which is common among Africans and African Americans, [...]

Tags: diet, hemochromatosis, human evolution, Malaria, sickle-cell anemia