--Must See--

Bioinformatics Summer Internship 2024 With Hands-On-Training + Project / Dissertation - 30 Days, 3 Months & 6 Months Duration

Humans are Evolving to Resent Alcohol: Study

It is a common misunderstanding that evolution took place a long time ago, and that to understand ourselves we must look back to the hunter-gatherer days of humans. Fact check- we are not only evolving, we are doing so even faster than before.

When we look at how evolution has taken us from eyeless blobs to moderately capable bloggers, it can seem like a vast, unknowable force. But when we look at individual traits and how they appear and disappear in clever ways, the functioning of cause and effect is clear, and fascinating, to see.

Now, in a latest study, researchers have found proof that suggests people have begun evolving so as to find alcohol so unpleasant, it could stop our species from drinking in the future.

Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania analyzed the genomes of some 2,500 people from 26 populations across four continents using data collected by the 1,000 Genomes Project.

The team then singled out specific traits or “genomic hotspots” that pop up in various, divergent populations – say, changes to an area of the gene responsible for producing glycophorins, which has occurred in parts of Africa and Asia.

They were

able to identify five ‘hot spots’ of recent genetic change, one of them associated with the alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH) gene, which breaks down alcohol. The ADH gene is responsible for inducing production of alcohol dehydrogenase, an enzyme that breaks down alcohol into acetaldehyde, which is then converted to acetate by another process.

Therefore, even the smallest amount of alcohol would cause extremely unwell feelings and it is unlikely these individuals would be able to physically consume enough alcohol for them to develop alcoholism.

Interestingly, the genetic variations were not just found in one population but were observed in five populations in different continents, for this to have happened, the mutation must have emerged independently in these two different populations and persisted. Alternatively, if there had been just one initial mutation, it would have had to travel like Speedy Gonzales across the two continents.

These new results are critically important to our understanding of how alcohol affects heart disease. Contrary to what earlier reports have shown, it now appears that any exposure to alcohol has a negative impact upon heart health,” says co-lead author Michael Holmes, MD, PhD, research assistant professor in the department of Transplant Surgery at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. “For some time, observational studies have suggested that only heavy drinking was detrimental to cardiovascular health, and that light consumption may actually be beneficial. This has led some people to drink moderately based on the belief that it would lower their risk of heart disease. However, what we’re seeing with this new study, which uses an investigative approach similar to a randomized clinical trial, is that reduced consumption of alcohol, even for light-to-moderate drinkers, may lead to improved cardiovascular health.”

In search of the perfect burger. Serial eater. In her spare time, practises her "Vader Voice". Passionate about dance. Real Weird.