October
17
/ 2024
Genes passed down from the incredibly distant past play a key role in the ability of human beings to break down and process carbohydrates. But archaic human species didn’t all possess this ability, and that is why genetic scientists have long been curious about the changes in ancient DNA that helped us develop the capacity to digest these energy-producing starches. Now, a new study from the University of Buffalo and the Jackson Laboratory for Genomic Medicine has revealed some fascinating information that sheds light on this development, relating to events that happened more than 800,000 years ago. It was at this time that a gene essential for producing starch-digesting saliva was duplicated for the first time, within the genome of
