Re: poly: democracy, etc.

"Perry E. Metzger" <perry@piermont.com> writes:

> Damien R. Sullivan writes:
> > I think the Incas are adapted to their heights, but I don't know if this
> > is genetic or due to being born up there. Europeans are adapted to
> > digest cow milk, but again I don't know if that's genetic or due to a
> > different inherited intestinal fauna. That shouldn't be too hard to
> > determine, if someone tried.
>
> Being able to digest milk past infancy is a genetic mutation. It has
> nothing to do with intestinal fauna.

True. There is a recessive gene that gives adult humans lactase,
enabling milk digestion. It has very different prevalence in the
population across the world, 90% of us scandinaves have it, 78% of
european americans, 35% of african-americans and very few asians have
it.

-- 
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Anders Sandberg                                      Towards Ascension!
asa@nada.kth.se                            http://www.nada.kth.se/~asa/
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