How Tibetans Adapted to Such High Altitudes

More proof of recent and rapid human evolution

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In Scientific American's special issue on human evolution anthropologist John Hawks of the University of Wisconsin–Madison explains—despite some people's insistence humans are no longer subject to natural selection—that we have in fact evolved dramatically in the last 30,000 years and will continue to do so into the future. One of the most fascinating examples of such recent evolution, which we did not have room to include in the magazine feature, is how Tibetans have adapted to living at very high altitudes. You can learn more about such evolution at these links:

https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/scientists-discover-new-a/ https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/how-tibetans-enjoy-high-life/ https://www.npr.org/blogs/health/2014/07/02/326947693/thanks-to-extinct-humans-tibetans-adapted-to-high-altitude http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2004/02/0224_040225_evolution.html

Scientific American Magazine Vol 311 Issue 3This article was originally published with the title “How Tibetans Adapted to Such High Altitudes” in Scientific American Magazine Vol. 311 No. 3 ()
doi:10.1038/scientificamerican092014-4oy94WpBGg0CLiFEIwyua1