A Little Gene Xeroxing Goes a Long Way

摘要

Researchers studying the evolution of starch digestion have uncovered evidence of a surprising adaptation: Rather than relying on mutations in a particular gene to help us digest roots and tubers better, the human genome simply made more copies of the gene in question. The finding is one of the strongest examples yet of evolution affecting gene copy number in humans and sheds light on how our diet split us apart from other primates.