Get the latest Science News and Discoveries

Potatoes may have given Indigenous Andeans a digestive superpower


The rise of the potato in the Andes appears to have left a lasting mark on human DNA. Indigenous Peruvians carry exceptionally high numbers of a starch-digestion gene, likely because people with more copies gained an evolutionary advantage once potatoes became a staple food. The change began thousands of years before European contact, providing unusually strong evidence that diet can shape human evolution.

None

Get the Android app

Or read this on ScienceDaily

Read more on:

Photo of potatoes

potatoes

Photo of digestive superpower

digestive superpower

Photo of Andeans

Andeans

Related news:

News photo

The Secret Behind Indigenous Andeans’ “Digestive Superpower” May Be Potatoes

News photo

Indigenous Andeans have a digestive superpower; researchers think it may be linked to potatoes - EurekAlert!

News photo

Can potatoes grow on the Moon?