/sci/ - Science & Math

[Anonymous No.14554504]

Has a random, advantageous mutation ever been observed in all of recorded history?

[Anonymous No.14554506]

The y chromosome.

[Anonymous No.14554515]

>>14554504

Resistance to malaria is a well-known example of recent human evolution. This disease attacks humans early in life. Thus humans who are resistant enjoy a higher chance of surviving and reproducing. While humans have evolved multiple defenses against malaria, sickle cell anemia—a condition in which red blood cells are deformed into sickle shapes, thereby restricting blood flow—is perhaps the best known. Sickle cell anemia makes it more difficult for the malarial parasite to infect red blood cells. This mechanism of defense against malaria emerged independently in Africa and in Pakistan and India. Within 4,000 years it has spread to 10-15% of the populations of these places. Another mutation that enabled humans to resist malaria that is strongly favored by natural selection and has spread rapidly in Africa is the inability to synthesize the enzyme glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase, or G6PD.

A combination of poor sanitation and high population densities proved ideal for the spread of contagious diseases which was deadly for the residents of ancient cities. Evolutionary thinking would suggest that people living in places with long-standing urbanization dating back millennia would have evolved resistance to certain diseases, such as tuberculosis and leprosy. Using DNA analysis and archeological findings, scientists from the University College London and the Royal Holloway studied samples from 17 sites in Europe, Asia, and Africa. They learned that, indeed, long-term exposure to pathogens has led to resistance spreading across urban populations. Urbanization is therefore a selective force that has influenced human evolution. The allele in question is named SLC11A1 1729+55del4. Scientists found that among the residents of places that have been settled for thousands of years, such as Susa in Iran, this allele is ubiquitous whereas in places with just a few centuries of urbanization, such as Yakutsk in Siberia, only 70-80% of the population have it.

[Anonymous No.14554517]

>>14554515

Adaptations have also been found in modern populations living in extreme climatic conditions such as the Arctic, as well as immunological adaptations such as resistance against prion caused brain disease in populations practicing mortuary cannibalism, or the consumption of human corpses. Inuit have the ability to thrive on the lipid-rich diets consisting of Arctic mammals. Human populations living in regions of high altitudes, such as the Tibetan Plateau, Ethiopia, and the Andes benefit from a mutation that enhances the concentration of oxygen in their blood. This is achieved by having more capillaries, increasing their capacity for carrying oxygen. This mutation is believed to be around 3,000 years old.

A recent adaptation has been proposed for the Austronesian Sama-Bajau, also known as the Sea Gypsies or Sea Nomads, developed under selection pressures associated with subsisting on free-diving over the past thousand years or so. As maritime hunter-gatherers, the ability to dive for long periods of times plays a crucial role in their survival. Due to the mammalian dive reflex, the spleen contracts when the mammal dives and releases oxygen-carrying red blood cells. Over time, individuals with larger spleens were more likely to survive and thrive because free-diving can actually be quite dangerous. By contrast, communities centered around farming show no signs of evolving to have larger spleens. Because the Sama-Bajau show no interest in abandoning this lifestyle, there is no reason to believe further adaptation will not occur.

[Anonymous No.14554526]

There is evidence that the rate of human mutation is rising. For humans, the largest source of heritable mutations is sperm; a man accumulates more and more mutations in his sperm as he ages. Hence, men delaying reproduction can affect human evolution. The accumulation of so many mutations in a short period of time could pose genetic problems for future human generations.

A 2012 study led by Augustin Kong suggests that the number of de novo (new) mutations increases by about two per year of delayed reproduction by the father and that the total number of paternal mutations doubles every 16.5 years.

[Anonymous No.14554550]

stop, he is already dead

[Anonymous No.14554558]

>>14554515
>Dude swap one disease for another
>Dude herd immunity
>Therefore fish evolved into humans lmao

[Anonymous No.14554563]

>>14554526
>Dude have kids while you're young
>Therefore Tiktaalik evolved into humanity

[Anonymous No.14554806]

>>14554504
Yes. The Gear Beetle and the Firebug.
Both got some kind of hyper advanced craftable weaponry that looks like an asspull from a dungeons and dragons campaign.

[Anonymous No.14554854]

>>14554558
>>14554563
Fish didn’t evolve retard they got naturally selected.

[Anonymous No.14554873]

Human female placenta is actually a mutation

[Anonymous No.14554876]

>>14554806
But was it ever observed that they didn't have those traits, then suddenly "mutated" those traits out of the blue?

[Anonymous No.14554879]

>>14554506
>>14554873
>The first scientists were women who didn't have placentas
>Then one day some of them mutated into men and the ones who didn't mutated placentas

[Anonymous No.14554886]

>>14554504
Every single classical plague mutated the fuck out of the survivors for the better.

[Anonymous No.14555327]

>>14554504
Infidel, prepare to be killed for not complaining with the state mandated quarantine rules.

[Anonymous No.14555353]

>>14554504
Often times the difference between a plague and a harmless bacteria is just a few changes in DNA. Yersinia pestis evolved from very few mutations from a stomach bacteria to a killing machine.

[Anonymous No.14555465]

>>14554504

[Anonymous No.14555493]

>>14554504
Define "advantageous" - it only has to do with what will make you fit better into your niche.

[Anonymous No.14555538]

>>14554504
Corona evolved right in front of your eyes. It evolved into being less deadly cuz it's stupid to burn your own house down.

[Anonymous No.14556153]

>>14554504
That bull is straight bussin no cap fr fr

[Anonymous No.14556157]

>>14555538
It's smart to burn your own house down though.

[Anonymous No.14556170]

>>14556153
>jewfro

[Anonymous No.14557331]

>>14554876
next you'll demand the birth certificate of the first lactose tolerant european. then genetic tests done before and after. then a signed affidavit from jehovah. and so on.

[Anonymous No.14558358]

>>14554504
Wasn't there like a moth or some shit that lives on birch trees and changed its colours because the trees turned dark from pollution or something?