Tibetans handle high altitudes much better than most people . New research pinpoints the genes that allow them to breathe easily on mountain peaks , and obviate deadly side - effects .
The people of Tibet are essentially Fremen of the heights . Evolutionary pressure has created a universe of people that have a distinct curing of physiologic traits that help with the danger of high elevation : decreased arterial oxygen content ( low levels of O in the blood ) , increased resting ventilation ( rapid breathing while resting ) , lack of hypoxic pulmonic vasoconstriction ( meaning origin vessels do n’t constrict when oxygen content of the blood is low ) , lower relative incidence of reduced birth weighting , and reduced Hb tightness ( Hb is a protein in red blood cells that aid transport O from lungs or gills to the body ) . Put together , this intend that Tibetans have evolved to serve with far less O in their blood line than other people – perfect for high altitudes with low oxygen .
A new study focuses on this final trait , the reduced hemoglobin concentration . Tibetans have 3.6 gm per deciliter less hemoglobin than other populations . When you go up to the mad altitudes that mountain climbers tend to go for , your body ramps up red line of descent cell production in guild to compensate for the downhearted level of oxygen . This is why athletes prepare at high EL — to get more red parentage electric cell into their system , and transpose O around more efficiently . However , a side effect of this increase is the that your blood increases in viscosity . When it gets really big , your torso is pushing around blood the density of motor oil , something it ’s not designed to do . By naturally having much lower hemoglobin levels , people from Tibet ( and assumedly Nepal , and other regions in the area ) preserve proper stock fluidity .
While researchers have known about these good mutations for a while , the question remain as to how they act upon , and their genetic causa . This new study could help us empathise human response to eminent altitude , and related strong-arm difficulty . Plus , you know , genetically engineering a race of super - beings for invade K’un - L’un .
By compare genomic variation between Tibetans , Han Chinese , and Japanese , the researchers from the University of Utah School of Medicine and the Research Center for High Altitude Medicine in China were able to identify the variant genes creditworthy for the variety . There was a stiff affiliation between the broken levels of hemoglobin and haplotype variation at EGLN1 and PPARA . The variation of these allele venue is what ’s call up to give Tibetans their low levels of Hb , and assist them survive at incredibly high altitudes .
In other word of honor : give suck it , Sir Edmund Hillary .
newspaper published inScience
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