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this post was submitted on 24 Jun 2024
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Yeah, depending on what you consider "new".
The list is actually very long.
There's also sickle cell anemia: IIRC it protects against something like the tse-tse fly or mosquito borne illnesses native to parts of the African continent
I believe that it offers a degree of protection against malaria. Or, enough protection that you live long enough to reproduce before dying a terrible, agonizing death.
Yeah, I think you're right (on both counts unfortunately, but that's evolution for you).
I think it's protective when you have one copy of the gene, and detrimental when you have two copies. Unfortunately, malaria was a strong enough pressure that the sickle cell gene was selected for, up to a certain percentage of the gene pool.
I thought that there was supposedly something about the altered shape of the cells themselves that offered a degree of protection from malaria? IDK, I don't live in an area where malaria is endemic, so it's mostly not a concern, just something we covered in biology and genetics in high school.
Cool! Do you know any sources where I can read more about it?
Here's one on the deep sea divers: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/asithappens/as-it-happens-wednesday-full-episode-1.4634676/the-surprising-trait-of-the-deep-diving-sea-nomads-of-southeast-asia-1.4631379
Is there much sand in Asia?
The Middle East and the Gobi desert come to mind. Asia is pretty big.
Middle easterners don't have Asian eyes though.
That trait didn't appear in the region, so it could not be selected. It appeared in the east Asia, and were selected.
Someone also commented that we don't have conclusive evidence that some of those characteristics are adaptations to the environment, and could be just genetic drifts. So the shape of the eyes may be just a coincidence and not a real advantage.
It looks good, that's a pretty big advantage.