Natural selection 'favours gingers' as scientists believe it was 'beneficial 4,000 years ago'

Natural selection 'favours gingers' as scientists believe it was 'beneficial 4,000 years ago' |
GB News
'We can now watch how selection shaped biology in real time', said lead researcher Ali Akbari
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New research from Harvard University has revealed that ginger-haired genes are becoming increasingly prevalent through natural selection and may even prove an evolutionary advantage.
Scientists analysing ancient DNA have discovered that possessing red hair appears to have been advantageous approximately 4,000 years ago, though the precise reasons for this evolutionary benefit remain unknown.
The researchers acknowledged that ginger genes might simply have "came along for the ride", alongside another trait more crucial to survival.
Lead author Ali Akbari explained: "Instead of searching for the scars natural selection leaves in present-day genomes, we can now watch how selection shaped biology in real time."
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The findings, published in Nature, draw on genetic material extracted from 15,836 ancient human remains.
Revelations challenge the long-held assumption that our species has made minimal evolutionary progress over the past 10,000 years.
More than 250 archaeologists and anthropologists collaborated to compile DNA from 10,016 burial sites across Europe and Asia.
DNA was supplemented by genomic data from thousands of additional ancient and modern individuals, including UK Biobank participants.
Natural selection 'favours gingers' as scientists believe it was 'beneficial 4,000 years ago' | GETTY
By tracking millions of genetic variants across time, the team identified 479 genes changing at rates too significant to attribute to chance alone.
Beyond red hair, natural selection has favoured genes associated with narrow hips and reduced body fat.
The study focused on the era following the last major Ice Age, when humanity shifted from hunting and gathering to agricultural practices and established the earliest civilisations.
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According to the researchers, this dramatic transformation in how people lived and sustained themselves may explain why evolutionary pressures intensified during this period.
The transition to farming rendered certain genetic traits obsolete, with the scientists suggesting that genes once helpful for storing fat during times of food scarcity among hunter-gatherers became disadvantageous once communities began cultivating their own crops.
Genetic variants promoting faster walking speeds and leprosy resistance have also grown more common over time.
The study also found that susceptibility to coeliac disease has risen, with researchers noting that the HLA0DQB1 gene responsible for the condition simultaneously provides protection against certain pathogens.

Famous gingers include Ed Sheeran, Karen Gillan, and Emma Stone
| PAIt could potentially make the trade-off worthwhile, despite the autoimmune risks triggered by wheat consumption.
Meanwhile, genes linked to male pattern baldness and rheumatoid arthritis appear to be declining in frequency.
Prior to this research, scientists had only confirmed 21 examples of modern human evolution, including the well-documented mutation allowing cattle-farming populations to digest milk into adulthood.
The team intends to conduct similar analyses in East Asia, East Africa and the Americas, hoping to identify further genetic variations that could inform disease prevention strategies and future gene therapies.










