Freda KreierHuman evolution is at work in the Andes mountains. The Quechua, an Indigenous people in Peru who have lived at altitudes above 2500 meters for at least the past 11,000 years, have evolved genetic adaptations to survive their harsh environment.
A new study finds these extreme conditions can change chemical modifications that control the activity of that DNA. These “epigenetic” alterations are the first evidence that growing up in the mountains can alter not just genes, but how the body uses them.Scientists have long wondered whether environmental stress, like low oxygen concentrations, can shape gene activity in highland people, says anthropologist Cynthia Beall of Case Western Reserve University who studies high altitude.