Human Evolution in Tibet

A new study comparing the genes of Tibetans and Han Chinese shows that the populations differ strongly in 30 genes, half of which are related to how the body uses oxygen. But the small amount of difference in non-gene DNA between the two populations suggests that they have only been distinct for about 3,000 years. This implies large differences in the death rates for people with different versions of the key genes:

"This is the fastest genetic change ever observed in humans," said Rasmus Nielsen, UC Berkeley professor of integrative biology, who led the statistical analysis. "For such a very strong change, a lot of people would have had to die simply due to the fact that they had the wrong version of a gene."

Human evolution is real and ongoing.