Oct. 16, 2012 Evolution has not only controlled human
development over millions of years, it also has an impact on
modern humans. This is one of the conclusions of a study of
Argentinian villagers in the Andes, where the water contains
high levels of arsenic. A gene variant that produces efficient
and less toxic metabolism of arsenic in the body was much more
common among the villagers than among other indigenous groups in
South or Central America. The study was a collaborative effort
by Karin Broberg from Lund University and Carina Schlebusch and
Mattias Jakobsson from Uppsala University in Sweden. "We know
that many bacteria and plants have genes that increase
resistance to arsenic, a highly toxic substance that is found in
soil and water in many parts of the world. There has been no
previous research on whether the people in these regions also
have protective genes against arsenic," says Karin Broberg. High
levels of arsenic in drinking water are linked to a range of
health problems. Increased child morbid