What makes us human?

There are characteristics of the human species, such as language, cognitive abilities and the fact of walking upright. But, what are the biological keys that are hidden behind these characteristics of human beings? All these distinctive elements of our species are due to genes that have been promoted by natural selection for thousands of years.

For example, humans and chimpanzees share 99% of the directly comparable or alignable part of the genome. Although 1% may seem small, this percentage translates into a minimum of 30 million genetic differences between species, and that implies a very broad field of scientific study. Even between one human and another there are 3 million differences of genetic basis.

Scientists have described various evolutionary adaptations that define us as a species. Within that, human beings have different genetic variants that allow us to adapt to our environment. An example is individuals living at high altitudes who are able to survive with less oxygen. Another example is the current populations with resistance genes for certain diseases such as malaria (so far researchers have identified about 8 mutations in different genes that help us defeat malaria) or the populations of Canada, Alaska and Greenland adapted to a diet high in fat because fish is very present in their diet.

But these are not the only adaptive alterations. Human beings are the only mammals that continue to feed on animal milk during adulthood because we are capable of breaking down lactose molecules and taking advantage of nutrients, especially fats.

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