Humans high in the Argentinian Andes mountains have developed an incredible ability. After inhabiting an area of the Andes where the water supply contains over 10 times the amount of arsenic deemed safe for human consumption by the World Health Organization (WHO), locals have shown an astounding ability to process the deadly chemical much more efficiently than the general populace. Arsenic is a toxic metalloid linked to heart disease, cancer, skin lesions, birth defects, diabetes, and early death.
In San Antonio De Los Cobres, Argentina, naturally occurring arsenic in volcanic bedrock leaches deep into the water table, where it is later consumed by the local population via wells. It wasn’t until just 2012 that a filter was installed to sieve the deadly chemical. So, how did these high-altitude people adapt to consuming this water that would kill everyone else?
In 1995, scientists found that that women from the Argentinian Andes had a specialized ability to metabolize arsenic much more efficiently than most people. This was proven by metabolites in their urine. When arsenic enters the body, enzymes break it down into several different chemical forms. One of these intermediate forms that is created during the breakdown process, called monomethylated arsenic (MMA), is particularly harmful to humans. A later form that is created during the breakdown process, dimethylated arsenic (DMA), is far easier for the human body to excrete via urine. The Argentinian women’s urine seems to show their bodies are able to more efficiently process the MMA stage and quickly excrete the poison via DMA.
function sbSubscribe() {
var email = document.getElementById(‘sb-email’).value;
if (!email || !email.includes(‘@’)) {
document.getElementById(‘sb-email’).style.borderColor = ‘#D7424E’;
return;
}
var url = ‘https://snowbrains.us5.list-manage.com/subscribe/post?u=1f247afab0a546e393c022f9a&id=bcbf6caf6b&f_id=003bf2e0f0’;
var data = new FormData();
data.append(‘EMAIL’, email);
data.append(‘tags’, ‘2188762’);
data.append(‘b_1f247afab0a546e393c022f9a_bcbf6caf6b’, ”);
fetch(url, { method: ‘POST’, body: data, mode: ‘no-cors’ });
document.getElementById(‘sb-form-wrap’).style.display = ‘none’;
document.getElementById(‘sb-success’).style.display = ‘block’;
}
Research led by Uppsala University and Karolinska Institute identified protective variants of the AS3MT gene, resulting in the protective properties against arsenic the Andean population showed. These fascinating adaptions are a population’s first proven evolutionary modifications to a poison that scientists are aware of. The chronic exposure, generation after generation, appears to have caused the human body in these populations to resist the poison. This is not unlike other evolutionary adaptions, such as high-altitude groups adaption to lower oxygen levels and their abilities to more effectively absorb oxygen.
- Related: Carefully Crafting a Culture: A Look Inside a Backcountry Ski Operation’s Bold Vision in the Andes
These findings truly exemplify the amazing adaptability of the human body. While it is known that humans adapt over generations of natural selection, this is the first documented case of a population developing an ability to resist and process toxic chemicals present in their environment. This fascinating ability could perhaps mean the difference between survival and extinction in the ever-changing world we live in.
