Name: 3 Surprising Ways Humans Are Still Evolving
Uploaded: 2018-08-30T07:26:35.000Z
Duration: 3 min 5 s
Description: Thousands of YouTube videos with English-Chinese subtitles! Now you can learn to understand native speakers, expand your vocabulary, and improve your pronunciation...

On the outside, it may seem like we haven't changed much from our early ancestors.

But take a closer look and you'll discover that humans are still evolving in some fascinating new ways.

The average person can hold their breath for 30 seconds.

But Bajau people in Southeast Asia can hold it up to 12 minutes, which comes in handy when they free dive over 230 feet for food.

Part of the reason is simply training and experience since they spend over half their workday underwater.

But it turns out, the Bajau also have a genetic mutation that makes their spleens 50% larger than average.

Our spleens are what filter and store oxygen-rich red blood cells.

So, when the Bajau dive underwater, their larger spleens contract, which boosts oxygen levels in the blood by up to 10%, allowing them more time to collect food.

It's a handy adaptation that probably came from living on houseboats for the last 1,000 years.

About 35% of the world's population has the equivalent of a genetic superpower.

Humans are among the only mammals on the planet with this ability.

Thanks to a genetic mutation that popped up in Europe around 5,000 - 10,000 years ago.

Those with the mutation produce lactase throughout their lives.

That's the enzyme that breaks down milk sugars for easy digestion.

And for most of history, humans stopped producing lactase after childhood.

But once those lucky few Europeans could drink milk as adults, that suddenly meant extra nutrition and ultimately healthier, longer lives so that they could pass their superpower on to future generations.

Today, roughly 95% of northern Europeans have the mutation.

The human body has an estimated 20,000 - 30,000 genes.

And while some mutations can change our spleens and diet, others can protect us against deadly conditions, like AIDS.

Nearly 50% of women in parts of South Africa have HIV.

But researchers found that some show stronger resistance to the virus, taking longer to develop AIDS or sometimes never getting it at all.

Turns out, these women also share a mutation in the gene called HLA-B27 that the others lack.

Are we going to evolve our way to HIV immunity?