Subscribe now

Life

We're evolving a gene that may stop us from drinking alcohol

By Andy Coghlan

19 February 2018

A man drinking out of a bottle of alcohol

Alright for some: A gene variant makes drinking alcohol an unpleasant experience for some people in Asia and Africa

Westend61/Getty

Humans are still evolving, and alcohol may be helping to drive the process in some places. A variant of a gene that protects us against alcohol addiction, possibly by making boozing intolerable, seems to be favoured by evolution. So are several other gene variants.

Novel gene variants are known to have arisen and spread among humans in the recent past. One allows some people to tolerate the lactose in cow’s milk, so they can digest dairy produce. Other…

Sign up to our weekly newsletter

Receive a weekly dose of discovery in your inbox. We'll also keep you up to date with New Scientist events and special offers.

Sign up

To continue reading, subscribe today with our introductory offers

Popular articles

Trending New Scientist articles

Piano Exit Overlay Banner Mobile Piano Exit Overlay Banner Desktop