the milk gene

BBC News recently reported on a scientific discovery indicating that early man was lactose intolerant, much like the minority of the population that still is today. They speculated that at some point in time, most likely during the era when humans began to have dairy farms, the human body developed a resistance to the milk sugar and was able to break it down. Their findings seem to be supported by the fact that countries that don't have many dairy farms (those in Asia, for example) continue to report significant numbers of lactose intolerant individuals.

As a lactose intolerant person, I find it a little comforting knowing that my problems don't have to do with genetic defects, but rather with genetic adaptations that may not have yet rooted themselves in my bloodlines.