Beneficial Mutations

[HRE]

I am familiar with Delta 32 and so forth, but a while back some people (including Aron-Ra, I believe), posted an interesting list that included an African family who had two large toes on each foot that aided them in climbing trees and running and a Danish family that could see ultraviolet light.

Does anyone know where I can find sources on these or the thread?

Does anyone have any other cool beneficial mutations on hand?

 

[P4g4nite]

Danish family that could see ultraviolet light.

Do you know where I can read about that?
Sounds very interesting.

 

[HRE]

Aron-Ra was so kind as to provide his examples:

Now here are some examples of beneficial mutations in the human genome. I've specifically selected very profound, extreme mutations that were selected for, and passed on through subsequent generations, just to prove that evolution works as described.

1. The Vadoma tribe, AKA the "Ostrich People", a family in Zimbabwe who share a disctintive inherited mutation in their feet, (and sometimes in their hands also) which deprives them of all the bones for their three middle toes. These people claim the advantages of this include their ability to run faster and climb trees much better than normal-footed people.
http://dspace.dial.pipex.com/hemans/book/ch11a.htm

2. A family in Connecticut with a specific mutation that parallel's the Bruce Willis character in Unbreakable. Members of this family have hyper-dense, "unbreakable" bones, easily the strongest bones of any humans on the planet.
http://info.med.yale.edu/external/pubs/ym_au02/findings.html

Genetic samples from some members of this family are being tested to find a possible cure to osteoporosis.
http://www.stopgettingsick.com/Conditions/condition_template.cfm/5636/19/1

3. A family in in the village of Limone Sul Garda in northern Italy have a mutation which gives them better tolerance of HDL serum cholesterol. Consequently this family has no history of heart attack dispite their high-risk dietary habits. This mutation was traced to a single common ancestor living in the 1700's, but has now spread to dozens of descendants. Genetic samples from this family are now being tested for potential treatment of patients of heart disease.
http://www.eurekalert.org/features/doe/2002-05/dbnl-tmm061302.php

4. Sixty years after Hitler, Germany is finally breeding supermen. The immediate ancestors of this example are all unusually strong, but one of their children was born with twice the muscle mass of a normal human, and only half the fat! This child's genes may yeild new treatment for muscular dystrophy.
http://wcco.com/health/health_story_175140250.html

And this is to say nothing of the fact that incidence of sickle-cell gene in African-Americans is apparently decreasing over time, some Europeans descendants of Medieval Black Plague survivors are finding that they're also immune to AIDS, and there is now a growing number of people with tetrachromatic eyes, enabling them to see into the ultraviolet spectrum, invisible to normal humans!
http://slate.msn.com/toolbar.aspx?action=print&id=2079371
http://www.sciencephoto.com/html_features_archive/archiveStory.html?id=1092&featureid=863

 

[NamesAreHardToPick]

The mutated version of the CD4 gene in humans (if I recall, the T-Receptor Cell) allows humans to be immune to HIV, as a mutation, it would be soley beneficial.

Also, you have the HIV superbug (a new development in HIV) which gets the victims of HIV to have an advanced form of AIDS within weeks (not years) and is completely immune to all of humans medicine (Source: Here)

Both are examples of beneficial mutations to the organisms that are being mutated.

 

[h2whoa]

Another example of a "good" mutation would be that of a mutation in the gene EGFR. Cancer patients who show polymorphism in this gene respond dramatically better to therapy than carriers of the wild type.

h2

 

[caravelair]

there are some good examples on these...

http://www.gate.net/~rwms/EvoMutations.html
http://www.gate.net/~rwms/EvoEvidence.html

 

[tryptophan]

Would that also be an example of mutations creating new morphological traits?

 

[PhantomLlama]

1. The Vadoma tribe, AKA the "Ostrich People", a family in Zimbabwe who share a disctintive inherited mutation in their feet, (and sometimes in their hands also) which deprives them of all the bones for their three middle toes. These people claim the advantages of this include their ability to run faster and climb trees much better than normal-footed people.
http://dspace.dial.pipex.com/hemans/book/ch11a.htm

2. A family in Connecticut with a specific mutation that parallel's the Bruce Willis character in Unbreakable. Members of this family have hyper-dense, "unbreakable" bones, easily the strongest bones of any humans on the planet.
http://info.med.yale.edu/external/pubs/ym_au02/findings.html

Genetic samples from some members of this family are being tested to find a possible cure to osteoporosis.
http://www.stopgettingsick.com/Conditions/condition_template.cfm/5636/19/1

3. A family in in the village of Limone Sul Garda in northern Italy have a mutation which gives them better tolerance of HDL serum cholesterol. Consequently this family has no history of heart attack dispite their high-risk dietary habits. This mutation was traced to a single common ancestor living in the 1700's, but has now spread to dozens of descendants. Genetic samples from this family are now being tested for potential treatment of patients of heart disease.
http://www.eurekalert.org/features/doe/2002-05/dbnl-tmm061302.php

4. Sixty years after Hitler, Germany is finally breeding supermen. The immediate ancestors of this example are all unusually strong, but one of their children was born with twice the muscle mass of a normal human, and only half the fat! This child's genes may yeild new treatment for muscular dystrophy.
http://wcco.com/health/health_story_175140250.html

While this is interesting, it itself poses a more challenging question:

Why have the various families not banded together to form a superhero team?

 

[HRE]

Or an oppressive government?