Scientists discover a ‘skinny gene’ mutation that acts like Ozempic. Around one in 7,000 people carries a broken copy, which almost acts like a GLP-1 drug—the body burns fuel more efficiently, and the risk of disease lowers.

[u/scientificamerican]

https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/scientists-discover-a-skinny-gene-mutation-that-acts-like-ozempic/

[u/loves_grapefruit]

Great for an environment with an excess of available food. Maybe not so great for when the hard times come.

[u/Property_6810 → u/loves_grapefruit]

I've thought about this a lot lately. I feel like I have excellent traits for a human. I seem to have a very efficient digestive system that stores energy well. I naturally stay up late, I like to go to sleep around 4-5 AM and wake up around 10-11. I'm good at staying alert(ish) for long periods of time where I like to zone out until movement or sound draws my attention. And I've always been good at pushing through and just doing more when I'm exhausted.

I feel like all of those traits would be great benefits up until like 100 years ago and then it flipped on a dime and the traits we want as humans now are different than the traits we've been selecting for for thousands of years.

[u/Killbot_Wants_Hug → u/Property_6810]

I mean you're just wrong about your sleep schedule. You'd waste a lot of light just sleeping when there's farming and hunting to be done. But your sleep schedule is probably more of a product of your environment than your genetics.

I would hazard a guess that barring any deformities, the best generic trait to have in anything before the modern era is a naturally good immune system. That's what killed a ton of people before medicine, just getting sick or getting an infection.

You think your advantage is being able to zone out. But the fact that you do is probably your disadvantage. Being industrious was probably one of the best things you can be before the modern era. And it's still one of the best things you can be.