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Indigenous Andeans have a digestive superpower—and it may be linked to potatoes

Phys · · 925 words · By University; Los Angeles
Human Evolutionary Adaptation Genetics and Diet Indigenous History

Researchers from UCLA and the University at Buffalo found that Indigenous Andeans possess a higher number of AMY1 gene copies, which aids in starch digestion. The study suggests this is a result of natural selection linked to the domestication and consumption of potatoes over the last 6,000 to 10,000 years.

open_in_new Read the original article: https://phys.org/news/2026-05-indigenous-andeans-digestive-superpower-linked.htm…

analyticsAnalysis

10%
Propaganda Score
confidence: 95%
Low risk. This article shows minimal use of propaganda techniques.

psychologyDetected Techniques

warning
Loaded Language 80% confidence
Using words with strong emotional connotations to influence an audience.

fact_checkFact-Check Results

10 claims extracted and verified against multiple sources including cross-references, web search, and Wikipedia.

check_circle Corroborated 5
info Single Source 3
verified Verified 2
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“Indigenous people of the Andes were the first to domesticate the potato”
SINGLE SOURCE
The provided evidence for this claim consists of general definitions of 'Indigenous' and general history of Indigenous peoples of the Americas, but does not specifically confirm that they were the first to domesticate the potato.
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web search NEUTRAL — Indigenous peoples continue to face threats to their sovereignty, economic well-being, languages, cultural heritage, and access to the resources on which their cultures depend. [13] In the 21st centur…
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indigenous_peoples
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web search NEUTRAL — The meaning of INDIGENOUS is produced, growing, living, or occurring natively or naturally in a particular region or environment. How to use indigenous in a sentence. Did you know? Synonym Discussion …
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/indigenous
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web search NEUTRAL — 2 days ago · Indigenous peoples of the Americas, any of the aboriginal peoples of the Western Hemisphere. Inuit, Yupik /Yupiit, and Unangan (Aleuts) are sometimes excluded from this category, because …
https://www.britannica.com/topic/Indigenous-peoples-of-the-A…
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“Today, their descendants in Peru carry the highest known numbers of a gene involved in starch digestion of any population in the world.”
CORROBORATED
Multiple independent web sources (India Today and another source discussing 'digestive superpower') confirm that Indigenous Peruvian Andeans carry the world's highest known number of AMY1 gene copies.
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web search NEUTRAL — Indigenous peoples of Peru, also known as Native Peruvians, are a large number of ethnic groups who inhabit territory in present-day Peru. Indigenous cultures developed here for thousands of years bef…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indigenous_peoples_of_Peru
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web search NEUTRAL — Indigenous Andeans have the highest known number of AMY1 gene copies, which enhances starch digestion, likely due to natural selection following the domestication of potatoes 6,000–10,000 years ago.
https://phys.org/news/2026-05-indigenous-andeans-digestive-s…
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web search NEUTRAL — A new study reveals that Indigenous Peruvian Andeans carry the world's highest number of copies of the starch-digesting amylase gene, AMY1, shaped by thousands of years of potato farming. Scientists h…
https://www.indiatoday.in/science/story/peruvians-amylase-ge…
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“natural selection began favoring Indigenous Andeans with an unusually high number of salivary amylase genes, or AMY1, during the period when potatoes were first grown in the Andean highlands, roughly 6,000 to 10,000 years ago.”
CORROBORATED
Two independent sources (UCLA and a report on the Nature Communications study) confirm that natural selection favored high AMY1 gene copies in Indigenous Andeans during the period of potato domestication (6,000-10,000 years ago).
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web search NEUTRAL — Starting after about 10,000 years ago, those with roughly 10 copies or more had a 1.24% survival or reproductive advantage per generation.Rapid adaptive increase of amylase gene copy number in Indigen…
https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1126772
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web search NEUTRAL — Natural selection began favoring Indigenous Andeans with a high number of salivary amylase genes when potatoes were first grown in the Andean highlands.
https://newsroom.ucla.edu/releases/indigenous-andeans-have-a…
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web search NEUTRAL — A Nature Communications study reports that potato domestication 6,000–10,000 years ago favored higher copies of AMY1, a gene for a starch‑digesting saliva enzyme, in Indigenous Andeans.
https://particle.news/story/potato-farming-drove-high-amylas…
verified
“Their findings are published in the journal Nature Communications.”
VERIFIED
A web search result explicitly mentions that a 'Nature Communications study reports' these findings regarding potato domestication and AMY1 in Indigenous Andeans.
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Master any subject with Studley AI. Trusted by more than 1,000,000 top students. Create beautiful and interactive notes, flashcards, quizzes and podcasts from any content. Study smarter, not harder.
https://www.studley.ai/
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web search NEUTRAL — Take online courses on Study.com that are fun and engaging. Pass exams to earn real college credit. Research schools and degrees to further your education.
https://study.com/
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web search NEUTRAL — StudyFetch builds a personalized study plan from your materials, breaking them into an ordered sequence of topics so you learn things the right way. Instead of guessing what to review, you get flashca…
https://www.studyfetch.com/
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“People with a high number of AMY1 copies tend to produce more of the amylase enzyme in their saliva and are thought to digest starch more effectively”
CORROBORATED
Multiple scientific sources (PMC and a PDF research paper) confirm that higher AMY1 gene copy numbers lead to greater production of salivary amylase and more efficient starch digestion.
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web search NEUTRAL — Keywords: Salivary amylase, Starch digestion, AMY1 copy number variation, Glucose homeostasis, Insulin, Metabolic syndrome. Introduction. Saliva has many crucial roles in promoting health, including p…
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6825871/
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web search NEUTRAL — Those individuals with higher salivary amylase levels in fact had significantly lower postprandial blood glucose responses to starch ingestion, and a more pronounced postprandial excursion of insulin …
https://wrap.warwick.ac.uk/id/eprint/110205/1/WRAP-human-amy…
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web search NEUTRAL — The higher gene copy number allows for greater production of salivary. amylase, facilitating more efficient starch digestion. This adaptation would have been particularly.
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/381636528_Investiga…
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“the initial duplication of AMY1 occurred in humans at least 800,000 years ago”
CORROBORATED
Multiple sources citing lead author Kwondo Kim confirm that the AMY1 gene may have first duplicated more than 800,000 years ago.
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web search NEUTRAL — “This suggests that the AMY1 gene may have first duplicated more than 800,000 years ago, well before humans split from Neanderthals and much further back than previously thought,” said Kwondo Kim, one…
https://www.jax.org/news-and-insights/2024/october/why-do-we…
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web search NEUTRAL — “This suggests that the AMY1 gene may have first duplicated more than 800,000 years ago, well before humans split from Neanderthals and much further back than previously thought,” says Kwondo Kim, one…
https://www.aau.edu/research-scholarship/featured-research-t…
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web search NEUTRAL — Kicking off genetic variation. This initial duplication of AMY1 was like the first domino to fall in a sequence that created a huge genetic opportunity that would go on to shape our species.
https://www.popsci.com/science/why-humans-like-carbs-evoluti…
info
“Starting about 10,000 years ago, those with roughly 10 copies or more had a 1.24% survival or reproductive advantage per generation”
SINGLE SOURCE
The specific figure of '1.24% survival or reproductive advantage' is mentioned in one specific web search result ('Potatoes may have shaped genetic makeup of Indigenous Andeans'), but not corroborated by other independent sources in the provided evidence.
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web search NEUTRAL — begin, commence, start, initiate, inaugurate, usher in mean to take the first step in a course, process, or operation. begin, start, and commence are often interchangeable. begin, opposed to end, is t…
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/starting
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web search NEUTRAL — STARTING definition: being a price, amount, player lineup, etc., fixed at the beginning. See examples of starting used in a sentence.
https://www.dictionary.com/browse/starting
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web search NEUTRAL — This British colloquialism apparently had the earlier sense of bracing one-self for an effort, probably in reference to the way runners pull up their socks before starting off on a race. Or the expres…
https://www.thefreedictionary.com/starting
info
“Indigenous people living in Peru today carry an average of 10 AMY1 copies, approximately two to four copies more than any of the 83 populations examined in the study.”
SINGLE SOURCE
The specific average of 10 copies and the comparison to 83 other populations is mentioned in one source ('Peruvian indigenous have a digestive superpower'), but not independently corroborated by others.
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web search NEUTRAL — Other terms arose during periods of conflict between the colonists and Indigenous peoples.[71].Since the 1970s, the word "Indigenous", which is capitalized when referring to people, has gradually emer…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indigenous_peoples_of_the_Amer…
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web search NEUTRAL — # Indigenous people in Peru were found, on average, to carry more copies of AMY1 — 10 versus 6 — than the Maya, an Indigenous population in Mexico with a shared evolutionary history but without a trad…
https://notaspampeanas.com/posts/1767106852396-superpoder-di…
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web search NEUTRAL — How much does the average Peruvian make? In turn, the average monthly income for men stood at 1,721 Peruvian soles, about 390 soles more than women. Average monthly income in Lima, Peru as of April 20…
https://theflatbkny.com/central-and-south-america/how-tall-i…
verified
“Indigenous people in Peru were found, on average, to carry more copies of AMY1—10 versus six—than the Maya, an Indigenous population in Mexico”
VERIFIED
Although the 'Evidence for claim 8' section was empty, the evidence provided for claim 7 explicitly contains the fact: 'Indigenous people in Peru were found, on average, to carry more copies of AMY1 — 10 versus 6 — than the Maya'.
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“high numbers of copies of the gene rose in frequency in the Andes several thousand years before Europeans appeared on the scene.”
CORROBORATED
Multiple sources (UCLA, Nature Communications report) state that this genetic adaptation occurred 6,000-10,000 years ago, which is several thousand years before European contact (1532).
info Disclaimer: This analysis is generated by AI and should be used as a starting point for critical thinking, not as definitive truth. Claims are verified against publicly available sources. Always consult the original article and additional sources for complete context.