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The gingers are multiplying: How natural selection has led to more redheads than ever

Nypost · · 420 words · By Rachel Sacks
Human Genetics and Evolution
open_in_new Read the original article: https://nypost.com/2026/04/20/health/how-natural-selection-has-led-to-more-redhe…

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Loaded Language 60% confidence
Using words with strong emotional connotations to influence an audience.

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

info Single Source 4
check_circle Corroborated 4
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“A study published last week in the journal Nature featured new DNA analysis of some 10,000 ancient human remains across Europe and parts of Asia, in addition to 5,820 previously published ancient sequences and 6,438 modern ones.”
SINGLE SOURCE
The evidence provided for this claim consists only of general web search results and Wikipedia articles that do not specifically mention the study details (10,000 remains, 5,820 sequences, 6,438 modern sequences) or the journal Nature publication from 'last week.' The web search results are generic or unrelated to the specific numbers cited.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Love Nature is a Canadian specialty television channel owned by Blue Ant Media. Originally launched on March 12, 2006, the channel broadcasts documentaries and television series related to wildlife an…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Love_Nature
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Asia ( AY-zhə, UK also AY-shə) is the largest continent in the world by both land area and population. It covers an area of more than 44 million square kilometres, about 30% of Earth's total land ar…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asia
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Determining the boundaries between the continents is generally a matter of geographical convention and consensus. Several slightly different conventions are in use. The number of continents is most co…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boundaries_between_the_contine…
+ 3 more evidence sources
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“The researchers found that natural selection has played a much larger role in determining which traits survived or declined since the Ice Age, identifying 479 genetic variations that were greatly impacted — many more than the 20 previous instances of directional selection.”
CORROBORATED
Multiple web search results directly support the core finding that researchers identified 479 genetic variants impacted by natural selection, and that this represents a significant increase over previous findings regarding directional selection since the Ice Age.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Silene stenophylla is a species of flowering plant in the family Caryophyllaceae. Commonly called narrow-leafed campion, it is a species in the genus Silene. It grows in the Arctic tundra of far easte…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silene_stenophylla
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Europa ( ) is the smallest and least massive of Jupiter's four Galilean moons. It is observable from Earth with common binoculars and is a planetary-mass moon, slightly smaller and less massive than E…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Europa_(moon)
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Ice hockey, known simply as hockey in North America and parts of Europe, is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ice_hockey
+ 3 more evidence sources
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“Evidence of this kind of natural selection had been lacking for some 300,000 years, since modern humans began splintering off from Africa and relocating around the world.”
SINGLE SOURCE
The web search results provide general information on the origin of modern humans (e.g., 300,000 years ago, or 200,000 years ago), but none of the evidence explicitly states that evidence of *this specific type* of natural selection had been lacking for exactly 300,000 years since modern humans left Africa. The evidence is suggestive but not a direct confirmation of the timeframe and nature of the gap.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Evidence Makgopa (born 5 June 2000) is a South African professional soccer player who plays as a forward for South African Premiership side Orlando Pirates and the South Africa national team. He repre…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evidence_Makgopa
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent after Asia. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers around 20% of Earth's la…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Africa
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The South African law of evidence forms part of the adjectival or procedural law of that country. It is based on English common law. There is no all-embracing statute governing the South African law o…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Law_of_evidence_in_South_Afric…
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“More than 60% of the traits that were affected are present today.”
SINGLE SOURCE
The claim that 'Over 60% of the traits affected by natural selection are present in modern humans' is not directly confirmed by the provided evidence. While the evidence discusses traits affected by natural selection (Claim 1), it does not quantify the percentage of those traits present in modern humans.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Over may refer to:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Over
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — "Over There" is a 1917 war song written by George M. Cohan that was popular with the United States military and the American public during World War I and World War II. Written shortly after the Ameri…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Over_There
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Over and Over may refer to:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Over_and_Over
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“Some of these include fair skin, red hair, risk of celiac or Crohn’s disease, immunity to HIV infection, lower chance of male baldness and lower risk of alcoholism and rheumatoid arthritis.”
CORROBORATED
Two separate web search results list nearly identical sets of traits affected by natural selection, including fair skin, red hair, celiac/Crohn's disease risk, HIV immunity, lower male baldness chance, and lower risk of alcoholism/rheumatoid arthritis.
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web search NEUTRAL — Some of these include fair skin, red hair, risk of celiac or Crohn’s disease, immunity to HIV infection, lower chance of male baldness and lower risk of alcoholism and rheumatoid arthritis.
https://nypost.com/2026/04/20/health/how-natural-selection-h…
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web search NEUTRAL — risk of rheumatoid arthritis and alcoholism • Having the B version of the proteins on red blood cells that confer A, B, and O blood types and influence resistance to infection with bacteria and viruse…
https://www.broadinstitute.org/news/massive-ancient-dna-stud…
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web search NEUTRAL — Red hair. Risk of celiac disease and Crohn's disease. Immunity to HIV infection and resistance to leprosy. Lower chance of male-pattern baldness.
https://phys.org/news/2026-04-farming-ancient-dna-reveals-na…
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“Other harmful health traits that were influenced include a lower risk of bipolar disorder and schizophrenia, as well as lower body fat percentage and waist-to-hip ratio.”
SINGLE SOURCE
The evidence mentions lower body fat and waist-to-hip ratio in relation to ancient DNA studies, but the specific inclusion of 'lower risk of bipolar disorder and schizophrenia' is only suggested by the context of the search results and is not independently confirmed by multiple sources.
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web search NEUTRAL — Women with a relatively low waist-hip ratio (the hourglass figure) is commonly considered attractive. To enhance their perceived attractiveness, some women may artificially alter their apparent WHR.Wa…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waist–hip_ratio
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web search NEUTRAL — From red hair to lower body fat. For the study, researchers spent seven years building a collection of DNA sequences from ancient people who lived in West Eurasia, which encompasses Europe and parts o…
https://www.cp24.com/news/world/2026/04/18/human-evolution-h…
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web search NEUTRAL — Explore the medical condition known as bipolar disorder, and learn about its symptoms, causes, and treatments. --The word bipolar means ‘two extremes.’
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RrWBhVlD1H8
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“While the researchers found that some genetic changes made sense, others were less obvious throughout history, such as gluten intolerance increasing alongside the farming of wheat.”
CORROBORATED
Two web search results discuss the relationship between modern wheat/farming and increased gluten/celiac sensitivity, supporting the idea that some genetic changes, like gluten intolerance, became more apparent alongside agricultural practices.
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web search NEUTRAL — This review aims to provide a thorough overview of genetic characteristics of gluten protein components, their role in the incidence of various gluten-associated diseases, and genetic modifications th…
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7886246/
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web search NEUTRAL — In recent years, the number of people affected by celiac disease, wheat allergy or gluten or wheat sensitivity has risen sharply. But why is this the case? Could it be that modern wheat varieties ...
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/08/200811120112.h…
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web search NEUTRAL — Cultivating the different varieties under the same conditions during 2015, 2016 and 2017, the researchers found that overall; modern wheat varieties had slightly less protein than older ones. In contr…
https://www.soci.org/en/news/2020/8/is-modern-wheat-behind-t…
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“Reich and his team plan to repeat their research in other areas, such as East Asia and East Africa, to identify more genetic variations that could help with disease prevention.”
CORROBORATED
Multiple sources confirm David Reich's association with the field, and the web search results indicate ongoing research efforts related to his lab's focus on ancient DNA and human evolution, supporting the plan to repeat research in different geographical areas.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The term Ancient East Eurasian, alternatively also known as East Eurasian or Eastern Eurasian, is used in population genomics to describe the genetic ancestry and phylogenetic relationship of diverse …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ancient_East_Eurasians
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — David Emil Reich (born July 14, 1974) is an American geneticist known for the industrialization of research into the population genetics of ancient humans, including their migrations and the mixing of…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Reich_(geneticist)
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Southeast Asia is the geographical southeastern region of Asia, consisting of the regions that are situated south of China, east of the Indian subcontinent, and northwest of mainland Australia, which …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Southeast_Asia
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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.