A study led by the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology has sequenced the genomes of 9,000-year-old individuals from the high-altitude Grotte des Finins in Ethiopia. The research, published in Science Advances, identifies specific variants in the NOS2 gene, which helps manage nitric oxide levels to maintain cardiovascular efficiency in low-oxygen environments.
Unlike the well-known EPAS1 adaptation found in Tibetans, this 'Ethiopian variant' represents an independent evolutionary path to high-altitude survival. The study concludes that the genetic foundation for life on the 'Roof of Africa' was established during the early Holocene, allowing these populations to thrive in the rugged highlands while remaining genetically distinct from their lowland neighbors.