Why are the Chinese not naturally adapted to drinking milk? Detailed answer

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Why are the Chinese not naturally adapted to drinking milk? Detailed answer

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Why are the Chinese not naturally adapted to drinking milk?

The human body digests milk thanks to a special enzyme - lactase, which was originally produced only in the body of infants in order to drink mother's milk. However, some people had a "defect" that allowed the enzyme to be produced in their intestines all their lives. It was the ability to drink milk that gave them a competitive advantage among northern Europeans who were deficient in calcium and vitamin D. Gradually, this gene spread, and today the number of inhabitants of northern European countries with lactose intolerance does not exceed 10%. And among the Chinese, residents of Southeast Asia, Africa, American Indians, this figure is above 90%.

Authors: Jimmy Wales, Larry Sanger

Random interesting fact from the Great Encyclopedia:

What gives food its flavor?

The whole process of taste perception is quite complex. We must start with the fact that on the tongue we have tiny, wart-like bumps that are responsible for our taste sensations. They are called taste buds ("papilas", using the scientific Latin term). A person has about three thousand of them. Taste sensations are caused by the response of the sensory hairs in these papillae to the molecules of liquids when they hit them. Only substances in solution, where the atoms are free to move, can produce the sensation of taste; a glass bead, for example, will not.

Anything that makes the atoms move faster, like heat, enhances the taste experience. That's why hot coffee tastes more bitter than cold, roasted salted brisket more salty, and hot meat dishes taste better than cold. Our taste buds register three or four taste sensations: sweet, bitter, salty, and perhaps also sour.

Different parts of the surface of the tongue are sensitive to different taste sensations: the back of the tongue - to bitter, on the sides - to sour and salty, the tip of the tongue - to sweet. Since almost all of our food consists of different components, it causes complex taste sensations.

In addition, taste sensations are never experienced in their pure form; they are always complicated by olfactory ones. When we eat, we also feel heat, cold, atmospheric pressure. All these sensations add up to what we call the "taste of food." And it must also be said that often what we consider "taste" is actually a smell. For example, coffee, tea, apples, oranges, lemons and others stimulate the organ of smell to a greater extent than the organ of taste.

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Windmills warm the earth at night 24.05.2012

Scientists have discovered an unexpected effect of wind farms: at night they trap heat and warm the earth.

Observations made with the MODIS instruments of NASA's Aqua and Terra satellites have shown that large wind farms in some areas of the United States affect the temperature of the Earth's surface. In particular, in the vicinity of a large wind farm in western Texas, the researchers found an average nighttime warming of 0,72 degrees Celsius. After analyzing the observational data for 10 years, scientists came to the conclusion that it was the windmills that caused a small but noticeable increase in temperature.

This effect is most likely caused by turbulence: the blades of windmills trap warm air and direct it towards the ground. Thus, the soil is slightly warmer near the wind power plants, and this is especially noticeable at night.

So far, the research is local. The temperature of the land surface depends on changes in air temperature, type of vegetation cover and terrain. In some regions, the temperature of the earth's surface varies greatly depending on the time of day, while the air temperature fluctuates in a much smaller range.

In Texas, surface temperatures typically drop faster than air temperatures after sunset. But windmills create eddies of thermal air rising from the surface and increase the temperature near the wind farm. The researchers expected to see the opposite effect during the day - a slight cooling. However, MODIS data show that even during the day wind turbines create a small local warming.

The new data has value for climate modeling and for agriculture. Warming of even 1-2 degrees can favorably affect the growth of crops.

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