Lactase is encoded by a single gene (LCT) of approximately 50 kb located on chromosome 2. The gene has 17 exons and codes for an mRNA molecule which has 6274 bases with 1927 amino acid residues. ...

In this interview, we speak to Professor Mark Thomas about his latest research into lactase persistence and how it has evolved over the years. My name is Mark Thomas, and I am a professor of ...

Lactose intolerance occurs when a person's body produces only a small amount of lactase. Lactase is naturally produced by cells arranged and bacteria living in the small intestine. People in need of ...

This happens when the small intestine doesn't produce enough lactase, the enzyme needed to break down lactose. While the enzyme increases as we grow, it is produced in large quantities the body ...

Until 8,000 years ago, humans were only able to digest lactose, a form of sugar present in fresh milk, during childhood because as adults they lost the ability to produce endogenous lactase ...

Interesting bit of interdisciplinary work on the spread of lactase persistance: Thomas found that the gene variant coincided well with the rise of animal domestication, indicating that humans became ...

Why would this be? First, it is necessary to understand that ”milk intolerance” is generally caused by a deficiency in lactase–an enzyme found in the small intestine of almost all mammals at ...

“The work is interesting as many ethnic groups from Africa were studied and haplotypes were constructed that gave data about the migrations of the LP [lactase persistence] alleles,” Irma Järvelä of ...