Breast Milk Has Been Fighting Germs Since the Age of Dinosaurs, Scientists Discover
Scientists recreated ancient versions of lactoferrin dating back to the earliest mammals and showed that the protein’s bacteria-killing ability arose shortly after a gene duplication event roughly 160 million years ago. Even the oldest reconstructed version of the bacteria-fighting fragment could punch holes in bacterial membranes, though more recent versions became dramatically more lethal. A single genetic change at one position significantly boosts the protein’s killing power against dangerous staph bacteria, and natural selection in great apes appears to have driven that change. ….[READ]
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