2min chapter

The Disappearing Spoon: a science history podcast with Sam Kean cover image

The Most Evil Molecule

The Disappearing Spoon: a science history podcast with Sam Kean

CHAPTER

The Mutation That Causes Sugar Consumption

The mutation involves an enzyme called uricase. Virtually all animals have some version of the gene that produces this enzyme. But roughly 15 million years ago, the gene mutated in our shaggy ape-like ancestors. This once vital mutation is now deadly.

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