Posted on 01/30/2006 3:02:26 AM PST by Pharmboy
Earwax may not play a prominent part in human history but at least a small role for it has now been found by a team of Japanese researchers.
Earwax comes in two types, wet and dry. The wet form predominates in Africa and Europe, where 97 percent or more of people have it, and the dry form among East Asians. The populations of South and Central Asia are roughly half and half. By comparing the DNA of Japanese with each type, the researchers were able to identify the gene that controls which type a person has, they report in today's issue of Nature Genetics.
snip
The dry form is quite common in Native Americans, confirming other genetic evidence that their ancestors migrated across the Bering Strait from Siberia 15,000 years ago.
snip
But earwax seems to have the very humble role of being no more than biological flypaper, preventing dust and insects from entering the ear. Since it seems unlikely that having wet or dry earwax could have made much difference to an individual's fitness, the earwax gene may have some other, more important function. Dr. Yoshiura and his colleagues suggest that the gene would have been favored because of its role in sweating.
They write that earwax type and armpit odor are correlated, since populations with dry earwax, such as those of East Asia, tend to sweat less and have little or no body odor, while the wet earwax populations of Africa and Europe sweat more and so may have more body odor. Several Asian features, like small nostrils, are conjectured to be adaptations to the cold. Less sweating, the Japanese authors suggest, may be another adaptation to the cold in which the ancestors of East Asian peoples are thought to have lived.
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
It's determined by the way you were raised and by childhood experiences.
Whew, glad these scientists have this solved. Now they can move onto some serious study - navel lint.
LMBO!
Some interesting topics covered under that ping list, I'm sure...
Genes for earwax but not for the stuff between the ears.
That's just a little too much information.
...and I held back.
Hmmm, I guess the last unsolved body mystery for the scientists is... Toe Jam!
;-)
Dry or wet. What about chunky?
Aw, too bad about your Y-chromosome coming from Sctoland because if it had originated in Scotland we might have been related in some manner.
I'm so disappointed because I'm always on the lookout for long lost relatives even if they are somewhat removed.
Aw geez...it's Mnoday morning.
Mine used to be wet when I lived on the Gulf coast. Now that I am in the desert, it's dry.
"They write that earwax type and armpit odor are correlated"
Does this mean that you only have to clean the wax out of your ears when your BO gets really strong? Who woulda thought it?
I wonder how many millions were pissed away on this research grant?
Aren't they those planes that fly around and provide radar tracking and early warning in combat areas?
Oh, EARwax! I didn't hear it right the first time.
Are those separate ping lists? One for earwax and one for armpit odor?
....."Now they can move onto some serious study - navel lint".........
Then onto toe jamb!
Some types of earwax are used for sweet roll frosting recipes.
Is this not what the left tells us all the time. If we believe that there is a difference in ear wax then what next, IQ?
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