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Another genetic difference


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Posted

There's a genetic difference that alters the way Far East Asian and Western ears behave. Admittedly it's only a difference in type of ear wax, but it's interesting the area that has tonal languages has different ear wax :mrgreen:

Section copied and pasted from the BBC website: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/4661366.stm

"Whether your earwax is wet or dry is determined by a mutation in a single gene, scientists have discovered.

An international team of researchers studied the genes of people from 33 populations across the world.

They found ethnicity affects which form of the gene people have, and therefore their earwax type.

And in Nature Genetics, they raised the unlikely possibility that earwax type could be linked to attractiveness, due to a link with body odour glands.

Earwax is secreted by the ceruminous apocrine glands.

This genetic analysis offers a method of studying how different populations moved around

Dr Sally Dawson, University College London

Dry earwax is seen in up to 95% of East Asians, but no more than 3% of people of European and African origin.

In both Europeans and Africans, the wet type completely dominates."

Posted

I read this somewhere, too, I think it was in the "Des Moines Register" like a week ago. So, you think that solves the mystery of the earspoons and the whole ear-cleaning-in-public culture?

Posted

Ooo this is absolutely interesting :mrgreen: Well anyway my dad and sis have the wet type and me and my mom have the dry type. So earspoons and cotten buds can be found in my house.

Posted

Odd question, folks:

How do know if my earwax is dry or wet? I have no comparion, all I know is what mine feels and looks like.

(Never thought I'd be asking a question like that. Kind of disgusting, right?)

Posted
How do know if my earwax is dry or wet?

To put it simply, flaky and hard=dry, sticky and soft=wet.

P.S. Other variations may exist. :mrgreen:

Posted

eeeew.. .. So what is the mystery of the earspoons and the whole ear-cleaning-in-public culture?

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