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Sunday, January 29, 2006

Repelling genetics.

So apparently, we learn Mendelian genetics in order to learn about ear wax. The allele for wet ear wax is a dominant whereas the allele for dry wax is recessive. Cribbed from NY Times:
The single mutation in the earwax gene is one in which a G (for guanine) is replaced with an A (for adenine). People who inherit the version of the gene that has A from both parents have dry earwax. Those who carry two of the G versions, or one G and one A, are destined to live with wet earwax.
I can't access this article, so I can't read why the authors linked dry ear wax to low body sweat/odor in Han Chinese, Koreans, and Native Americans.

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