Why do some people have dry ears and some people have wet ears?

Genes determine the degree of dryness and wetness of earwax.

Xinhuanet, August 30 th Professor Akio Shinkawa of Nagasaki University in Japan analyzed the genes of 92 people from 8 families and concluded that the dry and wet state of human ear canal secretions (commonly known as "earwax") is determined by genes and related to body odor.

According to the research data provided by the scientist, there are two kinds of genes that determine the shape of earwax, dry type and wet type, which exist near the center of chromosome 16 and are both heritable. If two wet genes are inherited, the sweat glands in the ear canal secrete wet earwax; If both genes are dry, then earwax is dry and loose. Earwax is neutral when two different genes are inherited, one is dry and the other is wet.

It is considered that these genes have the function of regulating the secretion of body odor by axillary sweat glands. Professor Xinchuan believes that by isolating these two genes and analyzing their functions, drugs and cosmetics for inhibiting body odor can be developed. (End)

References:

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The scientific name of earwax is "cerumen", which is the external auditory canal and the secretion in the ears and eyes. It's called earwax in English. Its main function is to prevent foreign bodies from invading the eardrum, including dust and insects. Of course, when earwax causes embolism, it can also stop others from nagging.

Earwax can be divided into "dry type" and "wet type". The earwax of East Asians including China, Japanese and Koreans is mostly dry type. In Africa and Europe, 97% of people, including North Americans, have wet earwax, while South Asians are half and half. Native Americans, like East Asians, are estimated to have migrated to America from East Asia across the Bering Strait.

The latest issue of the Journal of Natural Genetics published the Japanese in-depth study of earwax, and found the genes that determine the dryness and wetness of earwax, which is of far-reaching significance. The study also found that people with wet earwax are more likely to sweat, and their bodies often smell, especially under their armpits, which is also the main reason for the development of European perfume industry, which is determined by the earwax gene. East Asians may freeze, protect themselves, sweat less, and even blow-dry their earwax, and finally their genes have changed. On the other hand, it is not clear whether people can indirectly know whether this person has axillary osmidrosis by observing dry and wet earwax.

Although earwax is not big and its function is not strong, there is still a lot of knowledge in it after careful study.