For decades, scientists have been perplexed and intrigued by a very fascinating question.Why do humans have less body hair than other primates and most other land mammals? Genetic researcher publishes paper in journal e-life This sheds an important light on this age-old question, and indeed their unprecedented discovery may have indeed solved this compelling mystery.
A team of American scientists who conducted an intensive genetic study found that humans have all the genes necessary to produce a full coat of body hair.However, hundreds of thousands of years of evolution It appears that changes occurred during the process that prevented these particular genes from being fully expressed.
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The ancestors of dolphins, whales, rhinos, naked mole rats, and other hairless mammals also gradually developed regulatory regions in their genomes that shut off genes involved in hair growth. These other species may have hair all over their bodies like humans do, but at some point in their evolution they lost their hair like humans do.
Evolutionary scientists theorize that fewer hairs help species stay cool in hot climates, or that if they live in aquatic environments, they can move more smoothly and efficiently through water. Less hair means more efficient absorption of vitamin D from the sun (vitamin D keeps bones, muscles, and teeth healthy) and also reduces vulnerability to disease-causing parasites. can do.
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