We do. And according to this New York Times article, “East Asian Physical Traits Linked to 35,000-Year-Old Mutation” by Nicholas Wade, East Asians also have:
- thicker hair shafts
- more sweat glands
- characteristically identified teeth
- smaller breasts
The article references a study trying to figure out the gene(s) that causes the variations between people on different continents. This particular study looked at the EDAR gene. According to the article, “Africans and Europeans carry the standard version of the gene, but in most East Asians, one of the DNA units has mutated.”
A team of researchers at the Broad Institute mutated the EDAR gene in mice to resemble that of East Asians and found that indeed the mice had thicker hair shafts, more sweat glands, distinctively shaped teeth, and less breast tissue.
There seems to be a lot of debate about why EDAR gene mutated 35,000 years ago. Some people believe it is because of environmental factors and others natural selection. If you’re interested in reading some of various theories, check out the article.
What I find most interesting is that in all of my research on race and body parts (see my past articles about penis size, testicles, butts, vaginas, and of course, breasts) is that most books/scientific articles/websites/researchers have said that there is NO correlation between body parts and race. In fact, one scientist told me there is no such thing as race itself. This article seems to contradict all of that. This article is saying that there IS a correlation.
Being that I’m NOT a scientist (unless you consider a screenwriter a scientist) I can’t really offer my opinion one way or another. But I am curious, who’s right? Do I really have thicker hair shafts than my non-East Asian counterparts? What does that really mean? And most importantly, can I blame the sweaty under arms on my race instead of being nervous?
Picture is from simnicholas.blogspot.com
