Curly hair gene found!
A 30-year study of 5,000 twins in Oz cracks the code to curly hair
A gene that’s responsible for how straight or curly your hair is has been identified, reports the Daily Mail.
Scientists from the Queensland Institute of Medical Research, Australia, have discovered the role the trichohylin gene plays in curliness. The gene was previously known to have a part in the development of a hair follicle, but now the scientists have found a variation in the gene decides how straight or curly your hair is.
This find could mean it’ll be possible to predict if your baby will have curly locks or not. On a more serious note, the discovery could potentially help police, with DNA from crime scenes revealing what the suspect’s hair is like.
Treatments, like a pill, that turn hair curly or straight without hot tongs and irons might be on the horizon too, with researcher Professor Nick Martins having said, “I will be discussing this with a major cosmetic company in Paris in January.”
Hair facts:
- 45% of European people have straight hair
- 40% of European people have wavy hair
- 15% of European people have curly locks
- There’s around a 90% chance of curly hair being inherited
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