Dry earwax is common in East Asians, Native Americans, and some populations in South and Central Asia, linked to a specific variant of the ABCC11 gene, while wet, sticky earwax is more typical in people of European and African descent. This genetic trait, which determines if earwax is dry/flaky (AA genotype) or wet/sticky (GA/GG genotype), may have provided an evolutionary advantage in colder climates, as dry wax is less prone to freezing.

Which race has dry earwax?

Wet, yellowish-brown coloured earwax is commonly found in Caucasians and Africans. The other type is the dry, grey-white coloured earwax, which is more common among East Asians like Chinese, Korean, Japanese, and Native Americans.

Why do some people have dry earwax?

As its name suggests, dry earwax contains less moisture and is likely to clump up faster. In 2006, researchers found that this difference was caused by a single base change (otherwise known as a SNP) in the ABCC11 gene, and that people from Eastern Asia were far more likely to have it.

Do Filipinos have dry or wet earwax?

Individuals of Asian descent are more likely to have dry earwax, while those of African and European descent typically have wet earwax. What ethnicity has the abcc11 gene?

Can Europeans have dry earwax?

Earwax type: The myth

The allele for dry earwax appears to have originated by mutation in northeastern Asia about 2,000 generations ago, then spread outwards because it was favored by natural selection. It is very common in eastern Asia, becomes much less common towards Europe, and is very rare in Africa.

What Your Earwax Says About You

Do Indians have wet or dry earwax?

Earwax is made by apocrine glands that line the ear canal. Caucasians and people of African descent generally have "wet" earwax--a brown sticky goop--whereas Asians and native Americans usually have gray brittle flakes.

Do non-Asians have wet earwax?

The vast majority of people of European or African descent have wet earwax. Like honey, it is yellow and sticky. Most East Asian people, however, have dry earwax, which is grey, brittle, and non-sticky.

Why don't Koreans have ear wax?

“That transporter doesn't work. And we don't have those same lipids that cross into the earwax and into the sweat,” Nguyen explained of East Asians, adding that a dysfunctional ABCC11 gene is also connected to drier, less goopy earwax. “So less of that means less body odor, and also translates to dry earwax.”

What ethnicity has the ABCC11 gene?

Genetic variants that cause a loss of function of the ABCC11 gene are very common among East Asian ethnicities (80-90% of the population). In other population groups, it is rare to have no body odor. In fact, only around 2% of Caucasians carry the 'no body odor' version of the gene.

Is it better to have dry earwax?

Dry earwax, on the other hand, is less common and is produced in smaller amounts. It is flaky and brittle and can be yellow, grey, or brown in colour. Dry earwax is not as effective as wet earwax in trapping foreign particles and is more likely to cause blockages in the ear canal.

Does ear wax have your DNA?

The results have shown that human earwax can be a potential source of DNA evidence for human identification up to 30 days after the earwax collection. It is recommended to quickly analyze earwax samples or store them at room temperature or at −10 °C after their recovery from the crime scene.

How rare is it to have dry earwax?

The answer is partly in your heritage. A new study reveals that the gene responsible for the drier type originated in an ancient northeastern Asian population. Today, 80 to 95 percent of East Asians have dry earwax, whereas the wet variety is abundant in people of African and European ancestry (97 to 100 percent).

Do Filipinos have the ABCC11 gene?

Among Asians, the ABCC11 gene is generally prevalent to Southeast Asians, South Asians, and Middle Eastern people. Not just Filipinos. The difference is that Filipinos tend to be odor-conscious.

Do Japanese have wet or dry earwax?

It's wet, brown and gummy in nearly all people of European and African origin; but more than 80% of East Asians have a dry variety that lacks a waxy substance called cerumen. A team of Japanese researchers has now tackled this sticky subject and identified the gene that determines earwax type.

Which ethnicity has the most eczema?

The numbers vary in different studies, but in the adult population alone, multiracial or white people appear to have the highest rates of eczema. In the U.S., eczema affects more Black children and European American children than Hispanic children. But Black and Hispanic children have more serious cases of eczema.

What is the top 1 disease in the Philippines?

1. Ischemic Heart Disease: The Silent Killer. Ischemic heart disease, also known as coronary artery disease, is the leading cause of death in the Philippines. It occurs when the arteries that supply blood to the heart become narrowed or blocked.

What race has flaky earwax?

As a result, the cerumen (earwax) produced by East Asians typically exhibits a dry, white phenotype and is strikingly different from the wet, yellow cerumen produced by non-Asians.

Do Asians have less body odor?

The characteristic human axillary odor is formed by bacterial action on odor precursors that originate from apocrine sweat glands. Caucasians and Africans possess a strong axillary odor ,whereas many Asians have only a faint acidic odor.

Do people with dry earwax not smell?

In people with dry ear wax, ABCC11 is non-functional; this starves some bacteria and greatly reduces the smell of sweat. Julie Horvath, fascinated by microbes, studies the connection between host and microbial genetics. This genetic pattern also determines which skin microbes thrive.

Who is more prone to ear wax?

People with oily skin are more likely to produce excess earwax. The oiliness of the skin can stimulate the glands in the ear canal, leading to an increase in earwax production.

Which ethnicity has the most ABCC11 genes?

As the mutation was already present in the Tianyuan man of Northern China, this suggests the genetic continuity of the variant in East Asia for the last 40,000 years. After East Asians, the Indigenous peoples of the Americas exhibit the highest frequency of this mutation.

How do Chinese people remove ear wax?

While cotton swabs are the norm in the West, in many parts of East Asia, it's common to use ear scoops – a long, thin tool with one tip flattened into a little spoon – to tease out excess ear wax.

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