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The human face can express a world of emotions; But this is not possible without eyebrows. Eyebrows are a big part of what makes us human; However, we still don’t know where these two small creams consisting of tangled hair came from and why they are on our face?
to report Science AlertNow researchers in Europe managed to identify the genes responsible for creating a wide range of eyebrows; From thick and bushy eyebrows to thin and sparse, and as expected, many of these genes are universally shared.
Our eyebrows, in addition to protecting our eyes from sweat and light, help us communicate with each other. Depending on their size and shape, they can be seriously attractive to others; For this reason, scientists have been wondering for years whether the thickness of human eyebrows was affected by natural selection or sexual selection. But there is very little data about the genetic factors involved in the shape of our eyebrows.
“Despite many efforts to map the genes underlying complex human traits, we still know much more about the genes that make us sick than we do about the genes behind our healthy appearance,” says molecular biologist Manfred Kaiser of the Erasmus University Medical Center Rotterdam in the Netherlands. “Our study significantly improves the genetic knowledge of the human eyebrow by increasing the number of known genes from 4 to 7 and providing new targets for future functional studies.”
Before this, studies had investigated the genetics behind eyebrow thickness in Latin American and Chinese people; But the new research is the first research that also includes Europeans. This research was conducted by examining a sample of 9,948 people who belonged to 4 different lineages; People from Europe, England, USA and Australia.
The researchers in this study identified three unknown genes that were related to eyebrow thickness and existed in the European race: SOX11, MRPS22 and SLC39A12. They also managed to identify two other genes that had been discovered in previous eyebrow research on non-Europeans: SOX2 and FOXD1. Meanwhile, two other genes identified in non-Europeans, namely EDAR and FOXL2, had no obvious effect in Europeans.
“Our findings, by showing that eyebrow variation is determined by shared and distinct genetic factors among continental populations, emphasize the need to study populations of different ancestry to reveal the genetic basis of human traits (not just physical appearance),” Kaiser said in part of his statement. »
Eyebrow thickness is known to be a highly heritable trait; But previous studies on the evolution of eyebrow thickness show that SOX2, FOXD1 and EDAR genes are not under significant selection pressure. This could mean that human eyebrow thickness is not shaped by mate choice or survival, but is a neutral trait that apparently has nothing to do with individual fitness or attractiveness.
The recent discovery is a surprising finding for such a useful intrinsic structure; It’s possible, though, that scientists aren’t looking at the right genes.
Newly discovered eyebrow genes still need to be examined for signs of natural or sexual selection; But it’s possible that they could provide an explanation for the question of why we got such bushy appendages on our foreheads in the first place.
This study in Journal of Research Dermatology It has been published.
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