The Mystery of Earwax

How did life appear? What are the origins of the universe? Will we ever succeed to cure cancer or AIDS? These are some of the questions people have tried to answer over the years.

However, aside from those, there are other questions which few people have thought about. One of them is: �How many types of earwax are there and what's the mechanism which decides the type in a person's ear?"

According to a team of researchers led by Koh-ichiro Yoshiura at the University of Nagasaki, there are two types of earwax: dry and wet, and the mechanism which decides the type is, as you might have expected, genetic.

According to the United Press International, this variation depends on the mutation of a single gene in the human body, which modifies this secretion.

In addition, researchers have even come up with a map of earwax types found on the planet.

Dry earwax is seen in up to 95% of East Asians, but no more than 3% of people of European and African origin, while the rest have the wet type.

Although the wax's role is not yet fully known, the team suggests that it might be involved in trapping the insects which enter the year and in cleaning and lubricating the auditory channel.

It seems there's a connection between the type of earwax and armpit odor. Populations with dry earwax tend to sweat less and have little or no body odor.