What is earwax — and should you get rid of it? - Henry C. Ou
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Grooming paraphernalia has been found in numerous archeological sites, many of which have included earwax removal tools. And earwax evacuation remains a popular hygienic habit today. But what is earwax? And are the efforts to eliminate it actually good for us? Henry C. Ou explores the important role earwax plays in our health.
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How has the genetics of earwax been used to track population migration?
The story of the role of genetics in determining earwax type is an interesting one. Most physical traits have multiple genes that contribute. And yet, your earwax type is primarily determined by an alteration in a single gene. A change in a single nucleotide in the ABCC11 gene changes your earwax from dry and flaky to wet and sticky. Watch this video for a basic discussion of genetic inheritance using earwax as an example—or click here for the original scientific article describing the association between the ABCC11 gene and earwax.
The allele for dry earwax is recessive, while the allele for wet earwax is dominant. This means that you will only have dry ear wax if you have two dry wax alleles—one from each parent. In contrast, you will have wet earwax if you have one or two wet wax alleles.
A scientist can thus use the earwax type of the people living in a certain region to hypothesize on patterns of population migration. This was done in a published scientific study by high school students in Japan who used earwax type to propose possible historic migration patterns in their country. They collected 1,963 (!!) fingernail samples from high school students all over Japan for DNA analysis. See the original article located here, with a discussion of the work here.
As an aside, the same genetic alteration is associated with increased body odor. Specifically, scientists have long made the connection between earwax type and axillary osmidrosis (armpit odor). The same apocrine sweat gland secretion content that affects earwax consistency also affects the secretion content of the apocrine glands in your armpit. This was ultimately shown to be related to the same ABCC11 gene mutation.
For some other discussions of population migration and earwax, check out this blog from the University of Waikato and this video from Gross Science.
Finally, click here for the official American Academy of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery guidelines on proper management of your earwax, whether it is wet and sticky or dry and flaky.
The story of the role of genetics in determining earwax type is an interesting one. Most physical traits have multiple genes that contribute. And yet, your earwax type is primarily determined by an alteration in a single gene. A change in a single nucleotide in the ABCC11 gene changes your earwax from dry and flaky to wet and sticky. Watch this video for a basic discussion of genetic inheritance using earwax as an example—or click here for the original scientific article describing the association between the ABCC11 gene and earwax.
The allele for dry earwax is recessive, while the allele for wet earwax is dominant. This means that you will only have dry ear wax if you have two dry wax alleles—one from each parent. In contrast, you will have wet earwax if you have one or two wet wax alleles.
A scientist can thus use the earwax type of the people living in a certain region to hypothesize on patterns of population migration. This was done in a published scientific study by high school students in Japan who used earwax type to propose possible historic migration patterns in their country. They collected 1,963 (!!) fingernail samples from high school students all over Japan for DNA analysis. See the original article located here, with a discussion of the work here.
As an aside, the same genetic alteration is associated with increased body odor. Specifically, scientists have long made the connection between earwax type and axillary osmidrosis (armpit odor). The same apocrine sweat gland secretion content that affects earwax consistency also affects the secretion content of the apocrine glands in your armpit. This was ultimately shown to be related to the same ABCC11 gene mutation.
For some other discussions of population migration and earwax, check out this blog from the University of Waikato and this video from Gross Science.
Finally, click here for the official American Academy of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery guidelines on proper management of your earwax, whether it is wet and sticky or dry and flaky.
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Meet The Creators
- Educator Henry C. Ou
- Director Max Zaglotskyi, Yuriy Polyashko, Darvideo Animation Studio
- Narrator Adrian Dannatt
- Storyboard Artist Tatiana Gordiychuk
- Art Director Orest Smilyanets
- Animator Alexey Melnik
- Composer Jarrett Farkas
- Sound Designer Weston Fonger
- Director of Production Gerta Xhelo
- Produced by Abdallah Ewis, Anna Bechtol
- Editorial Director Alex Rosenthal
- Editorial Producer Cella Wright
