Naked Science Forum

Life Sciences => Physiology & Medicine => Topic started by: FuzzyUK on 03/12/2012 19:30:44

Title: What is the basis of centrifugal hair growth patterns?
Post by: FuzzyUK on 03/12/2012 19:30:44

Why does hair grow from the center of the crown in a spiral like manner? Does it always spin out in catharine wheel fashion in a clockwise direction and if so, why not anticlockwise?

Title: Re: What is the basis of centrifugal hair growth patterns?
Post by: evan_au on 10/12/2012 10:41:12

If you were going to look for exceptions, I would start here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Situs_inversus

...because the mirror-image of clockwise is counterclockwise.

Correction: It appears that genes controlling hair orientation are different from the genes controlling orientation of internal organs (see URL from RD, below)

Title: Re: What is the basis of centrifugal hair growth patterns?
Post by: RD on 10/12/2012 19:09:47

Quote

8.4% of right handed people and 45% of left handed people have counterclockwise hair-whorls. His research indicates that a single gene may control both handedness and hair-whorl direction

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hair_whorl