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Unhappy With Your Hair? Blame Parents
Researchers Identify Frizzled Gene In Mice
POSTED: 5:01 p.m. EDT May 24, 2004
WASHINGTON -- Bad hair? Try blaming mom and dad.
Researchers at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine have found a gene that appears to control hair patterns.
They say mice without the aptly named Frizzled 6 gene have strange hair patterns -- like tufts of hair on their head and swirls of hair on their hind feet, back of the head, and chest. Those with the gene had their hair under control.
The researchers said this or similar genes may be responsible for human hair patterns like cowlicks.
But not having the Frizzled 6 wouldn't cause just one bad hair day. The lack of the gene would mean a permanent difference.
The research was funded by the Howard Hughes Medical Institute and is published in this week's issue of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
Proceedings of the National Academy of SciencesDistributed by Internet Broadcasting Systems, Inc. The Associated Press contributed to this report. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
