quote:
Originally posted by Peter:
Yeah, but what about hair on humans ... now there's a vestigial
trait that speaks of a common ancestry with them other
hairy critters .... like all mammals.
Humans have about the same hair density as chimpanzees it just doesn't grow as long on most people. The Ramos Gomez brothers are an exception.
http://www.circusfolks.com/apub/poleballet.jpg
Every sebaceous gland on your face has a hair in it somewhere and as you can see from the picture of Larry Ramos Gomez it has the potential to grow. Nobody quite understands what the function of sebum is in humans either but it certainly helps to sell soap and shampoo and lots of products for treating acne.
Hair follicles in non-hairy skin do have a "function" that most people don't realize. There is population of keratinocytes in a region of the follicle called the hair bulge that contains the stem cells for producing hair when it grows in its next cycle. Bob Lavker has shown convincing evidence that when shallow wounds occur these stem cells can produce epidermis and stratum corneum(the lop layer of the skin) to help the final stage in wound healing which is regeneration of the stratum corneum. I can find the reference if you want. The paper was in Cell sometime in 2000 IIRC.
Randy
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