Wednesday, April 5, 2017

Climates Shape our Noses




        The human nose contributes more than just smell to us. The nose is used to humidify and warm the air we breathe as well as help prevent illness and damage in the airways and lungs. No one nose is exactly the same. Everyone has a slightly different nose, although people claim they got their nose from one of their parents. Many people believe that genetics plays a huge role in the shape of the nose. It is believed to be hereditary trait and that parents can envision their child's nose before they are even born. Research done at the University of Pennsylvania have recently discovered that this is not the case.
       New research as shown that human nose shape is effected by the climates in which our ancestor's once lived. Researchers compared nostril widths from different regions around the world and found that they all significantly differed. The widest nostril widths were found in geographical locations where the temperature was high and had high humidity rates. In comparison the narrowest width nostrils were in cold, less humid regions.
      While nose shape is found to be a heritable trait, it is greatly influenced by climate and geographical location one lives in. Further research on the effects of climate and regional location are being conducted to see if they influence other parts of our body.  

1 comment:

  1. I remember learning about this when I was in High School, and I still find it so interesting. The fact that our bodies adjust and can change shape to fit into our surroundings is amazing. The human body is capable of so many things.

    ReplyDelete