Human hair can prevent mosquito bites.
The latest research found that human hair is actually very useful, such as "peach fluff" on arms and face. Body hair can help find parasites and even prevent insect bites. A study published in the Biological Newsletter of the Royal Society helps to explain why humans have less body hair than other apes wearing fur coats, but still have the same hair follicle density as chimpanzees or gorillas of the same size.
Slender body hair consists of "hair" and "end". The former is the peach fluff mentioned above, while the latter involves the hair and pubic hair growing around the armpits and genitals. The author of the joint paper said: "all these body hairs are connected with nerves, which can help us find the movement of hair." They improve the detection ability while setting obstacles for parasites. These body hairs prolong the search time and make it easier to find parasites, because it takes more time for these insects to climb over the body hairs. " Professors and colleagues from the Department of Animal and Plant Sciences at the University of Sheffield in the United Kingdom reached the above conclusion through an experiment.
Body hair is an obstacle to bedbugs.
These researchers put bedbugs on the shaved and unshaven arms of 10 women and 19 men, all college students. Every bug is hungry and ready to have a good meal on this potential victim. Volunteers must remain still during the whole experiment, so this study is not suitable for people who are afraid of bugs. The scientists recorded the density of the students' body hair and how long it took the worms to prepare a good meal. Although participants were told that they might be bitten during the experiment, the result was not.
He explained: "Before eating, bedbugs will stretch their noses from a' curled' state to a' ready for action' state. We will terminate the test in time before it takes the next step. " Worms don't look for veins, but bite through capillaries under the skin and suck blood. It was found that men and women who had never shaved their arms found parasites more frequently. Bugs spend more time on men's arms than they do without shaving. Men generally have more body hair, so the body provides more obstacles for insects.
"Men are influenced by testosterone and usually have more terminal hairs," he said. Researchers believe that human hair will not only block bedbugs, but also set obstacles for other parasites, such as mosquitoes, ticks and leeches. Humans have retained these useful peach-red fluff and other body hairs, but their weight and thickness have been decreasing with evolution. Thick fur can keep warm and protect, but it will also increase parasites, because thick body hair provides them with a good hiding place, so it is difficult to remove and crush them.
Body hair helps to maintain sweat glands.
Previous studies have determined that human hair helps to maintain sweat glands. In addition, body hair may have other functions that have not yet been discovered. Professor of entomology at the University of Kentucky said: "The idea that fine body hair may help to find ectoparasites seems reasonable, and this insect research has proved quite convincing. These results are consistent with the hypothesis that ectoparasites will affect the evolution of human hair. The author of the paper also listed other assumptions that also played a role. " The conclusion said: "I guess humans should be regarded as naked apes."
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