Ears

Molly Cule · 158695. Thu Mar 22, 2007 8:12 am

Same goes, big nose!

158696. Thu Mar 22, 2007 8:13 am

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Flash · 158731. Thu Mar 22, 2007 8:56 am

Does that mean (serious question here) that if you see a child with hanging lobes and both his parents have attached lobes then it follows that at least one of them is not his biological parent?

Here's my logic:

Let hanging lobe allele be X
Let attached lobe allele be Y

Y is recessive, so XX, XY and YX all have hanging lobes. Only YY has attached lobes.

Therefore each of the parents must be YY

So the child must have got an X from somewhere other than his parents.

If true, I would think we could run that. Would cause some consternation in living rooms throughout the land, so we'd want to be sure we knew what we were talking about.

eggshaped · 158746. Thu Mar 22, 2007 9:13 am

I'm not sure that genetics is always as simple as the two allele model. But I'm sure someone else will know more than me, I'm looking at you Bob and Gray.

158747. Thu Mar 22, 2007 9:14 am

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Flash · 158749. Thu Mar 22, 2007 9:15 am

That's what I said: "Y is recessive, so XX, XY and YX all have hanging lobes. Only YY has attached lobes. "

158752. Thu Mar 22, 2007 9:18 am

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dr.bob · 158759. Thu Mar 22, 2007 9:35 am

Assuming that earlobes really are dictated by a simple genetic dominance relationship, then you could definitely run the "does this child belong to these parents" question. The important thing, I'd guess, is to make absolutely sure that earlobes are controlled by such a simple genetic process. If not, you might cause divorce proceedings up and down the and unintentionally.

One thing about the ears growing in old age:

158761. Thu Mar 22, 2007 9:40 am

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Flash · 158926. Thu Mar 22, 2007 12:35 pm

Not sure this was clear from the foregoing, but the thing about how your earlobes can save money which would otherwise be wasted on paternity testing kits appears safe, thanks to the link that Garrick posted.

Jenny · 158941. Thu Mar 22, 2007 12:56 pm

Up to a point, Lord Copper... What if you had an child who was not the offspring of his putative father, but was the offspring of somebody else with a similar earlobe gene? The earlobes would be OK but the child would still be the cuckoo in the nest.

Gray · 159094. Fri Mar 23, 2007 5:11 am

Albeit a cuckoo with ears.

MatC · 161162. Thu Mar 29, 2007 9:56 am

Here’s a story about an animal that understands foreign languages ...

Gray · 161304. Thu Mar 29, 2007 1:36 pm

Molly Cule · 161445. Fri Mar 30, 2007 4:37 am

Voila a high speed Japanese train called Fastech which uses cat's ears that pop out as brakes.