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While a medical student, Thomas Huxley discovered the layer of the internal root sheath of hair that still bears his name; he garnered greater fame as the defender of Darwin and a champion of the role of natural selection in evolution. Huxley would be gratified by the application of molecular and population studies of hair to biological and evolutionary conundrums. The articles and editorial on the genetic underpinnings of hair disorders discussed by Dr. Tsao are classic examples of how the study of rare inherited disease can illuminate new metabolic pathways important to the understanding of function and structure.
A large consortium studied genetic factors related to ethnic differences in hair structure, screening 170 genes associated with…