Scientists spot gene causing curly hair

The groundbreaking research at the Queensland Institute of Medical Research (QIMR), Australia, identified the trichohyalin gene as the one that is mainly responsible for creating curls.

The discovery, which will help predict whether a baby will have straight or curly hair, can also allow detectives to use DNA found at the scene of the crime to indicate how wavy a suspect’s locks are.
Professor Nick Martin, head of the QIMR Genetic Epidemiology Laboratory and author of the research, said it is variation in this gene that determines straightness or curliness of hair.

He also stated that their research may now pave the way for treatments to make hair straighter as an alternative to heated hair-straighteners.
“Potentially we can now develop new treatments to make hair curlier or straighter, rather than treating the hair directly,” Prof Martin was quoted as saying by ‘The Telegraph’.