Tuesday, October 21, 2008

It's too late...

I received an email yesterday from our friends at ItsOurTree that said young men have the chance to figure out their risk of losing their hair by growing their family tree. According to the email:

"Researchers found out which of your ancestors is responsible for men’s genetic probability of losing hair early. Building the family tree on itsourtree.com can help men determine their personal risk of losing their hair and improve therapeutic results by starting treatment earlier.

"...Scientific estimations showed that about 80 % of cases of male baldness are inherited. Until now, researchers have assumed that male baldness is passed down to men from their mother’s father. Recent findings have added another possibility: the inherited baldness is closely linked with genetic variations on two regions of chromosome 20. Thus, male baldness can be passed down from the female line of the family as well.

"Building the family tree and uploading the relatives’ photos on social family website itsourtree.com can help men determine their probability of losing their hair. The free site offers a clear overview of male ancestors from both the female and the male line of the family in combination with the exact familial relationship. Early prediction and therapy may lead to better results and stronger hair."


Hmmm. My mother's father? I don't think so - Lyle Carringer and his father Austin Carringer had pretty good hair up until the end of their lives.

Not on my father's side either - my grandfather Frederick W. Seaver had a widow's peak late in life, but not a bad head of hair. My father's hair late in life was even fuller than his father's.

Alas, it seems too late for me...as witnessed by my picture that appears on every Genea-Musings post.

Where do I think I inherited my nearly hairless pate? I'm guessing that it came primarily from Charlie Auble - you can see his glorious head here. He is my great-grandfather, with two female generations between me and him.

So here's a warning to all of my young male readers (both of them...) - find pictures of your male ancestors, get their genome tested, and if you find that certain baldness gene on chromosome 20, start hair treatments immediately.

Look what it did for Joe Biden - do you think he would be a candidate for Vice-President if he hadn't had hair plugs transplanted? If he wins the election, I'm sure it will be touted as a victory for those of us who believe that "God made only a few perfect heads - and the rest he covered with hair." If he loses, he will probably complain about discrimination against the "follically challenged."

2 comments:

Improvedliving said...

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lyn said...

I have not found baldness on my mothers side - on my father's side my grandfather and g-grandfather were bald - (my father wasn't bald but he died in his mid 50s so might have balded had he lived longer). My brother also balded - but I doubt he got the gene from our mother. These men all had the bald on top, fringe on the side type of baldness.