1600 words
I’m currently reading Nicholas Wade’s A Troublesome Inheritance: Genes, Race and Human History, and it’s an outstanding read. He succinctly puts the science of racial differences so it’s easy for the lay person to understand. I’ve come across a part in the book where he talks about race and body odor. In the past, I’ve gotten into discussions on how and why different races have different body odors. My article Gene Expression by Race is great to get up to speed on the differences I’ve already written on in regards to the races of man.
Robert Lindsay has a good post on race and body odor, but I thought I’d add more information to how and why these differences exist.
East Asians have thicker hair than do Africans and Europeans. The gene, called ‘EDAR‘, is present in both Africans and Europeans, however a different type of this allele is widespread in East Asian populations (Han Chinese, 93 percent; Japan and Thailand about 70 percent and 60 to 90 percent in ‘Native’ Americans [which makes sense since we know that they branched off of Siberians around 10kya]). This allele is called “EDAR-V370A” since the V (valine) and A (alanine) switched on the “370th codon” (Wade, 2015: 88).
East Asians who carry this allele have thick and shiny hair. However, correlation is not causation, blah blah blah. So researchers genetically modified a strain of mice whose EDAR gene was converted into the form that East Asians carry. The results were shocking. The mice with the East Asian EDAR variant had thicker fur, and more eccrine glands in their footpads. Sweat glands come in two forms–eccrine glands which secrete water to cool the body and apocrine glands which secrete proteins and hormones (Wade, 2015: 89). Looking at the Chinese, we can see that they do carry significantly more eccrine glands!! Moreover, the mice also had smaller breasts. If East Asians had this EDAR variant then, logically speaking, they would have smaller breasts and what do you know: they do! This is, most likely, the reason why East Asians have smaller breasts than Africans and Europeans.
Another prominent effect of the EDAR variant that East Asians carry is the proclivity for shoveled teeth. When viewed from the back, East Asian teeth look ‘shovel-shaped’. The reason that this single gene is able to effect a lot of the phenotype is because this gene is active early in development. “EDAR has a great influence on the body because it’s switched on so early in embryonic development and helps shape organs such as the skin, teeth, hair and breasts” (Wade, 2015: 89).
Why does this singular gene have so many effects? One posited reason is thick hair and small breasts were admired by men (and thick hair for women) and this is what drove the selection (sexual selection). Another possibility, says Wade “is that many or all of the effects of EDAR-V370A were advantageous at one time or another, and that natural selection favored each in turn” (Wade, 2015: 90).
Turning our attention to Africans, they have more eccrine sweat glands, and, in comparison to East Asians, Africans have wider pores in their skin. Due to this, blacks have a stronger scent when sweating than East Asians. Conversely, East Asians have smaller pores.
I no longer have access to the source of this next quote, however, I have parts of the text saved:
There are fewer apocrine glands in Orientals and Native American Indians than in Blacks and Whites. Apocrine glands excrete fat and protein along with water (Poirier et al p 567).
The amount of chloride excreted by sweat glands varies by race: Blacks have more chloride in sweat than do whites. Acclimatized Whites excrete less chloride than unacclimatized whites– a useful adaptation (text 452). Water loss can be considerable: in extreme temperatures young males can loose 4 liters per hour. Thus, human ancestors in tropics must have always had ready access to water (see Overfield for many details).
So since apocrine sweat glands excrete more fats and proteins along with water, this explains why the two races differ in smell in comparison to East Asians. It also makes sense that ‘Native’ Americans would have fewer apocrine glands than Caucasians and Africans since they split off of East Asians around 10-15 kya. You can also see that blacks have more chloride in their sweat. Now, I’ve never encountered this myself, but I’ve seen numerous people say that blacks smell worse than whites or East Asians. This does have a biological basis, and it has to do with pore size, pore type and amount of chloride excreted by the sweat glands.
Of course, like with a lot of traits (not all), whites fall in the middle.
“Almost all Europeans have and all Africans have the wet earwax allele of the ABCC11 gene. The sharp differentiation of the two alleles implies a strong selection pressure.” (Wade, 2015: 90) The function of earwax is to prevent bugs from flying in the ear. Obviously, if the wax is wet (like Africans and Caucasians), the bug won’t be able to get too far into the ear before it gets stopped by the wet earwax. And as luck would have it, the two alleles of the ABCC11 gene are involved in the apocrine sweat glands (Wade, 2015: 90).
The apocrine sweat glands, unlike the eccrine glands, are restricted to the nipples, eyelids, armpits and other special areas on the body. These glands make slightly oil secretions, the specialty of which is to secrete earwax. The glands are odorless, but begin to cause a smell after bacteria begins decomposing dead skin cells(Wade, 2015: 90-91).
East Asians, having the dry earwax allele produce fewer excretions from their apocrine glands and, thusly, have less body odor. “Among people spending many months in confined spaces to escape the cold, lack of body odor would have been an attractive trait and one perhaps favored by sexual selection.” (Wade, 2015: 91) I love this!! It makes so much sense. East Asians were already selected for smaller sweat glands which, along with their dry earwax, produce less of a strong smell when they are perspiring.
Wade further goes into the earwax/body odor relationship and states that the dry earwax allele is almost universal in north China “but yields to the wet allele toward the south.” (Wade, 2015: 91) Most, but not all East Asians have the dry earwax allele, as well as the EDAR-V370A allele.
For a final point, it is assumed that all races have roughly the same skin structure. HOWEVER, morphological differences exist between the races. To quote Ruche and Cesarini (1992):
Under the microscope skin structure is roughly the same in all races, but morphological differences exist, particularly within the epidermis, with potential practical consequences. In comparison with white skin, the black skin stratum corneum is equal in thickness but more compact: about twenty cell layers are observed in blacks versus sixteen layers in whites. The lipid content of black epidermis is also somewhat higher, and this perhaps explains the greater cellular cohesion, hence the difficulty in stripping off the black horny layer. These findings could also explain a slightly inferior permeability of black skin to certain chemicals. The hair of blacks in naturally more brittle and more susceptible to breakage and spontaneous knotting than that of whites. The kinky or wooly form of black hair, the weak intercellular cohesion between cortical cells and the specific hair grooming practices among black people account for these effects. The higher electrical resistance of black skin suggests that the black epidermis would be less hydrated than white epidermis. Anatomically, the amount of sweat glands in black and white skins is identical and varies with climatic changes but not with racial factors. Likewise, sweating is thought to be similar in both races, taking into account the contradictory results from studies, but black subjects withstand humid heat better while whites cope better with dry heat.
So racial factors have no bearing on this, but climatic changes do. Generally, Africans come from humid climates nearer to the equator while Europeans come from cooler places farther from the equator. So we can say that, technically, there is a racial variation between the two.
And from this website on body odor:
Excessive sweating is a more common problem for Caucasians and Africans, who tend to have more hair follicles to which the apocrine glands are attached. East Asian people appear to have less and smaller apocrine glands, which explains why they might not need to use deodorants as often as populations of Africa and Europe (see paragraph below). As a matter of fact the deodorant/antiperspirant market in Asia is much smaller than in the western world. Surely, though, there may be many exceptions since body odour is obviously influenced by many factors, for example by one’s personal diet (spicy asiatic food etc.).
Below this section, the article talks about earwax and body odor, which I have covered above.
Differing allele frequencies between the races of man produce differing phenotypes based on where that groups’ ancestors evolved. Changes in certain alleles and not in others clearly led to differences in phenotype that did not occur because the environment was different between the races. These pheno and genotypic differences *prove the existence of race*, along with modern-day genomic testing. The fact that the races differ, albeit subtly, on numerous traits proves the existence of race, population, whatever you want to call it. It doesn’t change race’s reality.
If you have not read it, buy it!!! You’ll be a better and sharper race-realist as Nicholas Wade is an outstanding researcher and can explain complex concepts very simply.
NotPoliticallyCorrect 
It’s good to see someone who is going against the ignorance present in the majority of people in this world. I don’t see how people tell themselves “race is only skin color” meanwhile you can clearly see the differences in skull shapes just by using your eyes when looking at Africans,Europeans,Asians,etc.The bullshit Theory “race is only skin color” is made for political reasons rather than facts. May you make an article about the 700,000 year old Europeoid skull found in Greece? Also may you make an article on how Russian geneticists further disprove the Out of Africa Theory? AtlanteanGardens is a site talking about the Russian geneticists.
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Correct. Anthropologists can see the race of a skeleton by looking at the skulls and bones. Skin color itself is only an adaptation to UV rays. It’s a good proxy for race, but it doesn’t tell the whole story.
Sure, I’ll get on that this week. I know that a lot of White Nationalist sites cover things like this attempting to prove that European genetic history stretches back further than what it actually is.
They’re a joke. I covered this in my article Out of FACTfrica.
I have read a few papers recently that rethink OoA, and they’re much better cited/argued than Khylosov’s paper. I’m going to cover it soon.
Most OoA deniers are ideologues. Furthermore, a subset of OoA deniers are Christian Identists who believe that whites are the true Israelites of the Bible. People of this persuasion deny ape-to-man evolution (that we share a common ancestor with chimps/great apes), which is completely ridiculous. I covered that here and here. The biggest piece of evidence is Chromosome 2. Creationists use a ton of mental gymnastics to attempt to explain that away. If it weren’t so funny, it’d be kinda sad.
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Are we all related to all the animals on this planet? Also I’m guessing that Neanderthals share this Chromosome 2 with Apes as well. I’m not religious, I’m against this OOA Theory because of how the white race is brainwashed to race mix. The German government in particular was promoting intermarriage between the “migrants” and German women which is genocide.
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Yes. All species are derived from a single cell.
Yes. Divergence dates for Neanderthals and us are between 370,000 to 706,000 ya (370,000 y, 459,000 y, 516,000 y, and 706,000 y; Hodgson and Disotell, 2008), so they most certainly did have it.
While I understand your anger, it’s never good to be against a valid scientific theory due to emotions. Always evaluate and refute arguments; never reject something due to emotion.
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I don’t think EDAR prevalence is due to sexual selection. I think it would be too weak a factor, especially in a small population with few potential mates. Also, when it first appeared, every potential mate smelled as bad as everyone else and should have been effectively “blind” to the prevailing body odor.
On a number of occasions a trait that I first thought could only be explained by sexual selection, however weak, later proved to have an explanation by natural selection, which has left me skeptical of quick recourses to sexual selection explanations unless there is reason to think it is, or was, a fairly strong effect. In the case of EDAR, I think the most probable explanation at this point is that something about the effect of EDAR on sweating made people living in ice age climates under primitive conditions less likely to develop frostbite. This also explains why the gene is more common as you move from south to north in Asia.
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I’m rethinking my view there. Here is a good piece by Greg Cochran on the allele:
Understanding EDAR
Wade’s hypothesis in Troublesome Inheritance is good, but like most Natural Selection/sexual selection HBD hypotheses/theories, they fall into the category of ‘just-so’ stories‘. Most HBD theories fall under the category of ‘just-so’ stories.
I’ll write something new on this soon.
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When I was a Matrine in Vietnam..I noticed that their was a smell or odor that Vietnamese had..When you went into their villages and cities you could smell the odor. Many said oh its the rice they eat..but it is a race smell to me…Also In USA when you go into Black Areas they had a distinctive Musk Smell…Same for Mestizoe Areas..The Mestrizoes have a funny grecey smell thats is emitted from their hair someway..Every pure race has a disctinctive smell or odor.. The Japanese say Gringos stink because we have sweat glands under our arms and they dont…..You will notice how the fake Science and liberal Fake News rejects this..They also reject specific DNA Markers for Race and even Mystery Meats Mixed races have a DNA Marker in the blood…The Governments of West for many many years have a secret program were they take DNA Blood Samples frrom all babies heels born in hospitals and its sent to FBI DNA Date Bank..All people who were in Military or went to VA Hospitals..they have you Blood sample also..The most censored info is on Nordic Rh Negatives…and we are Devolving thru race mixing …not evolving andd dont start harping about Hybrid Vigor bercuase it is not long lasting…The Elites trying to make GMO Humans by mixing them is insanity..Of course the Elites want to be the Masters over all the created Mystery meat Mixed Races of world..We are not all ONE..we are all different by race..and blood…
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One more comment to think about…You will notice how Race Consciouness and Race Soul and Race Instincts have been erased in Whites since the 1950s..I know its brainwashing Crap and Vaxes and Chemtrails Nano Tech and GMO stuff in food that causes this to..but their might be something much greater as a cause..WHIGGER GOLEM CYBORG HIVE MIND VIRUS or some call it Black Magic Kabballah Talmudic Zionist Virus…almost all whites now are infected with this to hate their own race and worship their Zionist Masters and they love ZOG and will kill and die for ZOG.. They also have built Radar abilities to spot people who are racially conscious and they go into Attack Mode…Many say the Rh Positives are the Mutants not the pure Nordic Rh negatives…We live in a Devolving world..Everything is being insanely mixed up..of course with the Zionist Masters as the Masters over their Mystery Meat Slave GOYIM creations…Also keep in mind how OXY LOVE DRUG and GOD GENE VIRUS and LITHIUM is being used on the populations now for dumbing them down..The race Mixing creates lower IQs by the way…This Globalist Muliti Cult Insanity is Genocide for all…Know one thing for sure the ELITES are working hard to destroy the DNA RACE SPIRITUAL MARKER..plus all Nordic Rh Negatives are being targeted for Genocide..and they have WIFI and G-5 fregs from Cell Towers/Cell Phones to stiralize the populations……to hell with PC crap we need truth not bull crap..
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Race isn’t “skin color”.. There is also only one race, which is mankind. We have different ethnicity (variations- within the race of man), pretty much like dogs, which come in all shapes, colors, sizes, have their little differences here, and there.. But at the end of the day, its a damn dog- as we are all just humans. The ONLY things that matter, and always will, is CULTURE… And of course the individual themselves.
The concept of race, is looking more and more ridiculous- as we discover new things about humanity in general, as well as genetics.. The concept of race, is more of a modern thing, as ancient man did not look at like we ridiculously do today. They understood the different physical appearance, but were more concerned with culture.
All of this race rubbish, is just that.. Rubbish. Old crappy ideas, that always ended in millions of people losing their lives, due to being seen as “less than”, because of their ethnicity.. Eurocentrics, Afrocentrics, progressive/leftist, sjw, Islamic fascist… They basically represent the scum of the human race.
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If all dogs are the same, would you really leave a baby with a starving pit bull or Doberman pincher over a chihuahua? Would you rather leave your home for extended periods with a fox terrier or a St. Bernard? Temperament is a part of dog breeding, and it accounts for enormous differences in behavior and outcome. Some breeds are known for the intelligence, other not so much.
So humans are all one species, but we are not of the identical “breed”. Indeed, differences in the genetics of various races are as marked as those between different dog breeds, and we all acknowledge that there are profound distinctions there.
Differences in brain neuronal capacity and prevalence, IQ, brain architecture, functionality, physical stature and musculature, hormone production etc. etc. are marked across all the races. These are not superficial differences.
We are not all alike.
It is illogical to presume equal outcomes when it is so clear that we are all so very different genetically. Science is inextricably linked with politics and there are areas of study which are simply forbidden, for better or worse.
But as long as this area of science remains taboo we will be holding scientific inquiry back decades and shaping public policies based upon lies.
Knowledge is power. I’m 5′ tall and female. I won’t be in the NBA. That is not prejudice. It’s based upon my abilities, which are not the same as someone who is 6’5″ and male.
My IQ is 137 (or 140,depending on the test). One in three hundred men are as smart or smarter than I am. But only one in 2,100 women will be similarly disposed. That isn’t sexist, it is science. This disparity alone accounts for the current ratio of women in STEM being approximately ten to one. And all the feminist theory in the world can’t change biological facts. You can encourage more women to seek careers in STEM, but IQ will ultimately frustrate their attempts because you need an IQ of at least 140 to be successful in these fields and science says that fewer than one in ten women will have it.
PC science is a dangerous lie which can manipulate people into believing fairy tales like we are all alike. It makes us fight one another over perceived oppression and wrongs that actually don’t exist. Note: there is plenty of actual oppression and wrongs – however it doesn’t help us if we think it is going on when it isn’t. Facts matter. To me, anyway.
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@leslie landberg:
what the fuck are you talking about?
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LOADED,
That appears to be a typical lower IQ response, emotionally based, rather than intelectually reasoned. Btw, all these analysis on race will eventually come to a conclusion in a few thousand years, which is very quickly on the human evolution scale. Due to increased migration, and modern travel, eventually, the various races in the world will morphe, through mixed breeding, into a singular race. This is inevitable, and will likely result into a singular brown skinned, brown eyed human race. Then all these arguments over differences in race can finally be put to rest. These future descendants will look back into race history with great amusement. James, it would be interesting to see if any studies have been performed on a timetable process of race evolution centrification into a single race.
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nah @roland i just was confused as to what she was saying but the more times i read it the more it makes sense.
i get confused at times by wordy statements like hers. no problem though just need to read more carefully next time.
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Very well summarized, Lesle Landberg! I totally agree with your summary.
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LOADED
Long time ago that we conversed. I sent 2 mails to your e-mail address, but you still didn’t respond… Did I have the right e-mail address?
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i dont think you did ms. piper. maybe it would be in the best interest for us to get you to send you an email from me!
or perhaps RaceRealist (RR) could send you mine over email and get you acquainted with myself.
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What do you exactly mean, LOAEDED? You gave me your e-mail address a few months ago so that we could discuss the topics further, remember (in June)? Well, meanwhile, I already sent 2 mails to your address! So where are your responses? And what has the Race Realist to do with it???
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classbiomed@gmail.com or cassbiomed@gmail.com are my preferred emails i dont understand how im not getting them through to my inbox.
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What do you exactly mean, LOAEDED? You gave me your e-mail address a few months ago so that we could discuss the topics further, remember (in June)? Well, meanwhile, I already sent 2 mails to your address! So where are your responses? And what has the Race Realist to do with it???
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i was interested in exchanging emails with you but i dont think you correctly sent it to the ideal email address. if you resend your emails to the correct one then i would respond but i would need to get RR to email you my address first make sense?
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