Hair, or fur, is one of the hallmarks of mammals, the group of animals to which we belong. It is an evolutionary innovation that provides us with protection and helps us to maintain our constant body temperature And while hair is a uniquely mammalian feature, its genetic building blocks are anything but. A new study has found that genes responsible for building the locks on your head have counterparts that construct the claws of lizards.
Hair is made of proteins called keratins, which interact with each other to form long, hard filaments. Keratins are widespread in the animal world but those that make up mammal hair are different to those found in scales, claws, feathers and beaks of birds and reptiles.
Until now, scientists had thought that hair keratin genes were a mammalian innovation that evolved after our ancestors split away from those of reptiles and birds, some 310 million ...
