Hair is not simply red
QUESTION I was told at a hospital recently that redheads tend to require more anaesthesia before surgery than other patients. If this is true, why? onLY in 2000 did scientists identify the gene responsible for red hair, the melanocortin 1 receptor (MC1r) protein, a key protein involved in regulating mammalianskin and hair colour.
About 25 per cent of the British population carries a mutated version of MC1r that causes red hair. With one infour people as carriers, the chance of two people having a child with red hair, along with pale skin and light eyes, is about one in 64.
Some research has shown that redheads require more anaesthetic, implying that redheads may be more likely to awake earlier after anaesthesia compared with those with other hair colours receiving the same dose of anaesthetic agents.
A 2005 study in Anaesthesiology concluded: ‘ results indicate that redheads are more sensitive to thermal pain and are resistant to the analgesic effects of subcutaneous lidocaine.’
A 2004 study demonstrated that the requirement for the volatile anaesthetic desflurane is greater in natural redheads than in dark-haired women. the theory is that the MC1r gene belongs to the same family of genes that play a role in pain, and the mutation causes redheads to be more sensitive to it. MC1r’s role in the brain may affect the activity of endorphins, one of the body’s natural painkillers.
A 2009 article in the Journal of the American Dental Association revealed that, as a result, redheads were twice as likely to avoid going to the dentist as people with other hair colours.
However, some caution should be takenwith these results. An Australian study from 2012 in Anaesthesia Intensive Care, using a much larger sample size, concluded there was ‘ no significant difference in recovery times, pain scores or quality of recovery scores in those with red hair’. the same MC1r mutation that turns hair red also releases a hormone inthe brain with the ability to mimic endorphins. endorphins have several functions, but one primary role is to provide pain relief. this ultimately affects how the body receives pain signals from the brain, causing a heightened sensitivity to prescription opioid painkillers.
As a result, redheads can take smaller doses of these drugs to reach the same level of paintolerance as others.
Dr Ian Smith, Cambridge.
QUESTION Where is the longest funicular railway in the world?
tHe SMC Funicular was built in 1911 to take passengers from Sierre to the skiresort of Crans-Montana in Switzerland, a distance of about 2.6 miles.
At the time, it was impossible to manufacture a single cable to pull the train, so the route was split into two, joining up at Saint-Maurice-de-Laques (0.67 miles from Sierre), where a transfer between the funiculars could be made.
When the funicular was completely renovated in 1997, the two segments were merged. It reopened on December 16, 1997 with the journey time reduced from 30 minutes to 12 with no need to change trains. this makes the SMC funicular the longest in the world with a drop of 3,041ft. Its maximum speed is 18mph.
J. Khan, Hinckley, Leics.
QUESTION Does the trawler Cornelis Vrolijk really have the right to trawl 23 per cent of the British fish catch?
UnDer the eU’s Common Fisheries Policy, each eU country is allocated a quota of fish it may catch off the coast of eU countries. there are controls on the types and size of fish and where they may be caught. Boats in breach of the rules may be intercepted and the captainprosecuted. Large fines and the confiscationof fishing gear may result.
to manage the fishing fleets, countries divide up their quota and allocate it to fish producer organisations (FPo). the UK Ministry of Fisheries divides the fishing quota into four, administered by england, Scotland, northern Ireland and Wales and each re-allocates its proportionto its regional FPos, representing individual or collectives of vessels operating in UK waters.
Several FPos cover the english fishing ports, with some overlapping into Scotland, northern Ireland and Wales. Some FPos specialise in fish types, such as shell fish, crab and lobster.
the fact that certain types of fish are difficult to catch has led to ever larger trawlers, remaining at sea for longer, processing the fish while on board and setting it ashore already frozen. the Cornelis Vrolijk is one of these trawlers.
Cornelis Vrolijk is a pelagic fish trawler, catching fish species which live at middle depths rather than just beneath the surface or at the bottom. this doesn’t include either cod or flat fish — its maincatch in the north Sea is herring.
Although the Cornelis Vrolijk is Dutchowned, it’s British-registered at KingstonUpon Hull (registration letters H171). Its owners pay tax in the UK and state that they employ British fishermenon board. So it’s legal for the ship to bid for a share of the British fishing quota, under licence from the eastern england FPo.
It does, however, discharge its catch at the Dutch port of Ijmuiden, which is also legal. Herring is far more popular innorth-West europe than in the UK.
According to a november 2014 report inthe times, five foreign- owned vessels hold one-third of the British fishing quotas and the Cornelis Vrolijk holds 23 per cent of the English quota.
technically, a British owner could register his boat in the netherlands to gain access to Dutch waters. Under eU laws, it isn’t the nationality of the owner that matters, but the port of registration. on paper, the Cornelis Vrolijk is British.
Bob Cubitt, Northampton.
IS THERE a question to which you have always wanted to know the answer? Or do you know the answer to a question raised here? Send your questions and answers to: Charles Legge, Answers To Correspondents, Daily Mail, 2 Derry Street, London, W8 5TT; fax them to 01952 780111 or email them to charles.legge@dailymail.co.uk. A selection will be published but we are not able to enter into individual correspondence.