Is this actually true???

Sunny' 🌻@slrpnk.net to Asklemmy@lemmy.ml – 79 points –

I got this sent to me today by a friend, but somehow doubt it's true? Anyone got any knowledge around this?

30

Why would you trust random people on lemmy over a basic resource like Wikipedia?

"These lines are only visible in those with a mosaic[1][2][3] skin condition or in chimeras where different cell lines contain different genes." So yeah click bait article

The point is that everyone does have them, but only rarely are they visible to the human eye.

Have you considered that maybe they are visible in the UV spectrum? Cats can see different frequencies that humans can't see. The Wikipedia article does not confirm nor deny this.

They could be. But again, only if the cell lines have different properties.

It's true for half the species. Women have those stripes. Each cell of a woman's body only needs one active copy of the X chromosome, so when they're very young each cell will turn off a copy at random. Each cell that cell divides into will have the same copy turned off, so patterns develop. Those patterns of cells absorb and reflect UV light differently based on which copy is turned off. If you can see in UV light, women are stripey.

Edit to add: after further reading it appears that men have Blaschko's lines too, although more faintly. If so, the X-inactivation explanation is wrong, or at least incomplete.

Are these the stripes I earn when I eat my frosted flakes?

No the prisoners forced to farm the corn earn those from the overseers prison* guards.

*Edited. I hate this device.

Well if an animal sees different electromagnetic radiation frequencies than we do then it’s possible that our complexion would appear different (and maybe in some manner of pattern) to said animal versus a human. It’s possible our melanin responds in patterns that are noticeable under other em frequencies outside of what our eyes perceive as light. I imagine this could be tested with equipment sensitive to em bands outside human visual perception.

This isn't the right community for this?

Asklemmy is meant for open ended discussion questions, whereas this seems better for askScience or something similar

That is indeed the very first criteria listed in the sidebar, despite you being showered in downvotes for saying it.

These types of questions are posted constantly, sometimes they do appear to get removed if you report them though.