Moles : How & Why ?

[scientistsahai]

Hi

we all have seen and have moles on our bodies. Can anyone tell me why are they formed and at what stage of development ? Some children have moles since birth and sometimes very symmetrically located like at same position on both hands, feet etc.

Is it hereditery or not and what is the physiological importance of them ?

Please answer and if possible do send me the links to the references too.

[Nevermore]

Moles are a subdermal collection of pigment. They have no apparent cause or purpose.

[scientistsahai]

Moles are a subdermal collection of pigment. They have no apparent cause or purpose.

 

Can you plz relate ur answer with some text so that's helpful in verifying it

[aaronmyung]

sorry I cant be much help with whatever your doing research for. but according to what nevermore said, it seems like hes sayign that the fact that my grandmother, father and I all have a mole on the same place above our lips. :S freaky

[Govind]

Moles have no apparent reason to appear on anyone's body..and quite frankly..I have never seen anybody grow a mole (like a pimple) on their body. It's usually since birth and therefore more appropriately known as birth mark!

[scientistsahai]

Well I am one gud example whose moles grew on the hand after the age of 12 and have remained as of now the same size as it were.

My neighbor has a mole on her cheek that has been growing since her birth..... so how do u account for that ??

[insane_alien]

i think that they may be hereditary in some cases. i have seen this in my own family as me my dad and my grandpa on my dads side all have a mole on out backs at roughly the same position. they even look similar.

[Auburngirl05]

My father and brothers also have moles in similar places on their heads, but I don't remember if both of the boys had the mark at birth or not...I know that not all moles are there from birth, it's not uncommon at all to develop new ones.

[aaronmyung]

sure those growing moles aren't skin cancers?

[Auburngirl05]

Some can be, but for the most part no. I think but could be wrong: do melanomas resemble moles when they first start to develop?

[scientistsahai]

Well the question still remains why are they formed and how? Is it linked to the amount of exposure to sunlight, dietary habits or something else. Please can anyone throw some light on it ?

[Guest Swetrata]

Auburn, melanomas are nearly identical to moles at the early growth stage. The distinguishing features are any iregularity in shape, color, or degree of protrusion (are they bumpy/knobbly). That is not a definite diagnosis though, the only way to really tell is to biopsy it (cut off a bit and give it to the lab). I believe moles are formed by both genetics and sun exposure.

[aaronmyung]

well I was born with one so genetic would be in right swetrata?

[husmusen]

My understanding is that moles are static, they don't change over

time much, melanomas are malignant melanocytes(The pigment

producing cell in skin), The 4 rules are,

 

A for assymetry.

B for border, is it irregular?

C for colour, is it changing or uneven?

D is for diameter, is it bigger than 6mm?

 

There is also a suggestion by the original researchers to

add an E for evolving, that is, is it changing over time?

 

My own suggestion is: no, don't wait and see, if it matches 2

of the above go to the doctor straight away because if it escapes

your basically up shit creek without a paddle.

 

Cheers

[Keki516]

Moles are a subdermal collection of pigment. They have no apparent cause or purpose.

 

This sort of looked like a definition for freckles, and I remember reading a section about UV radiation and how melanocytes protect DNA in Signs of Life: the Language and meaning of DNA by John Pollack, that freckles are areas where melanocytes have more pigment.

 

Moles appear after birth, but I have noticed "new" moles. I have been meaning to go get them removed and checked.

 

http://www.ohiohealth.com/healthreference/reference/C425D20A-25B3-4789-BDC8FEDC04AB2A90.htm?category=questions

 

Now that I have typed this I am not sure if I added anything new but I will post it anyway.

[insane_alien]

I got the first 3 of those but i had it biopsied and it turns out its just a regular mole.

[Helix]

Moles are actually benign tumors, they are a group of mutant cells. Moles differ from cancer in that they don't make the leap to malignancy or metastasis (they don't spread). So moles are a form of tumor, they just are a benign tumor.

[Helix]

My understanding is that moles are static' date=' they don't change over

time much, melanomas are malignant melanocytes(The pigment

producing cell in skin), The 4 rules are,

 

A for assymetry.

B for border, is it irregular?

C for colour, is it changing or uneven?

D is for diameter, is it bigger than 6mm?

 

There is also a suggestion by the original researchers to

add an E for evolving, that is, is it changing over time?

 

My own suggestion is: no, don't wait and see, if it matches 2

of the above go to the doctor straight away because if it escapes

your basically up shit creek without a paddle.

 

Cheers[/quote']

 

Concerning the size, tumors (malignant or otherwise) can't grow beyond 10mm without undergoing angiogenesis. Angiogenesis is the recruitment of blood vessels. The blood vessels supply the tumor with nutrients, at the expense of somatic cells, that enable the tumor to grow to large, sometimes scary, sizes.

[starbug1]

I have a question: Besides sunlight and genetics, what about the diet aspect? I have noticed that heavier people tend to have more moles. Sometimes an unbelievable amount. This is, in my opinion, bad diet and poor standards of living (in some cases). I know I've read somewhere that this is one reason for mole growth/change. Is there any more science behind it?

[ecoli]

Here's my chance to be funny...

 

"A mole is an animal that burrows in the ground,

Or a spot on your chin that you gotta shave around.

But there's another kind of mole of interest to me,

That's the kind of mole they use in chemistry.

 

 

Chorus: A mole is a unit, or have you heard,

Containing six times ten to the twenty-third,

That's a six with twenty-three zero's at the end,

Much too big a number to comprehend.

 

 

Say you had a mole of pennies to distribute 'round the world,

Give to each of the five billion grownups, boys, and girls,

There wouldn't be a single person down and out of luck,

Cause everybody in the world would get a trillion bucks.

 

Or say you had a mole of paper and stacked it toward the sky,

Paper's awful thin, but that pile would get so high.

It'd reach up into outer space, in fact I think you'd find,

It'd go up to the moon and back, eighty billion times.

 

 

Chorus: A mole is a unit, or have you heard,

Containing six times ten to the twenty-third,

That's a six with twenty-three zero's at the end,

Much too big a number to comprehend.

 

 

Suppose a mole of marshmallows fell upon the planet,

Over each square inch of land and sea, think that you could stand it?

That layer would be twelve miles high and of course block our sun,

We're talking close to five million trillion tons.

 

Well, maybe we could save ourselves if we all started eaten',

One marshmallow each second, not two 'cause that'd be cheatin',

With forty five billion people munching, how long do you think it'd take?

Forty million years, and that's without a bathroom break.

 

 

Chorus: A mole is a unit, or have you heard,

Containing six times ten to the twenty-third,

That's a six with twenty-three zero's at the end,

Much too big a number to comprehend.

 

 

But say you had a mole of atoms, would the pile be immense,

Should I say the answer now or leave you in suspense?

Well, atoms are so very small, very small, you understand,

You could hold a mole of atoms in the palm of your hand.

 

So shake a little sugar in the middle of your palm,

Now you don't want to spill it, so try and stay calm.

You hardly can imagine and barely realize,

There're more atoms in that sugar than stars up in the sky.

 

 

Chorus: A mole is a unit, or have you heard,

Containing six times ten to the twenty-third,

That's a six with twenty-three zero's at the end,

Much too big a number to comprehend." - © Copyright Michael Offutt 1988

[Martin]

that's great

hats off to Michael Offut!

 

 

 

EDIT: I found a link to his home page, he seems to have 40 or more songs.

Teaches AP chemistry and physics courses in a Chicago area highschool, and performs, records.

 

do you have other science lyrics, Ecoli?

[ecoli]

My dad got his tape when it first came out (hes an AP bio teacher) and I've alwayed loved it...along with a few other of his songs. I know some other science songs like that, but none are as good...and to be perfectly honest, I don't really remember who they are right now.

[starbug1]

I'm turning that into a biology lab rap. gonna sing it for the whole class.