Blue for you: Danish researchers have concluded that the genetic trait that leads to blue eyes comes from the mutation of one gene some 6,000 to 10,000 years ago.
Courtesy wikipediaDo you have blue eyes? If yes, you’re genetically connected to Paul Newman, Brad Pitt and Gwyneth Paltrow according to the findings of a new study.
Researchers in Denmark have announced their finding that all people with blue eyes have a single, common ancestor. Their theory is that a genetic mutation occurred 6,000 to 10,000 years ago that was the beginning of the blue-eyed phenomenon.
Through their study, all humans at first had brown eyes. A mutation created an on/off switch in a specific gene controlling eye color of humans. When triggered to switch off, it stopped the body’s ability to make brown eyes, researchers say. More scientifically, the off switch reduces the body’s ability to create melanin in the iris of the eye. With less melanin, brown eye coloring is diluted to blue.
It’s a very specific mix of genetic code that leads to blue eyes, the researchers continue, while there is much diversity in the genetic make-up of brown- or green-eyed individuals.
The best way to think of it, the researchers add, is that our genetic make-up is like a deck of shuffling cards. The traits from our genes recombine in various forms to impact things like hair color, baldness, freckles and beauty spots. Those changes don’t have a huge impact on the survival of their carriers.
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OK, I read this article. In the news, I mean. And I hoped someone would post it here, because I'm confused.
My mother has green eyes. My father's are blue.
Two of my siblings have blue eyes. My other brother and I have green eyes.
My husband and I both have green eyes.
Our older daughter's eyes are green, but our youngest has blue.
Everyone's done those super-simplified Punnett Squares where you figure the probability of traits for offspring of a parent with blue eyes and a parent with brown eyes. But those are too simple to tell you anything about people with green eyes. And, darn it, isn't it all about me? :)
The Tech Museum has a good answer to your question from a geneticist. One of their visitors wrote in with a similar question to yours and the answer describes how people actually end up with brown, blue, or even green eyes. As with many things it is more complex than the simple explanation we normally hear. Put simply, eye color isn't linked to one single genetic trait.
That's kind of scary to think that you can be related to someone that you don't even know. But in a way I feel like it's a cool thing. My eyes are not blue but I kind of feel like this pretains to every color eyes.
Twila Turnage
ok..i have a question for biology. We have this question "if you could choose 5 traites you would want your offspring to have, what would they be and explain why for each. i said i want them to have blue eyes..but i dont know why. HELP!
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