Single ancestor traced back for blue-eyed people

Posted on Jan 31st 2008 4:00PM by Adams Briscoe

The University of Copenhagen out of Denmark has managed to trace the genetic lineage of blue-eyed individuals all the way back to a single ancestor. By studying various people from distinctly unique countries like Jordan and Turkey, they discovered that everyone had brown eyes in the beginning.

However, at some point in our history, a switch was triggered which caused brown eyes to transition to blue. The way this happened was that the amount of melanin in the iris became "diluted" as they put it. This switch appears in the same genetic spot for each person, linking back to a common ancestor. The scientists referred to this as a mutation of the "OCA2 gene" which toned down the amount of melanin produced.

It just goes to show you that mutations such as these can produce beautiful results!

Source

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Tags: color, eye, eyes, genes, history

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 8)

Heather 2-04-2008 @ 6:06AM

Perhaps aliens were the diluting factor.

TK 2-04-2008 @ 1:11PM

LOL! That's hysterical! :-) You could be right, LOL!

patty 2-04-2008 @ 9:42PM

There is a song about this!
Don't It Make My Brown Eyes Blue.

I"m not a mutant, but half my siblings are. LOL

alissa 2-04-2008 @ 6:48AM

I thought they were going to say WHO blue eyed people were related to. I was reading for either a name or some sort of idea who the ancestor was. The title as usual, as most are, was very misleading,

Bobby G 2-04-2008 @ 8:35AM

I could smell a rat in the headline immediately. Now since we don't know WHO, we can only wonder what might have happened to WHOever it was. It might have been quite sensational to be the only blue-eyed beauty in the world. At least we know they didn't get exucuted for being some kind of demon. At least not until they had time to pass the gene along. Who? Dude. Dude! DUDE!! oh, dude. D-u-u-u-u-de. Dude?

kat 2-04-2008 @ 8:53AM

That's what I thought too, but it still is interesting. I'm one of the variations, with hazel-green eyes.

Team ...ahhh whatever ... 2-04-2008 @ 11:01AM

So was I ,but alas it is just a vague description of how they believe it happened .And a gene that is shared between us "Blue Eyes" =) !

RJ 2-04-2008 @ 11:30AM

hey, sup babygirl? You got blue rods and cones?

Dave 2-04-2008 @ 6:53AM

COOL! I'm a mutant! Do I get some really cool leather or spandex costume? (What am I saying!!! Spandex has NEVER been cool.....)

Pati 2-04-2008 @ 9:02PM

Dave Dave Dave-- the man who says Spandex isn't cool, has never been behind a fit, sexy cyclist who makes you want to chase him down and do bad things to his tight body and smoothe legs. Spandex rocks, and boy don't I Know it! I Love my sport!

cody 2-04-2008 @ 6:54AM

So, when two blue-eyed folks get together there's a potential for incest?

frank 2-04-2008 @ 6:55AM

i can trace it back to where it ALL began,,,, THE TOWER OF BABEL!

carol 2-04-2008 @ 9:38AM

hmm, maybe Adam-Brown; Eve- blue

Michael 2-04-2008 @ 11:46AM

Frank, you got it Brother! God did it ! and besides if you choose go to any optometrist and they will make you what ever color you want.

Jason 2-04-2008 @ 12:35PM

I hope that 'Tower of Babel' comment was a joke. That is a complete misinterpretation in the Bible of what a ziggurat really was in Mesopotamia. It didn't 'change languages' or 'eye colors.' And that came much, much later in history anyway.

Margaret 2-04-2008 @ 7:01AM

I have blue eyes and all my children and grandchildren have blue eyed. even with some brown eyed spouses.

Kelsey 2-04-2008 @ 7:03AM

Hmm. yea. the tower of bable. but im pretty sure that only changed languages.. not eye color.

hmm 2-04-2008 @ 7:16AM

Isn't anyone curious where green eyes came from?

Stacey 2-04-2008 @ 8:48AM

Genetically, green eyes are actually blue with a higher lipid (fat) content. Lipids are yellow; yellow and blue make green. So, you too, are one of us!