Scientists have discovered the origin of blue eyes. Apparently, at one time, everyone had brown eyes, until a genetic mutation changed the course of human appearances.
From The Sun:
A STUDY by the University of Copenhagen has found that people with blue eyes have a single common ancestor.
According to researchers, a genetic mutation which occurred between 6,000 and 10,000 years ago determined the eye colour of all blue-eyed people today.
Speaking to Science Daily, Professor Hans Eiberg revealed that originally, everyone had brown eyes before a genetic mutation influencing a gene in our chromosomes “turned off” the ability to produce brown eyes.
This reduced the amount of melanin in our irises, diluting the colour from brown to blue.
For some unknown reason, the mutation only affected our eyes, meaning hair and skin colour maintained the same levels of pigment.
If that same gene switched off completely, it would result in albinism.
While there’s a fairly large variation in iris shades between green and brown, blue eyes have a small variation in the amount of melanin present.
According to professor Eiberg, this allows us to conclude all blue-eyed individuals are linked to the same ancestor.
He said: “They have all inherited the same switch at exactly the same spot in their DNA.”
Tell us what you think of this scientific development in the comments section!