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The Origin of Mysterious, Dark-Skinned Blonds Discovered
Residents of the Solomon Islands in the Pacific have some of the darkest skin seen outside of Africa. They also have the highest occurrence of blond hair seen in any population outside of Europe. Now, researchers have found the single gene that explains these fair tresses.
A single mutation is responsible for almost half of the variation in Solomon Islanders' hair color, the scientists reported Thursday (May 3) in the journal Science. Most strikingly, this gene mutation http://www.livescience.com/18518-humans-broken-genes.html seems to have arisen in the Pacific, not been brought in by fair-haired Europeans intermarrying with islanders.
"[T]he human characteristic of blond hair arose independently in equatorial Oceania," study researcher Eimear Kenny, a postodoctoral scholar at the Stanford University School of Medicine, said in a statement. "That's quite unexpected and fascinating."
Kenny and her colleagues traveled to the remote Solomon islands, where study co-author Sean Myles, now a professor at Nova Scotia Agricultural College, had previously noted a surprising number of blonds.
"They have this very dark skin and bright blond hair. It was mind-blowing," Myles said in a statement. "As a geneticist on the beach watching the kids playing, you count up the frequency of kids with blond hair, and say, 'Wow, it's 5 to 10 percent.'" [Photos of Beautiful Beaches]
That's not very far off from the proportion of blond-haired people in Europe, Kenny said. The researchers gathered saliva from 43 blond and 42 dark-haired Solomon Islanders to analyze for clues to the genes behind their hair color.
A genome-wide analysis turned up a shockingly clear result, rare in the world of genetics where a single trait can be influenced by dozens or more genes. A gene called TYRP1, which resides on the ninth chromosome of human's 23 pairs of chromosomes, explained 46.4 percent of the variation in the islanders' hair color. (Chromosomes are coiled packets of DNA.) A mutation in this gene affects an enzyme known to be involved in human pigmentation, the researchers found.
This mutation doesn't appear in European genomes, an analysis of genomes from 52 human populations around the world revealed. Rather, it seems to have arisen independently and persisted in the Melanesian population.
That makes the gene different from the one responsible for blue eyes, which arose from a single common ancestor between 6,000 and 10,000 years ago. Before then, there were no blue eyes, they said.
The find solves a nifty genetic mystery, but it also highlights the dangers of assuming that genome findings from one population will translate to another, said study author Carlos Bustamante, a professor of genetics at Stanford.
"If we're going to be designing the next generation of medical treatments using genetic information and we don't have a really broad spectrum of populations included, you could disproportionately benefit some populations and harm others," Bustamante said.
You can follow LiveScience senior writer Stephanie Pappas on Twitter @sipappas. Follow LiveScience for the latest in science news and discoveries on Twitter @livescience and on Facebook.
Same physical attribute as some Solomon Islands yutes: blond hair...
All the above having been posted....Anglo_Battywashologist go suck yuh madda and drop off a cliff guh dead....please and thanks...
TruthAndRights Member # 17346
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TruthAndRights Member # 17346
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I'm not letting this one get lost lol....
asante-Korton Member # 18532
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but but but but only Caucasoid have blonde hair
TruthAndRights Member # 17346
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quote:Originally posted by asante-Korton: but but but but only Caucasoid have blonde hair
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Anglo_Pyramidologist Member # 18853
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Melanesids are not Negroid, so what exactly is your point?
Djehuti Member # 6698
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^ Well as far as craniofacial features go, they are though they are the most distant to Africans! Which is why there's no such thing as "Negroid" or "caucasoid" or racial groupings in general.
Djehuti Member # 6698
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quote:Originally posted by TruthAndRights: The Origin of Mysterious, Dark-Skinned Blonds Discovered
We have some in America as well like this woman here:
quote:Originally posted by Djehuti: ^ Well as far as craniofacial features go, they are though they are the most distant to Africans! Which is why there's no such thing as "Negroid" or "caucasoid" or racial groupings in general.
Djehuti Member # 6698
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quote:Originally posted by Troll Patrol:
Is she east African?
No, but she is a special kind of 'African'. LOL
TruthAndRights Member # 17346
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quote:Originally posted by Djehuti:
quote:Originally posted by Troll Patrol:
Is she east African?
No, but she is a special kind of 'African'. LOL
Anglo_Pyramidologist Member # 18853
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quote:Originally posted by Djehuti: ^ Well as far as craniofacial features go, they are though they are the most distant to Africans! Which is why there's no such thing as "Negroid" or "caucasoid" or racial groupings in general.
Nope. They cluster with Australoids.
Omo Baba Member # 18816
posted "The human characteristic of blond hair arose independently in equatorial Oceania," study researcher Eimear Kenny, a postodoctoral scholar at the Stanford University School of Medicine, said in a statement. "That's quite unexpected and fascinating."
This mutation doesn't appear in European genomes, an analysis of genomes from 52 human populations around the world revealed. Rather, it seems to have arisen independently and persisted in the Melanesian population...
That makes the gene different from the one responsible for blue eyes, which arose from a single common ancestor between 6,000 and 10,000 years ago. Before then, there were no blue eyes, they said.
Another "caucasoid" fake castle toppled.
Meanwhile, ca$$hity pyranut still don't get it as he mumbled: Melanesids are not Negroid, so what exactly is your point?
Mike111 Member # 9361
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quote:Originally posted by Anglo_Pyramidologist: Melanesids are not Negroid, so what exactly is your point?
quote:Originally posted by Djehuti: ^ Well as far as craniofacial features go, they are though they are the most distant to Africans! Which is why there's no such thing as "Negroid" or "caucasoid" or racial groupings in general.
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Truly - is there two more pathetic brainless morons on the internet?
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Troll Patrol Member # 18264
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TruthAndRights Member # 17346
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Anglo_Battywashologist >
anguishofbeing Member # 16736
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quote:Originally posted by Troll Patrol:
quote:Originally posted by Djehuti:
quote:Originally posted by TruthAndRights: The Origin of Mysterious, Dark-Skinned Blonds Discovered
We have some in America as well like this woman here:
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go suck yuh madda and drop off a cliff guh dead....please and thanks...
![[Frown]](frown.gif)
![[Embarrassed]](redface.gif)
![[Big Grin]](biggrin.gif)
You beat me to it- this exact picture, I mean