BLACKS WITH BLUE EYES: NATURAL PHENOMENON OR GENETIC MUTATION??

It is generally believed that black people do not possess blue eyes. The blue eyes has always been associated with the Caucasians (whites). In many scientific studies and a more recent one conducted by the Copenhagen University the genetic mystery of "blue eyes" is said to have originated from the northeast coast of the Black Sea.
                                 Haitian girl with beautiful blue eyes

 So why are some few black people have "blue eyes' nowadays?  The answer according to scientists could only be attributed to genetic mutation or Waardenburg syndrome (WS),which is a rare (1/40,000) disease characterized by sensorineural deafness in association with pigmentary anomalies and defects of neural-crest-derived tissues. 
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                                       Blue eye African-American

However,it is also a historical truth the Africans colonized Europe over 10,000 years ago and they were inf fact the first homo sapiens to cross Europe to Asia and south pacific. Could it also be that some blacks with blue eyes may have gotten blue eyes from  their ancient  African ancestors and whites that inter-bred during Africa`s colonization of Europe? This question has become more relevant as some few children born of both African/100% black parents possesses "blue eyes."


          African boy with blue eyes.This photo is, perhaps, the best example of a black African, non-mulatto, non-albino, with blue eyes. Also, the boy in the picture does not appear to have Waardenberg Syndrome, also a source of blue eyes in blacks. This leaves the strong possibility of a rare mutation of a key eye color gene.


       Zimbabwean boy with blue eyes.The photographer, Vanessa Bristow, called it The Boy with the Sapphire Eyes.


                          Sierra Leone  boy with Blue eyes

                          Blue eyes as a Result of Wardenberg Syndrome


There are four types of Waardenburg Syndrome, with a mix of possible characteristics as the determinant. Medical challenges increase with type. The boy in the picture is displaying two major symptoms of type 1, as does the previous boy (perhaps) (); bright blue eyes and dystopia canthorum, a condition where the inner corners of the eyes are set more widely apart, but with normally distanced eyes.

Waardenburg occurs once in every 42,000 births, and is a deficiency inherited from a single parent, who may or may not display similar characteristics. Regarding the eye, color abnormalities come in three forms; heterochromia (multiple colors), bilateral isohypochromia (pale blue eyes), or fundus (reflective) pigmentary alterations (spottiness).

                                                       Laren Galloway (blue eyed black child)

So, besides naturally occurring genetic blue eyes in dark skinned people, as previously discussed, understanding Waardenburg's is another avenue of accurately recognizing phenotype (gene expression) in eye color.
                                 African deaf blue eye person


Below is a story on the origins of blue eyes :

All blue-eyed people can be traced back to one ancestor who lived 10,000 years ago near the Black Sea

By MICHAEL HANLON


                                                 Black girl with blue eyes

Everyone with blue eyes can be traced back 10,000 years to the Black Sea region
Throughout history they have been the eyes that are prized.
Frank Sinatra's were legendary, Paul Newman's melted a million hearts while Cameron Diaz's dazzle in modern Hollywood.

But how - and why - blue eyes arose has always been something of a genetic mystery. Until now.
According to a team of researchers from Copenhagen University, a single mutation which arose as recently as 6-10,000 years ago was responsible for all the blue-eyed people alive on Earth today.
The team, whose research is published in the journal Human Genetics, identified a single mutation in a gene called OCA2, which arose by chance somewhere around the northwest coasts of the Black Sea in one single individual, about 8,000 years ago.

Actor Michael Ealy has sky blue eyes.
The gene does not "make" blue in the iris; rather, it turns off the mechanism which produces brown melanin pigment. "Originally, we all had brown eyes," says Dr Hans Eiberg, who led the team.
And most people still do. The finding that a rare mutation, probably dispersed in the rapid wave of colonisation that followed the end of the last ice age, highlights one of the great mysteries of human evolution: the oddness of Europeans.
Those from Europe and the Near-East have many characteristics that set them apart from the rest of the human race.
Not only are Europeans far more likely to have blue eyes (95 per cent in some Scandinavian countries), they also have a far greater range of skin tones and hair colour than any other ethnic grouping.

It is only in Europe that you will find large numbers of blondes and redheads, brunettes, pale skins and olive skins, blueeyed and green-eyed people living together in the same communities. Across the rest of the world people are almost uniformly darkhaired and dark-eyed.
Why this should be remains unknown, and in particular how such mutations can have arisen so quickly since Europe was colonised by Africans just a few tens of thousands of years ago.
One theory is that Europe's cold weather and dark skies played a part. Fair skin is better at making Vitamin D from the 8 per cent of the world's population have blue eyes weak sunlight found in northern latitudes.
Another suggestion is that the strange skin, eye and hair colours seen in Europe are down to ancient interbreeding with the Neanderthals, who died out about 25,000 years ago.
Maybe the Neanderthals were blonde or red-haired and it is their genes which we have inherited. The trouble with this theory is that there is no evidence, from the scraps of Neanderthal DNA that have been recovered from bones, that there was any substantial interbreeding between them and Homo sapiens at all.
Perhaps the most plausible theory is that blonde hair and blue eyes arose because of a mechanism called sex selection.

Zimbawean boy with blue eyes

This is where males and females choose as their mates those who have one unusual physical characteristic, not necessarily associated with "fitness" per se but simply something unusual.
The gigantic (and otherwise useless) tail of the peacock is the best example.

Sex selection comes to the fore when there is a lot of competition for mates of one sex or the other. The theory is that in Europe, where men had to spend weeks at a time out on the hunt, males were in very short supply.
In such societies, women who had flaxen locks stood a better chance of standing out and attracting the attention of the few men that would have been available for mating.
Even back then, the blue-eyed blonde was not only in demand, but also definitely would have had more fun.


Comments

  1. Amazing! Still find it all a bit freaky but very very interesting

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    1. Quite freaky. The sharp contrast between the blues eyes and dark skin is new to me. Wow, some communities in africa may label such persons as witches.

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    2. have you ever been to africa.? thats stupid. Africans know mutations...blonde hair blue eyes are a few genes away from albino-ism, and we have plenty of those...

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    3. I am 100% African, Kenyan. Unfortunately millions of people in Africa DO believe in witches/devils just because a fellow African is different. Their thinking is very backwards. The Albino population in Tanzania for example, people actually hunt them down and hack off their limbs because they believe they have magical powers. They do not care about learning about science that proves genetic mutations. Even gay people, they face the death penalty in some countries in Africa.
      I remember when we visited our family back in Kenya, a neighbor was considered a "witch". We were told to make sure not to leave anything that was personal to us. Freaked me out. Supposedly at night, while we were sleeping, the "witch" walked around the house we were in trying to peer into the windows at us. Even with AIDS...people believe sleeping with a virgin would cure AIDS, so that is one way HIV/AIDS spreads.
      A ton of backwards thinking still permeates the minds of Africans...I am sad to say.

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    4. I am the photographer for the boy in Sierra Leone. Thankfully nobody in Sierra Leone believed he was a witch. They seemed to accept him and were eager for me to see him as well. He was very personable and seemed to be loved by the village. However, he also could neither speak nor hear.

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    5. I find the contrast between the dark skin and blue eyes is both remark and beautiful. Great selection of photos

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    6. These people are probably 5000 times closer to what the actual La Branca 1 looked like alive than that bogus photo of some white dude that some artist painted. The person in most probability looked like a black skinned modern day person
      http://www.trbimg.com/img-52e6d898/turbine/la-sci-sn-ancient-european-dark-skin-blue-eyes-dna-20140127

      The LIARS know this to because in the supplemental data from the study they found that the specimen was most probably Y-chromosome DNA Haplogroup C.The most ancient groups with C Haplogroups are Australian Aboriginals, and Papua New Guineas.


      http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/vaop/ncurrent/extref/nature12960-s1.pdf on page 15
      "When mutations defining those haplogroups were checked,
      only ancestral alleles were found in the haplogroup F-defining mutations, whereas
      seven C-defining mutations (M130, M216, P255, P260, V183, V199 and V232) showed
      only derived alleles. Thus, La Braña 1 most likely belonged to haplogroup C. The actual
      distribution of haplogroup C is thought to be a consequence of a single out of Africa
      migration through Southern Asia, followed by a northward migration that eventually
      reached Siberia and the Americas"

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    7. Just by the way, blue eyes are a genetic mutation. It is theorized that the first people on Earth had brown eyes.

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  2. I think it's strange to say these blue eyes are the symptom of a disease. I know Waardenburg has many other symptoms, so i wonder if they stand alone or accompany many other symptoms because if they don't I'd say these eyes are like a gift from God.

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    1. I agree with you DeZelle12. They are a gift from God!

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    2. soooo, does it make them see better or something? being that its "a gift from god"

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    3. it means there natural and there nothing wrong with them.. as opposed to what the artical has said labeling them as diseased and mutations. every one is a gift from god and just because there different dosnt mean theres some thing wrong with them. if that was the case we would all be inbread and look more similar then people do to day

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    4. youre retarfed. obviously you dont kbow how to read cuz youre too busy worshipping god "work". it clearly said only a few of them were caused by disease. the other were unexplainable, and just happened to be genetic in the same way white people get blue eyes. this was the whole point of the fucking read!

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    5. I'm just going to point out that, for someone insisting another should learn to read. You should first, learn to spell and second, learn to capitalise letters. I think the focus of Daniel F's words, were that the word 'disease' tends to have negative connotations. Rather, consider the possibility that people are different, and we should be proud of our differences and uniqueness.

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  3. Just a pure gift from God. Such a beautiful thing. My son is 24 and has brown eyes but if he angered his eyes turn blue and this has been since he was born.

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    1. The lighter your eyes are the less melanin, without melanin you have serious problems seeing in the sunlight. That's why albinos have trouble seeing outdoors. To have a slight blindness in the sunlight in the motherland is actually a curse...

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    2. Wow! That is weird Natasha. I will dream to see something so strange. Lol

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    3. I have heterochromia- My eyes change 4 different colors. Hazel when I am contempt- normal, dark green for when I am sad and bright green for when I cry, brown when I am angry, and blue when I'm excited. It is a gift and I love my eyes. To see them change throughout each day is always a new wonder. (thecleverone_neo@yahoo.com)

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    4. Wow you sure must be a fascinating sight to behold. You are lucky.

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    5. Madison: That is not heterochromia. Heterochromia is having 2 or more separate colors in the an eye or eyes. Like I have a cat that has 1 blue eye and 1 yellow eye. The changing of the color of your eyes based on mood is something else. What you have are Hazel colored eyes. Due to the amount of pigment or lack there of. Environmental effects can give the optical illusion that they are changing color, when it's really the light reflecting off your eyes or numerous other thing that can effect it. While it is a cool effect, your eyes are not actually changing colors. Melanin levels don't change that quickly for it to be possible. They can change over time like how kittens are all born with blue eyes and they change about 6 weeks.

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    6. Another interesting thing about blue eyes and cats is that solid white cats with blue eyes can't hear and if the cat has heterochromia, it can only hear out of the ear on the same side as the non-blue eye. On a side note I have blue eyes and so do my 3 brothers and late father. My mother is the only one who doesn't have them in my immediate family. Blue eyes is also a recessive trait, which means both parents must give the gene for it. this means, my mother has 1 blue eye gene and 1 brown eye gene and passed the blue eye gene to us all, similar to how my father passed the male gene to us all.

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  4. Your friend was only partially correct, since she is conflating genetic mutation with the subjective assessment of the term "error". All changes in genetic transposition can be considered errors, but those errors are what happen to progress the evolutionary process. Not all changes in the genetic code result in obvious genetic expression, and most will result in non-viability of the organism. If the change has a benefit (or at least, confers no harm)to the organism, it will (possibly) be passed on to that organism's offspring. That's how evolution works, cool, huh?

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  5. Wow...the lack of knowledge about eye color and genetics displayed in both the article itself and the replies here is kind of staggering. Most of it seems to be made up from cultural myth and preconception, rather than any study of actual genetic predisposition in real human beings.

    Coming from a heavily diverse ethnic gene pool myself, my family background incorporated many different eye and hair colors. I have brown eyes which are upturned slightly, no doubt due to the influence of my Chinese and Native American relatives. My skin is the color of milk chocolate, my hair is dark brown and wavy rather than kinky, what black folks erroneously call "good hair" because it is effortless to take care. All of these things are determined by the genetic soup of genes, as are the eyes of most everyone pictured here, because somewhere in their family tree there is one of the (granted, scarcer)groups who feature blue eyes.

    People with blue eyes developed evolutionarily in cooler climes, and without the necessity to have dark skin or eyes to protect them from strong sunlight conditions. The black people pictured from African countries are folks whose families, in the past, likely had contact with white traders, and an amount of cross breeding took place. Blue eyes being a recessive trait, would not appear in every person in the line thereafter, but they would occur randomly down that slightly mixed bloodline. No big deal.

    For people with genetic of other diseases which cause a change in perceived eye color, it is simply part of the disease process. Either way, we have to stop mooning over blue eyes and dark skin as if it is special or notable in any way--the world is a much greater genetic melting pot than it was in the time of slavery, when the trait of blue-eyed blacks was first strongly noted on a cultural level--there should be no more surprise associated with blue eyes on a person ethnically regarded as Afro American, than a blond with dark brown or black eyes. We are all pretty mixed these days. NO BIG WHOOP.

    And the idea that eyes "change color" during emotional upheaval is not only ignorant, it is also silly as well as baseless. It is usually the IDEA of the change being in the mind of the observer that causes this to happen. Your eyes do not change color except according to the lighting conditions of the room itself, and when you are angry, perhaps you open your eyes up wide--which might make them appear brighter, no doubt due to more surface area of the reflective iris being exposed to greater light. See? Perception, not reality. Much like many of the things noted in the article above.

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    1. I guess you have never heard of or seen color shifting eyes.

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    2. You wrote an excellent statement. Thank You!

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    3. Well, I disagree about the change of tone - I myself have eyes that are blue/green/grey, and very much depending on the weather and my state of being (probably blood circulation) they could look simply grey with a touch of green or pretty much blue when I cry for example.
      A number of people who know me have noted this and told me as well, without me mentioning anything beforehand. I just laugh and say, I know! I have multicolour eyes.
      About the notion of perception, it may be the case of course that this is just sheer perception, but then it is a perception shared by a number of people in the same way in similar occasions.
      Well anyway.
      God bless! And have a nice day.

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    4. My manager's eyes were blue, but then I noticed they were green on another day. I spoke to him about it, and he told me "yeah I get that alot." I asked him why does it happen, are you stressed out? He doesn't understand it himself, and doesn't look at himself enough to figure it out is what he told me.

      And also, no.. Africans and African-Americans didn't out of the blue develop genetic diversity from European settlers. African descendants are the most genetically diverse group of people on Earth. It is scientifically proven from genetic studies that human migration from Africa to Europe occurred some 30,000 years ago. The genetics of the founders of Europe and Asia have less genetically diverse. "The DNA of European-Americans appears to carry proportionately more harmful genetic changes than that of African-Americans, because they emerged from a smaller and less diverse population."
      http://www.telegraph.co.uk/science/science-news/3326376/African-DNA-has-more-genetic-diversity.html

      African descendants have been documented to mutate and create blonde hair, from a genetic marker not found in European descendants. So the mutation of blue eyes is not impossible.
      http://www.livescience.com/20078-gene-mutation-blond-hair.html

      So for the love of God, and the love of humanity, how about we respect the genetics of African descendants and stop with ignorantly portraying European settlers has the originators of genetic diversity. Thank you.

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    5. Sorry but you do have one thing wrong here. I know someone very intimately who has almond brown eyes, no flecks of green or yellow, a flat, though beautiful, clear almond brown. When he's excited, they turn the most beautiful deep olive green you've ever seen. So yes, some people do have the trait of eye color change during emotional moments.

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    6. It's called an optical illusion. They're eyes are not really changing color. It is lighting, water in the eyes reflecting light when crying, blood flow, and who knows what else that gives the illusion the color is changing. It really is not as that would require a change in Melanin levels that doesn't just change that quickly. A person's eyes can darken or lighten over time, aka yrs, but not in a matter of minutes because of a mood change.

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    7. So it seems to me that basically they are saying blue eyes are african just more common in european/caucasians. In other words they are not exclusive or originateing from "whites"(european/caucasions) I would say its important to realize considering that i notice people try to claim something in their favor. a number of white people easily hype about how they get blue eyes especially if they are blue eyed. Esentially i would say anyone born with blue eyes is just likely to be born with a vein streak especially a blue eyed born female individual. I personally have always favored brown eyes, especially in men, and i have been personally mesmerized by hazel eyes (deep/darker brown with apparent tones of green in this case..) In my eyes i see that to be more rare and mesmerizing. Blue eyes are not even as rare as people say really, just a type that is not as common as brown. I would not associate blue eyes with beauty unless the person is especially beautiful like all of the people we can obviously see have all around beauty in their bone structures, facial shapes, exoticness or skin. I also just find it to be somewhat weird or eccentric for a very dark skinned person to have such a bright/light eye color.

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  6. LOL... I could be condescending here but I will let your arrogance mock you since you are clearly young and have no basis for your opinion... I won’t call you by name but you know who you are… meantime you were probably born with blue eyes like most humans... but please don't take my word for it... http://chemistry.about.com/cs/howthingswork/f/eyecolor.htm or pretty much any other article under eye color change… when born my hair was black and my eyes blue, as an adult my eyes are hazel and my hair a kind of dirty blond with red… my brother was born with white blond hair and blue eyes, his eyes are now also hazel and his hair dirty blond with brown… our hair texture and skin tones changed too… people, especially of mixed heritage, can change seven ways from Sunday, after birth and thru puberty, sorry you remained so bland… Natasha many people perceive eye color to change, it is not ignorant just an unexplained observation, keep in mind that people who talk down to others often know the least, their ego’s and narcissism don’t allow a learning curve. Eye color in fact can change as our irises do not actually hold color but reflect light variation depending on pigment or lack thereof, thus some albinos seem to have red/pink eyes when in fact they simply reflecting blood vessels. Think of the way there is no blue universe only black, yet when the Sun filters it creates a spectrum giving the illusion of a blue, pink, yellow, and sometimes even purple sky depending on the time of day. So if your sons eyes are in fact a mix, say perhaps of dark blue outside and brown inside, and he angers allowing pupil dilation and a larger amount of light reflection, the brown can be downplayed into a blue look… also, when the whites of eyes change color, for example when I cry and whites become reddish, my eyes appear bright green… because the red contrasts more with the green than with my grey or blue… however some are asserting that because hormone change is what causes “eye color” (pigment) change in children and adolescents, that extreme hormone level deviation, like the fight or flight response, could change pigment until level of normalcy is reached… I suppose like when women are sexually aroused causing flushing of cheeks, enlarging of lips and breasts up to a half cup, and narrowing of waist until the experience is complete and the body returns to pre arousal state… however I am not sure those assertions of pigment change are based on anything factual rather that there is nothing to the contrary, kind of a why not idealism than an attempt at explanation… much like the way the earth was thought flat and geocentric with circular planetary movement verses round and heliocentric with elliptical movement…no proof for the founding ideals, just nothing to the contrary at the time

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    1. Women do not change shape when aroused. I've never heard of something so silly and I'm not sure where you've heard it or why you're asserting it as fact either.

      And eye color does vary to some degree given light filters and the angle of reflection, but not to such a degree that one's solid brown eyes can appear to be blue. More often than not this blurred line is only between the colors of gray+blue, gray+green, blue+green, and green+brown. These eye colors are difficult to differentiate between either way though, given the degree of variation in the human race.

      Eye and hair color does commonly change as one ages. It's well observed and documented. I myself was born with black hair and blue eyes and over the period of 20 years, they gradually changed to a bright green. My little brother was born with hazel eyes which turned darker brown as he aged. This is normal.

      The idea that a person's eyes change color according to emotion though, is indeed juvenile and mildly ignorant. There's no arguing that, friend. Your eyes do not change color according to mood. Lighting and angling and your own perception of them changes. Sometimes when I wear blue, people will think my eyes have turned blue, but that's not true. They're still green. It's merely a trick of light and reflection which makes them look blue when one does not look close enough. n__n

      I would like to make my eyes turn brown when I get angry though. It's a romantic thought if not a bit silly. lol

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    2. The human form does alter itself when in heat. If you have the chance take a little more notice during intercourse...

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  7. Just want to add a little science without drama. Most humans are not Caucasian so MOST babies are born with brown eyes. It is very rare for a non-white baby to be born with blue eyes. That is why these pictures are so amazing.
    Also light-skinned people got that way not because they didnt need pigment for protection but because a lack of pigment was a benefit in northern latitudes where winter's short days really limited the amount of Vitamin D the body produced. That is survival of the fittest. But a lack of pigment most often means it is not just missing from the skin but from the eyes too. Brown skinned people with blue eyes are so unusual because their body makes plenty of pigment but the gene that makes melanin go into the eyes is shut off. They may be more a little more sensitive to sunlight but the unusual combination is stunning!!

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    1. Pigment is a necessity in northern latitudes to protect from ultraviolet radiation. Lack of pigment is not a benefit. Caucasians migrated from asia to Europe to meet out-of-africa indigenes who did not lighten due to winter. http://www.nairaland.com/955076/black-african-nobility-ancient-europe

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    2. wrong..every human alive today has been traced, through genetics, back to 1 woman and 1 man. both of them, african.. everyone on the planet is of african descent. check NATGEO's the human family tree

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    3. Thank you wonderful observation - MOST humans ARE NOT born with Blue eyes becasue the MAJORITY populous of earth is Melanated with dark eyes. Caucasoids are only a smallest of small fragment of the earths people. Love how whites always want to assert themselves as a majority - NOT!

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  8. The answer is that the greatest genetic variation found in the oldest group of people, the original inhabitants of South Africa. This is due to new genes, mutations do not disappear, but gradually accumulate in a population of people, the older the population the more different genes. When scientists find the gene for blue eyes has its source in the Black Sea, for ten thousand years ago so it may be due to a person from South Africa have carried gene to the Black Sea for ten thousand years ago. But because Africa is not included in the study so the researchers found no rare oldest versions of the gene.

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    1. Exactly! Most studies only include people of European descendants. If African descendants started migrating out of African some 40,000 years ago, it makes sense if the appearance of blue eyes only appeared some 10,000 years ago. It also explains why Native Americans have the least genetic diversity - they migrated further away from the source, thus with a lesser populated group of people comes more harmful genetic mutations and issues. African descendants, and specifically those from South Africa have the richest genetics on the globe.
      http://www.telegraph.co.uk/science/science-news/3326376/African-DNA-has-more-genetic-diversity.html

      And new genes are created from scratch, which is a phenomenon I'm trying to understand more.
      http://med.stanford.edu/ism/2012/may/blond.html

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    2. How coud the researchers come up with a valid conclusion without including Africa, and specifically the populations having blue eyes? ... Answer: They haven't!

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  9. What Peter says makes a lot of sense... "because Africa is not included in the study". Yes, it does all go back to the MotherLand...she has all the riches, all the genetic variances and all the answers!

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  10. I am also an African American with blue eyes so to read this article is just amazing to me!!

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  11. my biracial daughter victoria is a.newborn infant with blue eyes, so pretty.

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  12. I'm an African American and my daughter has blue eyes... thanks for the info because she's 9 now and her father and I still can't explain to her why her eyes blue and everybody else is brown.....

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    1. well blue eyes are not rare in europe,75 % of northern europe has light eyes, and 25 % of southern europe,the average europe is 40-55 % light eyes

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  13. she is right about the error. its a mutation.

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  14. Africans with blue eyes have been going on since the beginning of time. Caucasians descended from the recessive genes of people in Africa. Two people with the recessive gene to create blue eyes would end up having a child with blue eyes. Simple as that. Everyone has genetic markers to create something different. My grandma has a twin and they both look identical except for one thing. My grandma's twin is taller than she is and my grandma is short. Two people who look exactly alike but have a genetic marker that is different in hieght. I'm tired of people talking about whites and black mixing and that's why things are the way they are. If that's the case then why is it that since the beginning of time. Africans have been recorded to have a white baby??? We all come from one race. It's just that genetics choose to create a different branch from time to time when it comes to identity. Other wise we would all look alike.

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    1. thank you...i thought i was on my own...makes a person wonder though, why don't they study white people with brown eyes?

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    2. caucasian dont come from african with recessive genes,caucasians separeted from africans around 70.000 yrs ago.
      The races are just a group of people that isolated themselfs from others for enough time to create phisical and genetical diferences due sexual selection or dapatations to the enviroment.
      blue eyes outside of albinism can only be present in caucasians or people mixed with them FACT.even is logical since having eyes with less melanin will be a disadvantage in warm climates.

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  15. Sorry but most of the blue eyes here look horrible and un-natural. It just doesn't fit their colouring. It doesn't take a scientist to see that something is wrong and indeed it is a genetic mutation, hence the side efeects of deafness etc. I saw one pic that said beautiful blue eyes..lol i was like uuurrrh don't they have eye's to see that brown eye would look so much better with their brown colouring. Definantley a mutation, kind a like downs syndrome, has a certain look. Aww bless them. Peace.

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    1. Earth Angels comment is not only ignorrant, it is also discriminating. That coment is like me saying white men look hideous in dreads--which is so untrue. I am black and think that looks so sexy.

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    2. Blue eye color in whites is also a genetic mutation you ignorant dumbass. and if it evolved once in one population, it's ridiculous to assume it won't evolve again in another. Not all non-whites with blue eyes have a "disease." Anyone educated in biology will know that given the chance, there is nothing to prevent the same allele in a black person going through the same exact mutation that gave rise to blue eyes in Europe tens of thousands of years ago. Blue eyes have evolved in many populations, even nonhuman ones. Cats, rodents, dogs, reptiles, all have evolved blue eyes. Why do people still wrongfully assume that only white people can have that trait? Any living thing with eyes have evolve that trait given time. Seriously.

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    3. Here here for Nidia and gyozaboi. There is something about darker skin coloring with bright blue eyes, its gorgeous. Everyone has their personal tastes but what you just said Earth Angel is just plain ignorant and idiotic.

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    4. I'm black myself and I have to say that I agree with Earth Angel here. The blue eyes on the persons of African heritage look horribly freakish and out of place to me, it just doesn't look right and natural in my opinion, it just looks out of place. Blue eyes on persons of European heritage such as that of the Scandinavian countries, Denmark, Sweden and Norway and some other countries in Europe just looks right and a natural fit but definitely not on an African. I know God works in mysterious ways and has his own way of doing things with his creations but that doesn't mean his subjects( us Humans ) can't or shouldn't question his decisions and ways of doing things at times. Like I said, the comment I made about the African(s) with Blue eyes looking freakish and out of place is just me giving my opinion on such but I still have to say that God is seriously one weird and twisted dude that does weird things to his creations sometimes.

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    5. that's what the man meant when he said "beauty is in the eye of the beholder". i think they are beautiful, and the blue eyes and darker skin is a lovely combo. since i am a blue eyed white man, i come from the same place they did. nice to know

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  16. I find blue eyes not "freaky" but beautiful and green eyes too. In my opinion Blue eyes are freaking amazing on darker skin. So beautiful and mesmerizing

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  17. I just discovered your site while researching the occurrences of blue eyes in those with black skin. Very interesting and I love the pictures you included!

    On another note, I wanted to know if you have done any articles about Burkina Faso and/or the Burkinabe? I am interested in this country and would love to read anything you've written. Thanks!

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  18. This is the natural state of ideal enlightened human being, the beginning or the eventuality? Tell. The onset or the end? The blank Cheque or the blueprint, fill in. Blue is the colour of Exposure. Or could be the colour of a beginning. Evolution. The whites, blacks, caucasians, mongols...... everyone. white could be the highest in the DNA Strand. or could be the first. Who knows what came first..? White or Black in evolution. You tell me. ericmbute@gmail.com - the hen or the egg. Believe in Evolution . I believe in evolution. I think the whites are at the top of the evolved freak, that is the human being. Environmental states conditions cosidered, blue, black, brown eyes. Brown is definetely jungle or warrior. Who are the elders? White or black. And are both here on earth, if a journey was undertaken. Ask yourself and go on the journey to self discovery yourself. A black with blue eyes is an ERROR in eventual mutation, which has a beginning and an end, or a gene showing itself spontaneously. In the end, these are secrets of the universe. Go on the journey, and evolve in the phases. Talk to me. My Uncle has blue eyes. No lenses

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    1. It really isn't about white or black ...it's about melanin. We all have melanin And it is scientifically proven that humanity started in Africa, and migrated out some 30,000 years ago. Evolution is a belief, you're right. However, if you believe in the theory evolution, you must understand that mutations are not ERRORS, it's NATURAL. Some work, some do not. Would you also think "a black" with blonde hair is an ERROR?
      http://med.stanford.edu/ism/2012/may/blond.html

      Instead of asking questions like "Who are the elders, white or black?" You should be asking yourself, "Why is the truth behind the origins of human genetics so misunderstood?" No one wants to hear "my genes are better than yours" I suppose, superiority complexes are destroying humanity... How? If 80% of the world's wars are being fought on the most biologically diverse areas of the Earth, slaughtering and killing such rich sources of diverse genetics, AND myths of diseases like HIV and the such are spreading rapid-fire amonst the indigenous in these lands, after 100 years Earth is going to become a cesspool of incest. A better question is, Why is that happening? And who benefits from this? Surely not humanity has a whole... It's so tragic.

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    2. Evolution is NOT a belief. Evolution is a FACT. It is as much a fact as gravity is. Gravity is not a matter of belief, it's here and affecting you whether you believe it or not. Only a total moron or mentally insane would deny gravity is real. Same with evolution. Only a total moron or an insane person would deny evolution is real. And it's quite telling that those who deny evolution, suffer from a severe mental disease called "belief in god" that is spread by religion.

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  19. My dad had a blue ring only on the outer part of his eyes. We are black/native American. My eyes are the normal brown, but once when I felt at total peace, after a day at the beach, my eyes turned blue like his. I have only seen it once and don't think I will ever witness it again. Not this day and age.

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  20. It is not always something in the genetics that goes wrong. We all come from Adam and Eve, so it is quite normal that some people who are black will have blue eyes, look at the couple in England, who both were black and had a child who was blonde with blue eyes and pure white skin! There is NOTHING WRONG, it is in the gene pool coming from Adam and Eve..

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    1. Trying to understand Adam and Eve and your statement "We all come from Adam and Eve, SO it is quite normal that some people who are Black will have blue eyes". What do you know about Adam and Eve that leads you to make such a statement?

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  21. Thank you for this great post! These people's eyes are extraordinarily beautiful. I was looking for some blue eye images as reference for a novel I'm working on, and I found the perfect eyes for my main character in a picture of one little boy on this page. My character's look is complete now because you shared this. Thank you!

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  22. The baby in red is one of my husband's cousins. He and his sister were gorgeous babies and are beautiful adults now! My grandmother had gray blue eyes. My mom's eyes change colors depending on the clothes that she wears....

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    1. Wow, that is so cool. I have seen his picture before. I just had a baby a few months ago & she is bright skinned with blue eyes & brown hair & in pictures for some reason it looks red. She is just beautiful. Her dad & I are a little on the dark side so when people see us they think its wierd that we have a very bright baby with blue eyes. We hope her blue eyes stay. That little boy is so cute, I know his mother is proud to have a beautiful baby like him.

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  23. Mutations could be bad for the individual but is a necessity for the vigor of any species.

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  24. Personally, I don't buy the "Sexual selection" theory. There are people in the South Pacific with dark skin and naturally blonde hair that arose from an independent gene line of the ones that gave Europeans blonde hair. They don't seem to worship blonde or light hair as more desirable. Maybe it's because no one from the outside ever told them it was. I think the "sexual selection" theory is simply white supremacy masking itself as a scientific theory.

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  25. Why do we have to argue about every damn thing?? Why the condescension in our correction? Why the incessant need to have not only our say but the last word? This is why we remain a house divided as black people. And this is why we remain so fragmented that our struggle results in so little progress. Why unity remains more rare than a black child with blue eyes. I'm sad for us. SMH

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    1. Gr8 topic as well as discussion;) I agree with Hope Who? We should b able 2 agree 2 disagree;) May God bless us my African/American ppl;) #we'vecumsofar&havmuchfurther2go;)

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  26. My Brother was born with Blue eyes and are now grey/green colour. They changed colour all the time from blue/gre to grey green. I have no idea why they changed.

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  27. I also find this very interesting. I was just wondering if a lot of Black people have pale, pale skin but dark hair and dark eyes (I'm trying to explain the presence of this minor character in a story I'm writing--he seems way out of place) when I came across this article. I am Black, lighter-skinned, dark eyed, and my immediate family and many members of my extended family are browner than me. I grew up in the Southern United States in predominantly Black communities. Most of the people I knew have dark hair, brown skin, and dark eyes. You get lighter brown skin and hazel sometimes, but most people I've known have deeper shades of brown all around and dark eyes. Hair, eye, or skin color that is lighter or white is definitely an anomaly where I come from; these people are presumed to be part white whether they are or not and this is ignorantly considered to be better than being of darker brown shades.

    So what does bother me about comments I've read on this post is the fact that, like where I grew up, people have been raised to love and praise whiteness and anything associated with it (including blue eyes) but despise and look down anything brown, anything that is associated with Blackness or of the African ancestors. Internalized racism as a result of the trauma of slavery's history and purposeful miseducation of the people is such a burden where I've come from. Its sad (and frankly annoying and frustrating) to see so many people fawning and fainting over blue-eyed brown children and pale-skinned non-white children when most of us are NOT blue-eyed, are NOT albino, and are oftentimes the objects of rabid racism and colorism. People using African couples having white-skinned children as a reason to shout "AH HA!" or make some kind of point. It really doesn't do any good to go on about how "we're all from Africa" or of the same family, or to prattle on about genetics and evolution, when racism, disregard, and hate taints so many people's perspectives and minds, especially Black people.

    I definitely agree that it CANNOT be assumed that blue eyes in Black or African peoples comes from whites. Though it is refreshing to be reminded of how interesting genetics can be.

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    1. Stating genetic facts has nothing to do with racism or hate, or thinking that one race is better. I come from a family of scientists, and blue eyes ARE a recessive trait that originate in white Northern Europeans, and/or Eastern Europeans. If they are found outside of this, then they are due to mixing with those groups, disease or genetic mutation. Either way, they are still beautiful. Some of the blacks photos on this page though, are clearly mixed-race with whites, as their other features give that away.

      I am so tired of hearing about the "trauma" associated with slavery in black people. What the media and falsified public school system does not teach, is complete history. For example, every single race on the planet has a history of slavery! As a by and by - blacks enslaved their own people, sold them as such throughout history, and in some parts of Africa continue slavery to this very day. The anger about black slavery, and need for revenge should therefore be correctly directed to blacks in Africa. Not whites.

      For those of you who are curious about "white" slavery, they were kept for hundred of years by the Mongolians, Romans, and in the Middle East. They were treated far more barbarically than any black ever was by white-Europeans. Their heads were cut off just for entertainment, or because they over-baked a loaf of bread. It took "whites" hard fighting, and hundreds of years to climb up and out of that evilness. Yet, as a whole we don't hear "whites" expecting any special treatment, consideration, or favor from the mass public; or from the racial groups and countries that enslaved them.

      Sadly, you find also find beautiful light eyes in the Middle East because whites were kept as slaves. Keep that sad fact in mind next time you see a picture of this on Facebook or elsewhere to "admire". It is a dark reminder of whites very own horrific journey to freedom.

      The only logical reason any race would look up to anything with "whiteness" as you put it, is because these recessive traits are often associated with a multitude of beautiful colors in both hair and eyes. It's not that they are better than anyone else, rather they are indeed a very beautiful racial group. Let's face it! Colors are pretty! Who here would say they don't have a favorite color, or that they can't appreciate the different shades of a rainbow? There is some kind of sick hatred towards white people lately, on TV, and on the internet. They have not (as a group) committed anything more or less worse than other races have, yet they are made to feel they must repay some strange guilt debt to the globe. I could list off 5 countries that for the same reasons would be made to pay the same debt, and yet are left in peace. Only one word comes to mind for this cruel and blatant unfairness.......jealousy. We all need to get over it too. Everyone wants to be the popular kid, but some people are just going to be better looking, even in our own racial group. That's life!

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    2. "that's life" you say, as you describe the trials of whites and minimize the trials of blacks. Power, concentrated among monarchy and now corporations has been consuming human flesh through sacrifice and conflict and war. The black pawns and the white pawns fight among themselves directed by the players, protecting the valuable king and queen. white bleeding and black bleeding is red, everywhere. The fact that there are an overwhelming number of whites in fortune 500, in control of nukes, and having enacted chattel slavery upon 50 to 100 million abducted persons has nothing to do with the 'average' white person, granted. But the envy which you're perceiving is the freedom to walk, drive, eat candy and just be which is denied people with ultraviolet protection in their skin. your own comments pay homage to the stigma monarchy has attached to rich pigment 'expecting favor'. We've all been 'had'.

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  28. Whatever it is, these people and their eyes are strikingly beautiful!

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  29. Hey wow actually amazed and blown away by this research. My name is Jalicia I'm African carribbean from Barbados. I'm 22 years of age and I have blue eyes.
    For 22 years I've been looking for and explanation of why I have blue eyes. I've been treated weirdly and teased about my eyes when I was a kid never understood why I was so different. I've been doing some research for the pass couple of years but haven't found anything like this! This is the most explanation I've gotten my whole life which comes in a bit handy for next time someone ask how do I have blue eyes. I used to say its complicated or it's from my dad's side of the family as 2 more family members I know have blue eyes also we'll one and a half because my auntie have 1 brown 1 blue...
    None of us know the true Mswer to why we have blue eyes we just knew it was from deep down our family history.
    Thank you so much for this post I'm about to share it on my Facebook for friends and family to see so they can understand more hope you do more research soon I want to know moreeeee....

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  30. Some contention around the reason for light skin:

    * Genetic mutation occurred and was able to survive in norther latitudes as it caused no harm there. Sun not fierce enough to cause damage.
    * Genetic mutation occurred and conferred an advantage, in being able to produce more vitamin D.

    AFAIK, both plausible theories.

    Now there's a new theory that it relates also to effect of the agricultural vs hunter-gatherer diet:

    http://news.sciencemag.org/archaeology/2014/01/how-farming-reshaped-our-genomes

    Interestingly this study also includes details of an individual living in now Spain 8000 years ago, having dark skin and blue eyes.

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  31. Replies
    1. So I guess my daughter has contact lenses too then. Idiot.

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  32. thank god someone else knows about this! i made a post discussing this same topic:

    http://1tawnystranger.blogspot.co.uk/2013/03/europeans.html

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  33. Stop that, African's aren't that dumb its only Avery minute percentage that are that ignorant.& that's everywhere.only dumb people entertains that kinda ignorant stereotyping.(yes I'm from Africa)

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  34. wow. I think instead of wondering why someone has that color of eyes. I'm just gonna say Hi. They look beautiful to me.

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  35. Lol i knew that these comments would eventually become racists rants, SMH.... This post is about genetics and eye color, how the heck did this chick ^^^ (a few comments above) get into the issue of slaveryyyy o_O ??????... Btw, Africans had a system of slavery because of WAR!! African tribes would be at war with one another (for many different reasons) and when they would capture the enemy they would then enslave them!! So, slavery in Africa was more POW (prisoners of war) than the brutal inhumane system of slavery continued here in America, that was based soley on race!! Racism!! Thats the major difference.

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  36. Blue eyes are rare period. God gave them blue eyes because he wanted to amaze the next man but we as humans try to make it in to some bull shit because white people thought they were the only ones that can have that. WRONG!! God gives us all the same thing because we are all humans and his creation. Minus albinos I don't thing 2 white people can make one lol. But anyway it is what it is. Science wants to take the credit when its base on 75% theory. 10000 years ago a black dude or woman banged a white woman or man, and bam 10000 years late a black kid gets blue eye from hie 100th grandma or grandpa. Get the fuck outta here lmao. Shit just happens. So I guess 10000 years ago the singer that was born with both genitals 100th grandmapa had both and she go it from that. hahaha yall kill me with this shit.

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  37. An Fascinating Dialogue Is Worth Comment. I Feel That It Is Best To Write Extra On This Topic, It May Not Be A Taboo Subject But Usually Persons Are Not Enough To Speak On Such Topics. To The Next. Cheers. page

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  38. A genetic mutation IS a natural phenomenon. This title is silly. The two are not mutually exclusive.

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  39. Mutations occur naturally and new traits emerge. Nothing is perfect and therefore errors in the gene code will appear over time causing new phenotypes (traits). The phenotype of blue eyes can occur in any racial group. Obviously it occurs in Europeans and whites more because it is a more common for the recessive trait to appear due to many individuals carrying the recessive gene. Back in the day whites, like most racial groups, were isolated and primarily bred with other whites in their area spreading the recessive gene that proved advantageous...through sexual selection. See how everyone is fawning over the colored eyes...that's how it was when they first mutated in Europe or when they saw it in the older man in Europe(the Neanderthals) People want to get with the rare and beautiful eyed person and so the trait becomes more prevalent. In addition when the black people first migrated to Europe they began to have more mutations for eye color and skin shades due to the enviroments effects on the genes for melanin production. They didn't need as much so the human body adapted. While it is true interbreeding and selective breeding will create the phenotype in other racial groups quicker vs environmental initiated gentic changes the mutation can occur in any group randomly. I did take college genetics and actually was eager to learn in biology class so this is very clear to me.

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  40. The human genome is varied and as long as a phenotype is not posing a disadvantage to survival it will continue to spread and show up in the population in every racial group of the human population. The world has become smaller and races are mixing. The phenotype, if desired, will show up in more groups. The moral of the genetic story is mutations occur naturally, producing certain recessive traits different from the common(dominant) phenotype of the population, if those traits have any type of advantage (sexual selection in the coloring of eye and hair) then those traits will show up more in the population, if these new recessive traits cause a disadvantage then they will not be desired and will not be as prevalent in the genetic population.

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  41. I like the articles assumption of Neanderthal interbreeding. It's a fact that the modern man is African born...however we have no true idea what the Neanderthal's looked like...but we do know they interacted with the new man and they died out...and that some white people of European decent are the only racial group that naturally contains those Neanderthal genes...if you are of another race and you have them it's because of interbreeding with those indiduals. It's safe to infer that some of the blacks that migrated into Europe mated with the Neanderthals already in Europe, who most likely developed the phenotypes of modern Europeans, the lighter skin and eyes, and thus the recessive gene was rapidly introduced into the modern man. It's not like the gene didn't show up before but in Africa the phenotype is not that advantageous...as the commentor from Africa stated above, most blacks in the groups in Africa in the past and in modern times didn't find the light eyes or skin in some cases sexually appealing, but instead a sign of something odd, shameful, or an abomination. They are partly right because it is an odd occurance when mutations occur. In addition to it's undesired appearance to the Africans, the mutations provided no real advantage in Africa's sun so it would not be common or desired there for optimum survival...follow me? Some of the blacks( I say that loosely because by the time the blacks reached Europe they may have already adapted other phenotypes typical of other racial groups) that were in Europe mated with the Neanderthals that had developed the traits for survival over time in Europe, and now the trait is common because among the European populace it is considered attractive and an advantage to the survival of the species...this goes for the lighter skin also. The Neanderthals die out due to disadvantages in other genes compared to modern man and possible war with the superior modern man but the traits that helped the Neanderthals survive in Europe are now common in the modern man in Europe...it's so clear to me. Other traits that helped the savage Neanderthals survive are also introduced into the modern man and over time you have a new races of man...one of which being the white race. Differing groups such as the Scandinavians obviously preferred the trait over other white groups but you get the idea of how it spread so rapidly in Europe. Those traits that helped the Neanderthals probably helped the white man become the race of subjugating people that we know today. Whites don't get offended your race is on top right now...but let's be real...look up imperialism...Africans and other groups did their share of conquering but those Europeans took that ish to another level and basically colonized most of Africa and many countries in Asia and the America's...the free world basically and while whites are not the most populous group on the Earth they feel the need to white wash the planet. It's a survival trait possibly strengthen by the Neanderthal's desperation to survive that was passed to the Europeans. However this is all theory...we may never know the 100% facts of what happened no matter how much research we do because of the lack of evidence and the fact that we may never know with certainty what occurred thousands of years in our past. The adaptability for survival and the variation of the modern man in response to survival in particular enviroments is amazing.

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  42. i recommend watching NATGEO's the human family tree to everyone. not just everyone here, but everyone. it deeply impacted me, literally changing my life.just knowing that every human on planet EARTH came from 1 AFRICAN man and 1 AFRICAN woman. we are all 1 family, 1 race. scientific fact, not just a theory. i believe if every person in the world watched this show, it would go along way in ended racism once and for all

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  43. Do you think my eyes are ugly??

    https://plus.google.com/u/0/photos/yourphotos?pid=6009728548280013986&oid=101690985552160995267

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  44. A beautiful eyes but not healthy is useless always have a regular eye check up

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  45. I have to say. Even though this eye color can have negative effects on the person who has it, it is still the most beautiful color eyes I've evrer seen, and I personally think it suits people with a dark skin so much better than us white people. It looks so beautful in combination with their darker skin.

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  46. I LOOOVE THE DARK SKIN WITH THE BLUE EYES. I THINK IT'S BEAUTIFULL.

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  47. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uP465Gc5hUk

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  48. They are beautiful. I wouldn't call it a "genetic disorder", I would call it, "Touched by an Angel."

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  49. Beautiful coloured eye contacts. Thanks for sharing your information.

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  50. strolling through the net , I met this blog and loved . hugs from Brazil

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  51. black with blue eyes in the world is very little
    خريد vpn

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  52. Both my siblings have blue eyes and I have hazel. Also several other members of both side of my family. Only my sister and my dead Aunt are dark complected.

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