Have you heard of the theory that all blue-eyed people have descended from one person?

Question

If you have heard of it, could you elaborate on it please? I heard a professor talking about it earlier, and didn't think anything of it, but I've seen a couple other articles on it since then. The idea is that being blue-eyed isn't a mutation that has occured several times, it only happened once and all blue eyed people have descended from that one person. I'm looking for more information on this theory.

Answer 1

Apparantly it's now a known fact, it was a genetic mutation of some kind. Here are a couple of links but there are many pages on the net regarding this interesting issue.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/200...

http://www.geneticsandhealth.com/2008/02...

Hope this helps!

Answer 2

Only heard about another theory that we all descend from Adam and Eve. Sorry never heard on that

Answer 3

This is very interesting but logic seems to suggest that it would not be possible for so many people with blue eyes to have descended from just one person. I have blue eyes and my wife has brown but two of my daughters have blue eyes and the third one has brown. The one with brown eyes looks very much physically like my wife but in her character she has many of my characteristics. Its very strange how the interaction between egg and sperm produces the results that it does. If you look at the geographical distribution of blue eyed people you will find that they live in the area away from the equator where sun damage to tissue is not so extensive. Hence people who live under the tropical sun have more melanin pigment in their skin making them darker as protection against cancer. Too much ultra violet can cause cataracts in the eyes. Could it be as simple as that? Brown eyes can withstand strong sunlight better.

The theory that it is one person presumably relies on mitachondrial DNA which is self defeating if you think about it-it takes two to tango!

Answer 4

If you check on Mendel's research on recessive genes you will find that the parents carry the recessive gene.  I am a blue eyed person and I found that only my mother mom had blue eyes and my fathers father had blue eyes.  Both my parents are green eyed (dominant) and they both carried the recessive gene which I got.  Luck of the draw.  

Answer 5

I always knew my secret would emerge at last!