Sunday, May 25, 2014

why are there different types of hair color?




David





Answer
At some point during evolution, there was a mutation in the gene coding for hair color. This formed a new allele for hair color. (Allele = variation of a gene; so, for the hair color gene, the alleles are red, brown, blond, etc.) This mutation got passed along to offspring and eventually became established in a population as a significant portion of hair colors.

All variation comes down to mutations. However, you should realize that not all mutations lead to variation. That is, some mutations don't affect the phenotype (eg red hair, brunette, etc) at all. Other mutations destroy the protein/protein's function that was coded for by that gene.

If red hair is recessive then why do I know someone who is black who gave birth to a red haired baby?




pathtot


her bf has red hair. but is it posible that a black person can have the red haired gene?


Answer
Actually, there are pockets of native African populations which exhibit the gene for red hair. The mutation which creates red hair in humans likely predates the evolution of humans, as it the precise mutation which causes it also causes colour variations in other species, and it is statistically almost impossible for the same mutation to happen twice.

As modern humans likely evolved in Africa, It is entirely possible that this individual is of 100% african descent and just carries the recessive gene for red hair.




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