Genes explain range of European colours

A few dozen genetic changes can help explain why people of European descent have so many different shades of hair, eye and skin colour - but it is still impossible to tell the colour of someone’s eyes or hair based on DNA alone, researchers said.

The team at Decode Genetics said their scans of 7,000 Icelandic and Dutch people found 60 separate genetic mutations linked with hair, eye and skin colour.

As with earlier gene surveys, no single mutation or cluster of mutations can tell whether a person has brown, blue or green eyes; brown, blond or red hair or whether his or her skin is fair or freckled.

But, writing in the journal Nature Genetics, Kari Stefansson of Decode Genetics and colleagues said their new suite of genes help narrow down the possibilities and might be used to study certain diseases that are more common in people with certain colouring.

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Genes explain range of European colours
The Sydney Morning Herald