In the Beginning...

Everyone had brown eyes.  Then, at some point, there was a mutation that turned off that particular gene.  The result was that the body's ability to produce the right kind of protein for the eye was limited, changing the color from the dominant brown to a more muted blue.  If two parents both pass down this mutation, their kid has blue eyes, but if one parent passes down the original gene, allowing the protein to be made, then the kid's eyes are brown.  Hence, blue eyes are a recessive trait.  I'm unclear about where other eye colors like green and hazel come in, but they may have to due with varying amounts of protein being made.  I digress.  The point is that one small mutation in one person a long time ago caused all the blue eyes we see today and everyone with blue eyes is in fact related to that one person.  Pretty cool, right?

Comments

[George]

You've got it all wrong.

The brown eyed people are from the earth and dominated the surface of the earth for many years. Then the people of Mer rose out of the sea because they got tired of eating fish and wnated to eat steak and chicken. The Mermen & Mermaids have blue eyes. A war broke out and though the people of Mer lost they did hold out because they were so much better looking and could mate with anyone. This is written in the very old testament which preceded the old testament. So Jess stop reading that misleading trash and stop trying to mislead the faithful.