My Blue-Eyed Cousins

Song of Solomon 1:15
“Behold, thou art fair, my love; behold, thou art fair; thou hast doves' eyes.”

I have blue eyes. My children have blue eyes. Their mother had blue eyes. As you were probably taught in high school, the gene for blue eyes is recessive to that for brown eyes. So where both genetic parents have blue eyes, it would be impossible for a child to have brown eyes. However, it might be that two brown-eyed parents have a blue-eyed child, as both parents might have the recessive blue-eyed gene.

A recent article on the Science Daily website has taken this a step further by suggesting that all blue-eyed parents have a common ancestor.

Blue eyes are not caused by blue pigment. There is only one pigment in the iris of the eye – melanin. A large amount of melanin in the eyes will cause the eyes to be brown. A limited amount would show up gray-brown, but the iris structure would cause light scattering, making the eye appear blue. It is the OCA2 gene which regulates the amount of melanin in the iris, so it appears that the factor which limits the work of OCA2 is, in fact, a mutation. It seems that this mutation happened millennia ago, and all blue-eyed people, like me, are descended from those individuals.

The article suggested the mutation could have occurred up to 10,000 years ago. My only disagreement would be to suggest that the mutation happened among some migrating families – probably descendants of Japheth – after the Flood, just over 4,500 years ago.

Prayer: Lord, You created us with such variety. We praise You for Your creativity in how You designed every person. Thank You that we are all descended from the one Adam and can be redeemed by the Last Adam. Amen.

Author: Paul F. Taylor

Ref: University of Copenhagen. "Blue-eyed humans have a single, common ancestor." ScienceDaily, 31 January 2008. < www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/01/080130170343.htm >.

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