MARBLE
GREY
TYPR1, was discovered in 2012 and is only developed by blonde people on the Solomon Islands in the Pacific Ocean. Scientists only know for two years that the gene KITLG is regulated by a very fine genetic mechanism which makes it influence the lightness of the hair of Northern European people.
&
ASH
BLOND
certainly will have light hair later. But, under certain circumstances, a child of dark-haired parents can be blond or red-haired as well: when there is light hair in the family tree of both parents. That’s why natural blonde will sooner or later be mixed in with the gene pool – but will never become extinct.
So, »the gene« for blonde hair doesn’t exist. But the feature is recessively inherited: If the genetic dispositions for dark and light hair are present, the latter always fall behind and the child gets dark hair. Only if both parents are blonde, their child
Foto: Martin Tervoort
Autor Caroline Ring is a freelance science journalist in Berlin. In another life, she researches in evolutionary biology and draws comics. 111
SISTERMAG 28 | 02 / 2017