Apparently, all of us with those blue eyes that made Frank Sinatra so popular owe our darling blues to a genetic mutation. New research conducted by Professor Hans Eiberg from the University of Copenhagen, who began this field of research 12 years ago, says we can trace the blue eyes back to a genetic mutation back somewhere between 6,000 and 10,000 years ago.
According to Eiberg: “Originally, we all had brown eyes,” but during the specified period a gene called OCA2 (probably wasn’t called that back then) which “literally 'turned off' the ability to produce brown eyes.”

Professor Eiberg was the first to implicate the OCA2 gene as being responsible for eye color, among other things. Since that implication, back in 1996, Eiberg has worked hard to reach conclusions such as these.

The mutation in the OCA2 gene effects the production of melanin, the biological pigment that gives color to our hairs, eyes and skin. According to Eiberg the mutation dials down the levels of melanin in our eyes, thus creating the popular blue.

By way of contrast, a human being without any melanin in their body would be an albino.
Eiberg has also managed to place a “best guess” on the location of where this mutation took place. He believes that it originated from the near east or northwest areas of the Black Sea region. This location is where the great agriculture migration to the northern part of Europe took place, during the Neolithic period 6,000 to 10,000 years ago. However, he stresses his unsurely; “That is my best guess,” he said. “It could be the northern part of Afghanistan.”
The discovery is being reported in the journal Human Genetics, where Professor Eiberg says that “They have all inherited the same switch at exactly the same spot in their DNA. From this we can conclude that all blue-eyed individuals are linked to the same ancestor.”




http://www.dailygalaxy.com/my_weblog...umans-ori.html

that's my colouring. darker around the rim of pupil.
does this mean i am not a mutant?

I contain no genetic mutations

I have moore green and close to the pupil yellow brown...
I am mutant too LOL

The most fascinating thing about all of this is that all the people in the world with blue eyes right now share a common ancestor that lived between 6,000 and 10,000 years ago. So the people in Afghanistan with blue eyes and the Europeans with blue eyes had been living together in the recent past only.

"So the people in Afghanistan with blue eyes and the Europeans with blue eyes had been living together in the recent past only" - this might not have been the case. Transmission of the characteristic could easily occur from the place of origin to another distant place without people in the two places (origin and distant place) having lived together.

This suggestion of a single common ancestor might not be correct either. Europeans including scientists always try to link all "white" people to themselves as it fits in with their ideas that Europeans are very distinct from other people. e.g. a blond person in Nuristan can only be blond because Greeks had passed nearby.

I don't see why the same characteristic could not have arisen in different places independently particularly if it is a climatic adaptation.

I agree with Wahe Guru, even recent genetic studies have shown that the blonde blue eyed Nuristanis have no close connection to Scandanavians or other Europeans. All the south Asians living in northern Europe might have blue eyes in a couple thousands years. Its just the climat and geography.

But why do peopel in North-America (The Native Americans) and Mongolia don't have blue eyes and blond hair, the climate there is also cold, the same whith eskimos??....
And North America is also kind of cloudy like europe...