However, new studies illustrate that the genetics behind eye color are not so straightforward. You have probably seen this explanation accompanied by a simple Punnet square (Image 1) in your science textbooks. The basic explanation of eye-color works like this: a person needs only one dominant brown-eyed gene (from one parent) to be brown-eyed but needs to have two recessive blue-eyed genes (one from each parent) to be blue-eyed. This article will exam the genetic origins of blue eyes in humans, the spread of the blue-eyed gene, and the future of this genetic trait. This discovery helped to confirm theories regarding the familial relationship of nearly all blue-eyed individuals. My interest in this subject was sparked, in part, by a unique archaeological discovery in 2006, researchers uncovered the world's oldest confirmed blue-eyed person, dating to approximately 7,000 years ago. But blue eyes, so popular in art, are relatively new in human evolution, as new as the invention of writing itself. Countless songs and poems reference people with blue eyes, whether considered a mark of beauty, a representation of sadness, or, in certain cultures, a sign of the oppressor. I have blue eyes and I have always been interested in exploring my own genetic origins, but I'm not the only one interested in this genetic trait. This thoroughly-researched piece is by Sarah Henry, an instructor at Delaware County Community College and tour guide at the Mütter Museum.-KI
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