Dark-skinned, blond-haired indigenous people on the Solomon Islands have a gene that is unique to the South Pacific nation and was not picked up from interbreeding with Europeans, scientists say. <\/p>\n
Outsiders have long presumed the unusually fair-haired Melanesians were a result of long-ago liaisons with European traders, while locals often attributed their golden locks to a diet rich in fish or the constant exposure to the Sun. <\/p>\n
But the reason why some five to 10 per cent of the islanders are blond comes down to simple genetics - a gene called TYRP1 that natives of the Solomon Islands possess but Europeans do not, said the study in the US journal, Science. <\/p>\n
'So the human characteristic of blond hair arose independently in equatorial Oceania. That's quite unexpected and fascinating,' said lead author Eimear Kenny, a postdoctoral scholar at Stanford University in California. <\/p>\n
Researchers gained the trust of a local chief and collected data from 1000 people, including hair and skin colour assessments, blood pressure, height and weight and saliva samples for DNA. <\/p>\n
The lab analysis on samples from 43 blond and 42 dark-haired natives began in September 2010 and 'within a week, we had our initial result', said Kenny. <\/p>\n
'It was such a striking signal pointing to a single gene - a result you could hang your hat on. That rarely happens in science.' <\/p>\n
The idea to study the genetics of the population came from co-author Sean Myles, a former Stanford postdoctoral scholar who is now an assistant professor at the Nova Scotia Agricultural College, after a trip there in 2004. <\/p>\n
'They have this very dark skin and bright blond hair. It was mind-blowing,' said Myles. <\/p>\n
'As a geneticist on the beach watching the kids playing, you count up the frequency of kids with blond hair, and say, 'Wow, it's five to 10 per cent.'' <\/p>\n<\/p>\n
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Solomon Islands 'blond' gene found<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Dark-skinned, blond-haired indigenous people on the Solomon Islands have a gene that is unique to the South Pacific nation and was not picked up from interbreeding with Europeans, scientists say. Outsiders have long presumed the unusually fair-haired Melanesians were a result of long-ago liaisons with European traders, while locals often attributed their golden locks to a diet rich in fish or the constant exposure to the Sun. Continue reading