There are no two people in the world with exactly the same eye color. At birth, all babies have eyes that are dull blue in color due to the absence of melanin, but later they acquire one of the few shades that will remain human for life.
Mysterious gene
Even at the end of the 19th century, there was a hypothesis that human ancestors had extremely dark eyes. Hans Eiberg, a modern Danish scientist at the University of Copenhagen, has done scientific research to support and develop this idea. According to the results of research, the OCA2 gene, which is responsible for light shades of the eyes, whose mutations disable the standard color, appeared only during the Mesolithic period (10,000-6,000 BC). Hans has been collecting evidence since 1996 and concluded that OCA2 regulates the production of melanin in the body, and any change in the gene reduces this ability and disrupts its function, making the eyes blue. The professor also claims that all blue-eyed inhabitants of the Earth have common ancestors, because this gene is inherited.
However, different forms of the same gene, alleles, are always in a state of competitive struggle, and a darker color always "wins", as a result of which parents with blue and brown eyes will have brown-eyed children, and only a blue-eyed couple can have a baby with eyes of cold shades.
Rare eye colors
In the world, only about 2% of truly green-eyed people, and most of them live in the northern countries of Europe. On the territory of Russia, uneven green shades of eyes are often found with an admixture of brown or gray pigment. Black eyes are also an incredible exception, although they are much more common than others. The iris of these eyes is characterized by a high concentration of melanin, which absorbs light almost completely. Many people believe that red eyes are inherent in all albinos, although in reality this is the exception rather than the rule (most albinos have brown or blue eyes). Red eyes are the result of the absence of melanin in the ectodermal and mesodermal layers, when blood vessels and collagen fibers "show through", determining the color of the iris. A very rare color is a variety of the most common - we are talking about amber, sometimes yellow eyes.
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This color appears as a result of the presence of lipochrome pigment, which is also found in green-eyed people. This rare coloration of the eye is found in some animal species, such as wolves, cats, owls and eagles.
Geography of color
Professor Eiberg suggested the geographical coordinates where the mutation processes of the "blue-eyed" gene began. According to the scientist, it all started, oddly enough, in the northern regions of Afghanistan, between India and the Middle East. During the Mesolithic period, the Aryan tribes were located here. By the way, the division of the languages of the Indo-European group belongs to this period. At the moment, the most common eye color in the world is brown, with the exception of the Baltic countries. Blue and blue eyes are most common among the population of Europe.
For example, in Germany, 75% of the population can boast of such eyes, and in Estonia, all 99%. Blue and blue eyes are common among the population of Europe, especially in the Baltic States and Northern Europe, often found in the Middle East (Afghanistan, Lebanon, Iran). Among Ukrainian Jews, 53.7% are carriers of this eye color. Gray eye color is common in Eastern and Northern Europe, and in Russia, about 50% of the carriers of this color. Brown-eyed residents in our country are about 25%, blue-eyed of various shades - 20%, but carriers of a rare green and dark, almost black color in total make up no more than 5% of Russians.
Heterochromia
This amazing phenomenon is expressed in the different color of the eyes of one person or animal. Most often, heterochromia is genetically determined. For example, breeders and breeders deliberately breed cats and dogs with different eye colors. In humans, there are three types of this feature: complete, central and sectoral heterochromia. According to the names, in the first case, both eyes have their own, often contrasting shade to each other. The most common color of one eye is brown and the other blue. Central heterochromia is characterized by the presence of several full-fledged colored rings of the iris of one eye. Sector heterochromia is an uneven color of one eye in several shades. There are three distinct pigments that characterize eye color - blue, brown and yellow.the number of which forms mysterious shades in heterochromia, which manifests itself in about 10 people out of 1000.
Psychology of color
Professor Joana Rob from Lowville University, USA, claims that blue-eyed people are more prone to strategic thinking and play golf better, while brown-eyed people have a good memory, are very reasonable and temperamental.
Astrologers and psychologists like to mention the relationship between eye color and a person's character. Most often, it is argued, for example, that blue-eyed people are persistent and sentimental, but sometimes arrogant. Gray-eyed are smart, but powerless in matters requiring a sensual approach, while green-eyed, for example, are gentle and, at the same time, are too principled. Such conclusions are not always based on statistical studies and surveys. There is also a rational scientific grain here. For example, scientists have discovered the PAX6 gene, which plays a major role in iris pigmentation and personality type. He is involved in the development of the part of the frontal lobe that is responsible for empathy and self-control. Thus, it can be argued that the character of a person and the color of his eyes are biologically interrelated, but research in this area is still insufficient.to consider such claims scientific.
Perception by others
In the United States, a study was conducted with the participation of thousands of women from 16 to 35 years old. Its results are quite interesting: blue and gray eyes give the wearer the image of a “cute” (42%) and kind (10%) person, green eyes are associated with sexuality (29%) and cunning (20%), and brown - with a developed intellect (34%) and kindness (13%).
Researchers at Charles University in Prague conducted an unusual experiment to find out the degree of trust in people depending on eye color. The largest percentage of participants found the brown-eyed people in the photo more trustworthy. In the course of the experiment, scientists showed new photographs in which they changed the color of the eyes of the same people, as a result of which curious conclusions were drawn. It turned out that the facial features inherent in brown-eyed people, and not the eye color itself, as such, causes confidence. For example, brown-eyed men are more likely to have raised corners of the lips, wide chin and large eyes, while blue-eyed men have a narrow mouth, small eyes and drooping corners of the lips. Brown eyed women appear to be considered more reliable, although statistically less pronounced than in the case of dark eyed men.