Amerika

Human pigmentation is a polygenic trait which may be shaped by different kinds of gene-gene interactions. Recent studies have revealed that interactive effects between HERC2 and OCA2 may be responsible for blue eye colour determination in humans. Here we performed a population association study, examining important polymorphisms within the HERC2 and OCA2 genes. Furthermore, pooling these results with genotyping data for MC1R, ASIP and SLC45A2 obtained for the same population sample we also analysed potential genetic interactions affecting variation in eye, hair and skin colour.

Our results confirmed the association of HERC2 rs12913832 with eye colour and showed that this SNP is also significantly associated with skin and hair colouration. It is also concluded that OCA2 rs1800407 is independently associated with eye colour. Finally, using various approaches we were able to show that there is an interaction between MC1R and HERC2 in determination of skin and hair colour in the studied population sample.

NLM

Genes don’t exist in a vacuum. Like computer code, our DNA consists of different patterns that were adopted to make transitions easier. Over time, these beneficial traits spread.

It’s even possible there were multiple origins for the human species, and that each one brought its own evolutionary developments.

In fact, as of yet we have no idea whether sticking a lone mouse on any planet that supports life will, in fifteen million years, produce a human being. It’s possible evolution is determined by inherent properties of life or DNA itself.

Now we see how non-isolated genes are, and how we’ve been going about this all wrong for some time. In the future, we should read genes more like computer code produced by an absent-minded programmer who snips and inserts when a problem arises, but once he finds a solution, slaps it into every new problem to which he can fit it.