Disappearing blonde gene
The disappearing blonde gene was a
Several reports erroneously claimed that the
In the media
In 2002, BBC News reported that unnamed German experts concluded that blond hair would disappear within 200 years since the gene causing blond hair is
In 2006 the hoax was mentioned by
Scientific position
The
The Melanocortin 1 receptor gene is known to affect human hair colour, and alleles on that gene associated with blond hair are generally recessive to alleles associated with darker hair colours. However, there is no single allele that codes for blonde hair colour, and environmental factors can also determine whether blonde or brown hair colour is expressed in an individual. Additionally, several factors involving determination of human hair colour are still not fully understood by geneticists.[1]
See also
- Disappearance of red hair
- Hardy–Weinberg principle
- List of common misconceptions
- White genocide conspiracy theory
References
- ^ PMID 14616056.
- ^ "Urban Legends Reference Pages: Blond Extinction". 8 March 2006. Retrieved 2008-01-24. Cites Chamber's journal of popular literature, science and arts By William Chambers, Robert Chambers, 1865 (p. 408), as well as newspaper mentions from 1890, 1906, and 1961. 1906 reference relates to a newspaper report on a lecture by Major C. E. Woodruff called The Disappearance of Blond Types from the American Population, mentioned in MacCurdy GG, Anthropology At The New York Meeting, Science, 26 April 1907: 653–665
- Sunday Times, February 26, 2006
- ^ a b c "Blondes 'to die out in 200 years'", from the BBC, September 27, 2002.
- ^ Cavegirls were first blondes to have fun. The online version was corrected later.
- ^ "Natural blondes are likely to be extinct within 200 years" from Bit of News
- ^ Threat Down Colbert Report. 6 March 2006
- ^ S2CID 17202106.