The Mystery Of The Blond Islanders
Off the north-eastern coast of Australia, lie a group of thousand little islands in the Pacific Ocean. Together, they are known as Solomon Islands, and are inhabited by dark-skinned indigenous people. However, there is one island trait that has caught the attention of many a visitor and puzzled scientists. Nearly 10% of the island's inhabitants have blond hair!
So far, it had been assumed that European explorers who colonized the islands in the 19th century may have mingled with the local population and introduced the blond gene. The islanders point to the intense sun, and a diet heavy in fish as reasons for light colored hair. Now scientists have another explanation.
In a recently released study by U.S and U.K researchers, the blondes of Solomon Islands do not owe their hair color to imported genes -- they are truly 'homegrown'!
Solomon Islanders
Solomon Islands along with Papua New Guinea, Fiji and other smaller islands are collectively known as Melanesia. They lie very close to the Asian and Australian continents. Scientists believe these islands were once connected to the mainland and started drifting apart 70,000 years ago. The people living on Solomon Islands are known as Melanesians, and are a melting pot of many different island cultures. The earliest settlers that migrated out of Africa arrived on the island around 30,000 BC. In 4,000 BC, the indigenous people from Australia brought their distinct culture and were followed by the Polynesians.
The islands were untouched by the Western world until the arrival of missionaries in mid-19th century. This prolonged isolation meant the islanders have a unique set of genes that have evolved over centuries.
The Study
It is a well known fact that natural blond hair is rare on Earth. For their study, scientists analyzed saliva samples from 43 blondes, and an equal number of dark-haired islanders. As we had written HERE, genes contain the blueprint for our entire body, including features such as hair and eye color. These genes hang out in threads called chromosomes.
The results showed that a single protein on chromosome 9 had made all the difference and led to blond hair in some islanders. The researchers also checked if the same protein had been responsible for blond hair in Europeans -- and the answer was a no. The team went on to identify the gene responsible, TYRP1, which encodes an enzyme previously known to cause pigmentation (color) changes in mice and humans.
It is surprising that a rare hair color has evolved twice independently in two different parts of the world as a result of genetic mutation (change). Here is a video with images of children from Solomon Islands.
wow
I think it is very interesting that they have blonde hair.
I think that is soo cool that that can happen to people. I thought that the dark indigenous people of two islands got their blonde hair from the intensive heat and harsh sun of the island.
I usually don't ever see this unless someone dyes their hair that color when they have dark skin! That's kinda special!!
Wow! I know alot of people with blonde hair but I don`t know that many people with black. I am a brunette but I think that i would`nt fit in because of my hair colour.Most of my friends are brunettes as well.
That is so funny I know a lot of people with blonde hair but not that many with black hair. I don't think I would fit in there because I am a brunette and I would look real funny.
How does someone end up with blonde hair even though all their genes have black hair in them. That is just incredible.
That's weird! I have never seen a person like that before
that is cool because it is wierd that so many people dont have black hair they have blond hair a lot of people in my class have blond hair and only1 person has black
i have blond hair,what is so weird about that?though i have to admit it is kinda weird.
they are talking about people with brown skin too
I have never seen that before! Thats definitely different!
This is really weird
i agree.
that looks so wierd
That is so interesting! You would think that most people with that ethnicity would have black hair...but not in this case!
thats so creepy
thats crazy that they have blond hair ive never seen that before!
That would be so weird!
I wonder why no one else is like that.
That is so amazing!I wonder where they got it from.
wow cool! so impressive
I think thats really cool and different! I have never heard of black people having blond hair before! Thats really cool!
That is so wierd that the hair color is natural!
i think it is pretty cool or interesting and its kinda a neat new change. i wonder if the sun and the fish being there first reason or guess why they have blond hair is a factor to it along with what they really think.
This is a very interesting article.
I wonder if they know how cool they look with blonde hair.
So interesting.
Someone told me that this happens because those people aren't getting enough nutrition.
Amazing. Iwonder if the other islanders also have the same color...
That is really weird!
That is really cool!
Yup hair
Hmmm. Interesting
That is soooo wierd, but cool! I have never seen anybody with blond hair and black skin in a big population like them!
I think that that is really cool because most colored people do not have blond hair. That is very crazy because I have never heard of this and if someone told me without me reading this I would not believe them. That is amazing. I wonder how that got into there genes?
whoa that is soo cool! I wonder if the kids get to learn at school?
i think that most people have brown or black hair not blond.
that is really weird that they do not get their hair from genes and that they are homegrown.
It is wierd how day have blond hair but they have balck skin.
Personaly I don't think dark skin and blond hair don't look good together, I don't mean to offend anybody though.
That is so cool!!! It looks almost artificial :S
Honestly, I think black skin and blonde hair does not look nice. I do not mean to offend them about it.
Kind of weird but still very cool and interesting.
Thats soooooooooo weird
Does anyone know about the lost colony of roanoke? maybe the lost colonists somehow got there and they married the people so thats "why" the islanders have blond hair??
*sigh* probably not.
I have heard of that enigma and I understand where you get that from.
Wow.That is amazing.Most dark skinned people don't have blonde har.Usually its brown hair.If somebody told me about this and I didn't read the article,I would have never believed them.
how about people with black skin and blue eyes?
Wow there ears look like elf ears and it is so cool how there hair is blond
that is crazy i wonder how the people got the blond hair from the genes.