Here's why you have red, brown or even blonde hair according to researchers
| Apr 23, 2018, 09:57 IST
Whether it's fiery red locks or strawberry blonde locks, a new study now has a detailed explanation as to why you have the colour of hair that you do. Researchers from King’s College London and Erasmus University in Rotterdam have found that 124 genes — 100 more than previously known — actually play a huge role in determining our hair colour. The study published in the journal, Nature Genetics, asked 300,000 people to describe their natural hair colour and compared this with their genetic information held in the UK Biobank and other sources. One interesting finding from the research was that more women described themselves as blonde than those who were found to be naturally blonde.
Toward the end, scientists discovered that the new genes were more accurate than those already known in predicting hair colour and could explain 35 percent of red hair, 25 percent of blond hair and 26 percent of black hair. It's also interesting to know that the genes that affect hair colour also affect other cancer types, while other pigment genes affect the chances of having Crohn’s and other forms of bowel disease.
Professor Spector told the Evening Standard, "This will help melanoma researchers understand what it is about hair colour genes that affect the disease so much, regardless of sunshine." It is likely that hundreds of other genes also affect hair colour in ways that were too subtle for the scientists to detect. The team also found that women have significantly fairer hair than men.
Toward the end, scientists discovered that the new genes were more accurate than those already known in predicting hair colour and could explain 35 percent of red hair, 25 percent of blond hair and 26 percent of black hair. It's also interesting to know that the genes that affect hair colour also affect other cancer types, while other pigment genes affect the chances of having Crohn’s and other forms of bowel disease.
Professor Spector told the Evening Standard, "This will help melanoma researchers understand what it is about hair colour genes that affect the disease so much, regardless of sunshine." It is likely that hundreds of other genes also affect hair colour in ways that were too subtle for the scientists to detect. The team also found that women have significantly fairer hair than men.