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Small Genetic Change Responsible For Blond Hair

sciencehabit (1205606) writes "For all those brunettes wishing they were naturally blond, a small genetic change could have made all the difference. Scientists have found that replacing one of DNA's four letters at a key spot in the genome shifts a particular gene's activity and leads to fairer hair. Not only does the work provide a molecular basis for flaxen locks, but it also demonstrates how changes in segments of DNA that control genes, not just changes in genes themselves, are important to what an organism looks like."

125 comments

  1. Re: gene linked to intelligence? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    Clearly you must be a blonde.

  2. Re:gene linked to intelligence? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I see where the terminology 'dumb blonde' comes from now.

  3. Re:gene linked to intelligence? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Butthurt natural blonde detected.

  4. Re:gene linked to intelligence? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    That's racist!

  5. MUTANTS AMONG US! by captain_nifty · · Score: 5, Funny

    Although their powers are not very impressive.

    1. Re:MUTANTS AMONG US! by lagomorpha2 · · Score: 2

      Although their powers are not very impressive.

      You mean our powers to change color after exposure to the sun for long periods? Ok well we aren't chameleons but you have to start somewhere.

    2. Re:MUTANTS AMONG US! by PRMan · · Score: 1

      What about their ability to star in movies and get everyone to help them everywhere my pretending to be dumb and helpless? (Source: my wife is blonde.)

      --
      Peter predicted that you would "deliberately forget" creation 2000 years ago...
    3. Re:MUTANTS AMONG US! by king+neckbeard · · Score: 2

      In all fairness, the help your wife receives may be due to being female moreso than being blonde. How attractive she is may also be a significant factor, although being blonde may make her appear more attractive to many.

      --
      This is my signature. There are many like it, but this one is mine.
    4. Re:MUTANTS AMONG US! by gstoddart · · Score: 2

      You mean our powers to change color after exposure to the sun for long periods?

      *phbtbtbtbt* I have the ability to change color after very brief exposure to the sun. ;-)

      --
      Lost at C:>. Found at C.
    5. Re:MUTANTS AMONG US! by Jason+Levine · · Score: 2

      Recently, there was an article that described blue eyes as the result of a genetic mutation. So I'm the world's most boring mutant: Blue Eyed Guy. I have the powers of having blue eyes. All the time. I thought being a mutant would be more exciting than this.

      --
      My sci-fi novel, Ghost Thief, is now available from Amazon.com.
    6. Re:MUTANTS AMONG US! by camperdave · · Score: 1

      Who needs the sun when you've got peroxide?

      --
      When our name is on the back of your car, we're behind you all the way!
    7. Re:MUTANTS AMONG US! by sootman · · Score: 1
      --
      Dear Slashdot: next time you want to mess with the site, add a rich-text editor for comments.
    8. Re:MUTANTS AMONG US! by LifesABeach · · Score: 1

      Now for the hard part, making straight hair curly, and making curly hair straight

    9. Re:MUTANTS AMONG US! by CheshireDragon · · Score: 1

      Yup. 10min and I go from white to red.

      --
      "That's right...I said it."
    10. Re:MUTANTS AMONG US! by mjwx · · Score: 2

      Yup. 10min and I go from white to red.

      White... I'm a Scot by birth. I tan white. Naturally I'm a shade of pale blue.

      --
      Calling someone a "hater" only means you can not rationally rebut their argument.
    11. Re:MUTANTS AMONG US! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I don't know I find blonds pretty powerful.

  6. News just in by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Using Perl instead of PHP changed the way a website performed.
    Wait, that is a terrible analogy. Screw it.

    I assumed this was already known.
    That is quite sad. (the letter part, not gene encoding)
    Now I can see why we struggle in such research. Seems far more complex than we realize.
    This has seemingly opened up a whole new ball-game. Oh god, a huge one at that. This increases DNA complexity through the roof and then some.
    This is like the step between a dictionary defining words to a dictionary being defined by ATOMS.

  7. Blonde Scientists? by ArhcAngel · · Score: 5, Funny

    Scientists have found that replacing one of DNA's four letters

    DNA is only three letters.

    --
    "A person is smart. People are dumb, panicky dangerous animals and you know it." - K
    1. Re:Blonde Scientists? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      ACGT: I count 4.

    2. Re:Blonde Scientists? by GoCrazy · · Score: 2

      I think they replaced the silent J.

      --
      No beer and no TV make Homer something something
    3. Re:Blonde Scientists? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      There are FOUR lights!

    4. Re:Blonde Scientists? by ebno-10db · · Score: 1

      OP is a dyed blonde.

    5. Re:Blonde Scientists? by oracleofbargth · · Score: 1

      No, it's silent Bob. J is rather talkative.

    6. Re:Blonde Scientists? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      ooookay... ^^^ didn't get the joke

    7. Re:Blonde Scientists? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      There are 4 base pairs, AGCT, two of which are associated with the double strand. When three of the base pairs from a single strand are read in the correct sequence, those three base pairs correspond to a single amino acid, the building block of all proteins.

    8. Re:Blonde Scientists? by TWX · · Score: 3, Funny

      It would almost be worthwhile to work helpdesk again, if I could answer Patrick Stewart when he calls because his broadband is down...

      "Mr. Stewart, if you look at the front of your cablemodem, you'll see five lights..."

      --
      Do not look into laser with remaining eye.
    9. Re:Blonde Scientists? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      But there's still only three letters. ;)

    10. Re:Blonde Scientists? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      And of course I, X, and m5C

      This stuff gets complicated....
      http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nucleobase

    11. Re:Blonde Scientists? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      That's Sir Patrick to the likes of you!

    12. Re:Blonde Scientists? by TWX · · Score: 1

      The likes of me? I'm an American.

      --
      Do not look into laser with remaining eye.
  8. Re:gene linked to intelligence? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Funny

    Perhaps the Triple Nine needs to learn use a browser with a spellchecker?

    And are you a member of Mensa by any chance?

  9. But I was hoping for Ginger! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Next they need to work out the sequence for Ginger (Red for you Americans) Hair!

    1. Re:But I was hoping for Ginger! by ebno-10db · · Score: 2

      Next they need to work out the sequence for Ginger (Red for you Americans) Hair!

      Hear, hear!

      Who cares about yellow hair when there are attractive women.

    2. Re:But I was hoping for Ginger! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Blonde mating call: "I'm SO drunk!"

      Brunette mating call: "Has the blonde left yet?"

      Ginger mating call: "Next!" *SNAP*

    3. Re:But I was hoping for Ginger! by Arker · · Score: 1

      If memory serves the suggestion was made in the article that the same sequence is responsible for both blondes and redheads, by lightening the underlying color, which without lightening comes out brunette either way.

      --
      =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
      Friends don't let friends enable ecmascript.
    4. Re:But I was hoping for Ginger! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You can sleep with a blonde. You can sleep with a brunette. With a redhead, you don't get time to sleep.

    5. Re:But I was hoping for Ginger! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      "Only a ginger can call another ginger ginger"

    6. Re:But I was hoping for Ginger! by sysrammer · · Score: 1

      Mary Ann!

      --
      His ignorance covered the whole earth like a blanket, and there was hardly a hole in it anywhere. - Mark Twain
  10. It's a gene by yesterdaystomorrow · · Score: 4, Informative

    Originally, "gene" meant "heritable element". Outside of molecular biology, it still does. That DNA can encode the construction of protein was the first connection molecular biologists discovered from genotype to phenotype. This caused them to mistakenly redefine "gene", because they supposed it was the only connection. Since they have now found other kinds of heritable elements in DNA, it is time for them to revert to the older definition, and come up with some other term for the subset of genes that encode protein.

    1. Re:It's a gene by the+biologist · · Score: 2, Informative

      ORF (Open Reading Frame) is typically used for the case you described, and has been for some time now.

    2. Re:It's a gene by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      So, now that we know that children inherit intestinal flora from their mothers we should call those genes too? If you inherit money, is that a gene. Molecular biology has done a good job defining what a gene is. If there are other things inherited, they can get their own names.

    3. Re:It's a gene by yesterdaystomorrow · · Score: 2

      ORF (Open Reading Frame) is typically used for the case you described, and has been for some time now.

      I don't think that's what I'm getting at. To switch to a different set of metaphors, "ORF" is a syntactic term while "gene" is a semantic term. Only a subset of ORFs are transcribed, as I understand it. A sequence of letters and spaces ending with a period is not necessarily a meaningful sentence.

      In any case, the original article claimed that blondness was not controlled by a "gene". But by the old definition of "gene" that's nonsense. Someone working in, say, evolutionary dynamics would certainly call the controlling element here a "gene".

    4. Re:It's a gene by the+biologist · · Score: 2

      The ENCODE project has shown that effectively every piece of DNA is transcribed at some level. All ORFs are transcribed, but we don't always know a function/meaning associated with them. We keep finding transcribed sequences to be important which we had previously attributed to noise. There are even proteins with well-recognized functions that appear to have been derived from random noise-sequences.

      There isn't a need to switch to metaphor with such a simple concept as this and doing so only confuses your meaning. "Syntactic term" vs. "semantic term" are near-meaningless phrases to me, even with the assistance of google. Both "orf" and "gene" are terms in common use that have specific and implied meanings in different contexts.

      Someone in molecular and computational biology (like me) would also call the controlling element a gene. Science journalism is far too often full of such odd definitions and misunderstandings.

    5. Re:It's a gene by yesterdaystomorrow · · Score: 2

      Someone in molecular and computational biology (like me) would also call the controlling element a gene. Science journalism is far too often full of such odd definitions and misunderstandings.

      The "gene encodes a protein" idea still seems quite common in educational efforts that at least *ought* to have real scientists behind them. See, for example, page 4 of http://www.genome.gov/Pages/Ed.... One who monitors the science news also will frequently encounter press releases like "We sequenced organism X's genome and it contains (pick a number) genes, compared to the (human gene count du jour)." Presumably molecular biologists provided these numbers, but they appear to refer to protein coding sequences only. Oh, well, it's no sillier than counting galaxies (I'm an astrophysicist, and we pretend to do that frequently).

    6. Re:It's a gene by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The gene as DNA encoding something that is expressed is used in scientific papers too. Though not always a protein, sometimes it just encodes a peptide or RNA. There is no problem with describing an SNP as in a gene, or outside the gene in a promoter or control region for the gene. None of the people I know who work in bioinformation stuff on genes would have a problem with this. Nor would they refer to any bit of DNA as a gene because all bits of DNA is heritable and could have some function.

      In the past the only "heritable elements" known were the elements that were expressed, genes. The rest of DNA, (which is replicated and thus still heritable), was considered as having no functional elements and being just packaging to make up chromosomes; so it was called "Junk DNA". This view prevailed until the 1980s. As we have discovered what "junk DNA" does it has been described and named. The meaning of gene hasn't fundamentally changed since Mendel, just been refined a bit as we have learnt more.

      An Open Reading Frame is any sequence of DNA bounded a start codon that ends with one of three stop codons a mod 3 distance away. A possible gene in other words. You look for them in the DNA sequence and then test them to see what they do. For example C9orf72 is the 72nd ORF on Chromosome 9. In 2010 it was shown to have a PolyQ chain which disrupts the function of motor neurons and causes a genetic form of ALS (MND).

  11. Re:gene linked to intelligence? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    LOL! I didn't even think of that when I posted, but you're right. It does sound kinda like that.

    But I'm quite brunette, though it was kinda red when I was very young.

  12. Re: gene linked to intelligence? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    Citing the bell curve?,LMFAO

  13. Rubbish by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    It has nothing to do with genetics. Rather, it's head trauma with peroxide.

  14. Re:gene linked to intelligence? by Evtim · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Obvious troll is obvious but still....

    Q: What have Africans done for humanity?
    A: Everything, since as far as we know Homo Sapiens evolved there.

    Your question reminds me the hilarious "What the Romans did for us" gag...

  15. Let the jokes begin by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Funny

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?...

    A blonde woman was speeding down the road in her little red sports car and was pulled over by a woman police officer who was also a blonde.

    The blonde cop asked to see the blondes' driver's license. She dug through her purse and was getting progressively more agitated.

    "What does it look like?" she finally asked.

    The policewoman replied, "It's square and it has your picture on it."

    The driver finally found a square mirror in her purse, looked at it and handed it to the policewoman. "Here it is," she said.

    The blonde officer looked at the mirror, then handed it back saying, "OK, you can go. I didn't realize you were a cop."

    1. Re:Let the jokes begin by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Why don't I ever get pulled over by airheads?? :(

    2. Re:Let the jokes begin by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The whole dumb blonde thing is simply the racism of those who think they are not racist. There's nothing so convenient for your contempt as a class of people whom everybody agrees can safely be despised. The fact that you buy into the common view of blondes does not indicate that you are a sensitive, liberal soul. Quite the reverse.

  16. Apparently so. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Since I read it in my _paper_ a couple of days ago.

  17. obvious by slashmydots · · Score: 0

    Yes, color changes are extremely commonly simple changes. The protein can change by 1 atom and it's a different color. This is basic genetic.

    They failed to mention the much more interesting and strange genetic feature. Every human being on the planet is more attracted to light colored hair than dark because, evolution-wise, it indicates being younger and thus more likely to have a healthy baby in theory. So it's a shame that ugly, dominant traits are taking over every gene pool in the world. They better get on genetic engineering in a hurry because it'd suck if everyone got a little bit uglier.

    Oh btw that's not racist, because first of all every race in existence has black haired members in it and secondly, the attraction gene is proven scientific fact but that won't stop the shitstorm anyway from overly-sensitive racist morons, I'm sure.

    1. Re:obvious by Calavar · · Score: 1

      This is complete and utter bullshit. Just look at chimps, which are born with black hair that greys (i.e. gets lighter) as they age. Same with gorillas. Or arctic animals, such as foxes and hares, which have white hair during the winter and darker (usually brown) hair during the mating season.

      When we look at humans, most races only have black and very dark brown hair. So why would there be any hard-wired preference for a trait that doesn't exist? Furthermore, if you were right, wouldn't middle/upper class women in Africa and India dye their hair bright colors? But they don't. And, anecdotally, I've always found brown hair more attractive then blond hair, although I suppose I'm an evolutionary freak in your eyes.

      The western attraction to light hair is a media-driven phenomenon. We are showered with ads that tell us that thin, blond haired, tanned women are the physical ideal. Meanwhile, media in China and India goes in the exact opposite direction: Light skin is highly valued, and tan models from western media are often seen as ugly. And before you turn around and try to claim that this is a racial thing, it isn't. Just go back to Victorian times: 19th century Western Europeans preferred women with very light skin and a bit of meat on them, not the darker skinned thin-as-a-stick models of today.

    2. Re:obvious by the+biologist · · Score: 1

      Every human being on the planet is more attracted to light colored hair than dark because, evolution-wise, it indicates being younger and thus more likely to have a healthy baby in theory.

      This appears to be a pretty dramatically unfounded statement. I would be interested in your evidence for this claim, however.

    3. Re:obvious by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Actually, all you have to look at to see that he's wrong is the "ganguro" phenomenon in Japan. There's actually a rather infamous music video ("Galosengen" by Policeman) showing the male variant, known as GAL (picture Japanese people trying to look like Super Saiyans from Dragon Ball Z).

      Essentially, ganguro consists of Japanese girls getting dark tans and bleaching their hair to look like California valley girls.. or at least what they think those look like. Some take it to an extreme (the so-called "manba"), going so far as to look nearly African. Most mainstream Japanese people don't like it and view ganguro girls and GALs as the Japanese equivalent of chavs.

      Interestingly, most of the people who find ganguro attractive are fetishists (there's plenty on 4chan's alternative hentai board, and also on pixiv), who view them as being extremely sexually loose and enjoy the idea of girls being "corrupted" into ganguro, usually with heavy piercings and tattoos and a strong element of NTR/cuckolding.

    4. Re:obvious by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Actually blonde hair is considered disgusting in some places where the only blondes are albinos, besides attraction to juvenile features only works for men. This is a very interesting outburst of your chauvinist worldview.

    5. Re:obvious by ledow · · Score: 1

      Queen Elizabeth I put lead-based white-paint on her face because she didn't want to look "tan" like people who work outdoors for a living.

      Then the tan was a status symbol meaning you could travel to foreign countries. Now it's a symbol that you're a cheap holiday maker / self-tanner who goes just for the look of the thing and, thus, it's out of fashion.

      It's never as simple as "trait X is more attractive", even in genetics.

    6. Re:obvious by Arker · · Score: 1

      "They failed to mention the much more interesting and strange genetic feature. Every human being on the planet is more attracted to light colored hair than dark"

      They failed to mention that because it's bullshit.

      --
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    7. Re:obvious by jabuzz · · Score: 1

      No Queen Elizabeth I put lead-based white paint on her face because she was horribly disfigured by smallpox in 1563. Either you are not English or are woefully ignorant of our history.

    8. Re:obvious by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It only applies to men, and it could be an element of his chauvinist worldview, but it isn't chauvinistic to realize that history was mostly formed by men, their sexual preferences led gene selection not those of women. Plus men being attracted to younger girls could also explain why girls are attracted to older or more established men (although there are lots of reasons why this is the case).

    9. Re:obvious by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Albinos are not blond, as a second's consideration would tell you. You are an idiot.

    10. Re:obvious by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Redheads, arrrrgggggggggglllllllllllllllllll......

    11. Re:obvious by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      blah blah buncha crap blah blah... the attraction gene is proven scientific fact .. butthurtedness and whining...

      If you knew anything about science, you would know that people who take science seriously instantaneously disregard any clause (and often the rest of the tirade) affixed with "proven scientific fact", as that's almost exactly like saying "diet sugar" or "fat free lard", or "blackish white". Control your anger, kiddo.

      This doesn't even consider that I personally am not attracted to light hair females, and you know that old scientific saying: No amount of white geese can prove that all geese are white, but the existence of a single black one proves the opposite.

    12. Re:obvious by CrashPoint · · Score: 1

      Every human being on the planet is more attracted to light colored hair than dark

      One, and only one, of the following is true:

      1. 1. You personally interviewed every single one of the 7 billion people currently living on Earth - individually and confidentially, with the assistance of a magically infallible lie detector - and confirmed their preference for light hair over dark.
      2. 2. You are stupid on a scale that should be counted as a war crime.

      Seriously, "proven scientific fact"? By all means, please show us the pop-science article that you barely skimmed to come to that conclusion. If it even exists.

    13. Re:obvious by slashmydots · · Score: 1

      Sure:

      In addition, before bottles of hydrogen peroxide became available, blonde hair in females could be interpreted as an honest signal of youth and therefore reproductive fitness. This is because postmenopausal women rarely retain the flaxen locks of their youth, of course eventually becoming grey grannies. Interestingly, Aboriginal tribes have evolved blonde hair in females independently of the Nordic blonde.3 As this has occurred in an environment not lacking UVB this suggests that sexual selection has been more important than the forces of natural selection.....and retention of blonde hair into adulthood is a sexually selected indicator of fitness in females. Caucasian blondes are usually slightly higher in oestrogen than brunettes

      http://www.theguardian.com/sci...

      Also, blue and green and brown eyes are found to be more attractive because of a subconscious checking of the other person's pupils. If they are also attracted to you, they will be slightly dilated and our brains pick up on that. With practically jet black irises, that doesn't work so your brain automatically tells you not to bother because the person isn't interested in you.

    14. Re:obvious by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Must be why there are no Asians left, they couldn't find any blondes and their population kept shrinking into extinction...

    15. Re:obvious by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Protip: If you're getting preemptively defensive about whether your opinion is racist, it is racist.

    16. Re:obvious by the+biologist · · Score: 1

      Flaxen/blonde hair isn't a signal of youth of most cultures, because it simply doesn't happen, It might work as a signal of youth in a subset of European cultures or in Australian/Melanesian (as you note).

      The blonde hair of Australian/Melanesian peoples isn't just in the females, though it is more prominent in females. That it isn't consistent with the UV-vitaminD hypothesis doesn't suggest sexual selection is involved, only that UV-selection isn't involved.

      The pupil thing does sound likely, however. Cultures with predominantly black irises would have to rely on other characteristics to identify interest from others.

  18. Re:gene linked to intelligence? by K.+S.+Kyosuke · · Score: 1

    Sometimes, they use hypnotherapy to achieve the same effect.

    --
    Ezekiel 23:20
  19. Re: gene linked to intelligence? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    We don't need to cite anything - just look at WHITE countries, and look at all the third world shitholes in Africa.

    Do you have something to DISPROVE the poster above's comments? (That white people are much more intelligent than black people.)

    Please, we've got all day...

  20. Blonde Gene? by tekrat · · Score: 1

    And did they figure out which gene makes Blondes so incredibly stupid?

    Queue Julie Brown Song:
    I took an IQ test and I failed it of course;
    I can't spell VW but I drive a Porsche!
    'Cause I'm a blonde, B-L-A-N-D,
    'Cause I'm a blonde, don't you wish you were me!

    --
    If telephones are outlawed, then only outlaws will have telephones.
    1. Re:Blonde Gene? by jellomizer · · Score: 2

      The stupid blond is probably based on the following.
      Being Blond is a rare trait. Such a trait we find interesting and somewhat attractive as it encourages genetic adversity.
      Being that the blond shows genetic diversity, there are more people willing to mate with them,
      Being that they are more people are willing to mate, there is less of a need to differentiate themselves as superior or better, so they follow the simplest route.

      A large portion of our actions is about being attractive to the other sex. Even if you are an Alpha Geek, you are more Geeky then the next guy. If you in particular can attract and mate easier chances are you will follow a simpler route on average and not try harder.

      It isn't that Blonds are naturally more stupid, it is just the environment doesn't require them to be smart.

      --
      If something is so important that you feel the need to post it on the internet... It probably isn't that important.
    2. Re:Blonde Gene? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You understand that that comment means you're a racist bigot, right?

    3. Re:Blonde Gene? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Nope, just means you are a hypersensitive blond.

    4. Re:Blonde Gene? by LongearedBat · · Score: 1

      +1

    5. Re:Blonde Gene? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      genetic adversity.

      Adversity?

      +1 Blonde

    6. Re:Blonde Gene? by evilviper · · Score: 1

      If you in particular can attract and mate easier chances are you will follow a simpler route on average and not try harder.

      This doesn't follow. Even if your choices are good, you're still driven to excel and expand your pool of mates to the max. We aren't just wired to find any old mate... We are wired to try to get the MOST and BEST mates.

      Neither men nor women are naturally (completely) monogamous, so finding ONE mate isn't sufficient. But more than that, everyone wants to find THE BEST mate possible. It's only very recently in the industrialized world, that ANY mate you pick will produce sufficient viable offspring, and a decent quality of life. A few centuries back, if you didn't have your pick, you could end up not getting enough food to survive, and/or a diseased and infertile partner.

      --
      Slashdot gets worse every day... Pipedot: News for nerds, without the corporate slant
  21. Re:gene linked to intelligence? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I'm at work... stuck with an old version of IE, but thanks for checking.

  22. Re:gene linked to intelligence? by jmrives · · Score: 5, Informative

    It is unfortunate that most people -- even modern Africans -- are unaware of the ancient achievements that came out of Africa.

    Many of the modern high-school level concepts in mathematics were first developed in Africa -- as was the first method of counting. These concepts include division and multiplication of fractions and geometric formulas to calculate the area and volume of shapes. They also invented mathematical methods for measuring distances and the use of angles -- including dividing a circle into 360 degrees and an early estimate of pi.

    Eight thousand years ago, people in present-day Zaire developed their own numeration system, as did Yoruba people in what is now Nigeria. The Yoruba system was based on units of 20 (instead of 10) and required an impressive amount of subtraction to identify different numbers. Scholars have lauded this system, as it required much abstract reasoning.

    This is just in the area of mathematics. Several ancient African cultures birthed discoveries in astronomy. Many of these are foundations on which we still rely, and some were so advanced that their mode of discovery still cannot be understood. Egyptians charted the movement of the sun and constellations and the cycles of the moon. They divided the year into 12 parts and developed a yearlong calendar system containing 365 ¼ days. Clocks were made with moving water and sundial-like clocks were used.

    Many advances in metallurgy and tool making were made across the entirety of ancient Africa. These include steam engines, metal chisels and saws, copper and iron tools and weapons, nails, glue, carbon steel and bronze weapons and art.

    Advances in Tanzania, Rwanda and Uganda between 1,500 and 2,000 years ago surpassed those of Europeans then and were astonishing to Europeans when they learned of them. Ancient Tanzanian furnaces could reach 1,800C — 200 to 400C warmer than those of the Romans.

    There are plenty of other examples in areas such as architecture, engineering, medicine and navigation.

    Here are some references for your perusal:

    • 1. Kresge, N. “A history of black scientists.” ASBMB Today. February 2011.
    • 2. Van Sertima, I. “The Lost Sciences of Africa: An Overview.” Blacks in Science: Ancient and Modern. 7 – 26 (1983).
  23. Re: gene linked to intelligence? by jmrives · · Score: 1

    Based on your system, all we have to do is look at Greece to conclude that Western Europeans are much more intelligent than the Greeks.

  24. Re:gene linked to intelligence? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    It takes a special kind of stupidity to casually announce that Asians are smarter than white or black people, with no evidence of explanation whatsoever. And it is very consistent with the Mensa Triple Nine Cool Kids bragging. The only thing you're missing is that you didn't say you're a Libertarian.

  25. Re: gene linked to intelligence? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    and that greeks are much more intelligent than africans.

  26. Small genetic change, as opposed to what? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    "People with Blonde hair closer to horses than humans study says"

  27. Re:gene linked to intelligence? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    This is true. I have met a couple naturally dumb blondes but most I have met (at Stanford, and in fields of science, medicine, and a law) are near genius level. Just look around a bit at the Founder, C & D level. Same for men and women. It may just be silicon valley but I have have noticed a bit more, because I am blonde too. I have also met so many brunettes and asians with higher than normal intelligence. One question I have to raise honestly is: Why? Why do I see many hispanic or African Americans in minority for anything that requires more than a week of training? Yet, I see immigrants from India over-saturating technology (I do not like this as most are below average) and pleasantly abundant in medical professions. I see very few Hispanics and Indian in the legal profession. I know this is a loaded question of which I have my own theories of chance, family, and economic status. I believe economics effect younger people - children; as having few resources effects the perception of opportunity. Then when it does not matter in terms of education loans and grants, it is too late; the mind has been 'set'.

  28. Re:gene linked to intelligence? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Sorry that it offends you, but Asians score higher on average than any other ethnic group. Facts are facts, and the fact that you do not like them doesn't change it.

  29. Re:gene linked to intelligence? by Arker · · Score: 2

    "It is unfortunate that most people -- even modern Africans -- are unaware of the ancient achievements that came out of Africa. "

    People tend to calcify the situation of very recent history and project it earlier - it's as natural and understandable a tendency as it is regrettable. A longer term view would resolve these little bugbears easily.

    The Europeans have been ascendant for a few hundred years, but before that it was a backwater. East and North Africa on the other hand are ancient population centres that have seen civilizations rise and fall repeatedly from the beginning, which have been ascendant not once but multiple times over the course of history.

    --
    =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
    Friends don't let friends enable ecmascript.
  30. OK, so you explained the blonde hair by GodfatherofSoul · · Score: 1

    Now, where the heck do the blonde jokes come from? I've never seen any association between stupidity or airheadedness with blonde people.

    --
    I swear to God...I swear to God! That is NOT how you treat your human!
    1. Re:OK, so you explained the blonde hair by Trax3001BBS · · Score: 2

      Now, where the heck do the blonde jokes come from? I've never seen any association between stupidity or airheadedness with blonde people.

      It was around 1988 or late 80's when Blond joke started in my area and group (BBS'ers), there are some great jokes that vein.

      Trying to answer your question I came across this gem:

      "The researchers found that the blond-haired applicant was rated as significantly less capable than her brunette doppelganger. In addition, participants designated the female applicant’s starting salary as significantly lower when she was depicted as a blonde than when she was shown with brown hair." (sic) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/S...

      (Kyle, D.J.; Mahler, H.I. (1996), "The effects of hair color and cosmetic use on perceptions of a female's ability", Psychology of Women Quarterly 20 (3): 447–455) go figure.

  31. Re:gene linked to intelligence? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Peanut Butter!

  32. Re:gene linked to intelligence? by stephenmac7 · · Score: 2
    --
    "No man's life, liberty, or property are safe while the legislature is in session." -- Judge Gideon J. Tucker
  33. Re:gene linked to intelligence? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    Iron age, actually.

  34. Check your SNP by TheSync · · Score: 1

    Rs12821256, genotype (C;C) has "2x higher likelihood of blond hair" according to SNPedia (based on earlier work), but this new article claims the G allele is associated with blonde hair. Not sure what that means...

  35. Re: gene linked to intelligence? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    WRONG!!! Google history of peanut butter abd read any one of the links.

  36. Least we forget Scandinavia by Trax3001BBS · · Score: 1

    Where Blue eyes and Blond hair originated.

    The subject itself is a troll gimme, as is the best answer in the link https://answers.yahoo.com/ques...

    Having Blond hair and Blue eyes I traced their evolution long ago, Scandinavia was the origin; for a fast post the link was the first hit.

  37. Re: gene linked to intelligence? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Because its much easier for blacks to just depend on Obuma for a handout

  38. Re:gene linked to intelligence? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Haha, great troll. Dr. Carleton "Coon" indeed :P

    I was about to link to list #26 in "How to shut up a pseudoscientist", which specifically focuses on the enormously disproven things you mentioned, but you saved me the effort by outing yourself as a troll :)

  39. Re: gene linked to intelligence? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    You cannot come at a religious argument with logic. It is like kicking water uphill. Just let the idiots believe what they want, the masses of children the government supports for them can be better educated and actually be useful in the world. These people are too far gone; they are dead weight to mankind. Luckily they kill themselves off pretty regularly though.

  40. Re:gene linked to intelligence? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    A large number of the Hispanics in the US are the people that couldn't find work in their home countries in Latin America because of lack of education and/or lower than average intelligence. That is one reason people that come from those countries with a TN or other visa usually requiring a degree sometimes don't want to associate with the ones that are in the US illegally. It would be like your Stanford blondes wanting to hang out with Honey Boo Boo's family.

  41. Strawberry blonde by evilviper · · Score: 1

    This story is a bit too much inside-ball to be interesting, but still, I'm surprised they didn't say anything about the link between blonde and red hair... Though not exclusive, it seems rare to find someone with blonde hair, without a red-haired ancestor. Even as much of a recessive trait as blonde hair may be, red hair is even more extreme, and the two seem very closely linked.

    --
    Slashdot gets worse every day... Pipedot: News for nerds, without the corporate slant
    1. Re:Strawberry blonde by Reziac · · Score: 1

      Simplified, but interesting:

      http://www.eupedia.com/genetic...

      Red hair occasionally pops up in Negroid populations too, tho I'd guess it's a different gene restricting formation of pigment.

      --
      ~REZ~ #43301. Who'd fake being me anyway?
  42. Sex-linked Blond Plietropy by Baldrson · · Score: 1

    Anyone who watches movies knows about the blond bad-guy and the blonde goddess. This blond gene apparently has pleiotropic effects that make men disgusting scum-of-the-earth and women the object of every man's desire.

    Strange how that works.

  43. Re:gene linked to intelligence? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Stop associating North Africa and especially the Egyptians with the cretins that infest the rest of the continent.

  44. Re:gene linked to intelligence? by davydagger · · Score: 1

    Where did you read the blond gene was linked to intellegence?

  45. Re: gene linked to intelligence? by tjb6 · · Score: 1

    It's also much easier for idiots to post inflammatory remarks anonymously.

  46. Parallel discoveries by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Actually math , geometry and arithmetic was "discovered" multiple time , not only in Africa but also in India, China, Greek etc... The reason some African country never get credited is simple : the one which get the credits are the one which spread the discovery. That does not belittle their achievment. It is only that it was a dead end.

  47. Probably from PKU. by Ungrounded+Lightning · · Score: 1

    Now, where the heck do the blonde jokes come from?

    Probably from the genetic metabolic disorder Phenylketonuria (PKU). This enzyme failure, if untreated by a phenylaline-restricted diet, leads to a constelation of symptoms that include mental deficiency, blonde or light hair, and blue eyes.

    Interestingly, one of Hitler's pre-war programs was an attempt to breed more blonde-haired, blue-eyed, Germans. The main result was a drastic increase in the prevalence of PKU in the German population.

    On the other hand, very pretty women tend to experience a social environment where they are rewarded for interacting with others, regardless of how they are behaving otherwise. If consistently rewarded for any statement, whether right or wrong, they have no incentison learn to use and demonstrate intelligence.

    --
    Bantam Dominique roosters crow a four-note song. Once you've heard it as "Happy BIRTHday" you can't NOT hear it that way
  48. Re:gene linked to intelligence? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    But isn't is strange how blonde people are systematically bullied by the Hollywood? They are commonly portrayed as retards or misfits and the bad-guy is almost always a blonde. Where do these "stupid blonde" jokes come from anyway? There cannot be no scientific basis for those jokes. I rather believe that they come from people who are jealous because they aren't blonde. Then if some bleach-blonde blonde-wannabee bimbo with artificially enhanced mammaries makes herself look ridiculous in public, then that's a different story. Usually those people who get that kind of attention are not really blonde.

  49. Re:gene linked to intelligence? by crimson+tsunami · · Score: 1

    Maybe English is your 4th or 5th language, since you're obviously so smart, but something can't be 'very unrepresented'. Very doesn't work like that. Maybe you were thinking of very underrepresented, highly under-represented or something similar.

  50. Re: gene linked to intelligence? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    But there's no logic on any side of that argument to begin with, just dogmas and beliefs. It's either:
    --Assume "just world" hypothesis. Dogma: everyone got in average what they deserve according to their abilities. Africa is poorer thus africans are less smart in average.
    or
    --Assume "just nature" hypothesis. Dogma: no population is in average smarter or dumber than any other population. Africa is poorer thus it can only be due to widespread discrimination, remnants of past colonization, present colonization, exploitation.

    Neither the world, nor nature can be assumed fair. Argumenting from consequences is a logical fallacy. There is no logical reason to assume every population has the exact same average intelligence. Of course, on the other way, nor is there any to suppose there is a correlation between skin color and intelligence. This is only something that can be confirmed or infirmed via multiple observations while controlling for a lot of variables (cultural, socio economical, environmental) which isn't easy and you'd have to be suicidal (career wise) to carry out any honest study. So we're left with assumptions passing as logic.

  51. Neat Discovery, Boring Takeaway by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Uh... epigenetics, tertiary and quaternary structure... scientists have known for a looooong time that changes in sequence outside of protein coding regions can have a significant impact on the gene's activity and prodcut.

  52. "For all those brunettes wishing they were natural by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    No, that's for all those dumb blondes who think that they're somehow, magically, better and have more fun than any other hair color, as if that made a difference. Wonder what hair color the OP has....

                      mark "bloind jokes: revenge for 1000 years of 'blondes has more fun'"

  53. Get a clue by CHIT2ME · · Score: 0

    Get a clue folks, around 17000 years ago all our ancestors were black! This knowledge will, I'm sure, enrage all those good ol' boys in the red southern states of the U.S. Of course, we won't mention that all their genes are recessive!!!!

    --
    My karma is bad. Don't get too close!!!