from Daily Mail
- Many assumed blonde hair came from Europeans
- ‘Homegrown’ gene actually evolved separately
- 5-10% of population have distinctive blond gene
- Islanders believed blond hair came from the sun, or a diet rich in fish
By Rob Waugh
PUBLISHED: 06:13 EST, 4 May 2012 | UPDATED: 06:59 EST, 4 May 2012
The inhabitants of the Solomon Islands – east of Papua New Guinea – are very dark-skinned – but have puzzled scientists for decades with their blond hair.
Now a genetic study has found that the islanders have a ‘homegrown’ gene that gives them blond hair – and it’s different from the one in Europeans.
‘Its frequency is between 5 and 10 percent across the Solomon Islands, which is about the same as where I’m from,’ said study author Eimear Kenny, PhD, who was born in Ireland.
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