A Planet With No Red-Heads

ALARMING RESEARCH!!!

An article I read in the Seattle Times today stated:
"Dr. John Gray [from Oxford University] explain[s] his foundation's findings: 'The way things are going, red hair will either be extremely rare or extinct by the end of the century."

YIKES! A planet with no red-haired, pale skinned, rosey cheeked people!!!! Scary!

Right now only 4% of the world's population carry the red haired gene. Only 2% have red hair. The country with the most red heads is Scotland with 13% of the population being redheaded. Ireland is second with 10% of the population with red hair.

A few minutes after my daughter, Sadie, was born, the nurse who was cleaning her up announced, "She has red hair!" I was very excited about this. I have always wanted a red-headed baby. I was never surprised to have a red head; I have red-headed cousins and ancestors and my husband's grand-father had reddish hair. People have always made comments to me like, "Where did she get that red hair?"

So, I did a little internet research so I could explain it. This is how I understand it:

Red hair is a recessive gene. Both the mother and the father would have to carry the red haired gene to have red haired offspring.

• If both parents have red hair they have a 100% chance of having red haired children. (I met a family in CA where the parents and all five of their children had varying shades of red hair. Its quite striking).
• If only one parent carries the gene, the child could be a carrier, but the child could not get red hair.
  
• If one parent has red hair and the other carries the gene, they have a 50% chance of having a red-haired child.
  
• Two non-red haired people who both carry the gene, have a 25% chance of having a red-haired child.
  
• If one parent has red hair (or carries the gene) and the other parent doesn't carry the gene, then they have a 0% chance of having a red haired child.

So Sadie had a 25% chance of having red hair. I am delighted she beat the odds.

The red hair gene also "mixes" well with other hair color genes. So the red hair gene can mix with the blond gene and you can have strawberry blond hair, or it can mix with brown and give you auburn hair. As we have all observed, red-hair and fair skin nearly always go together, but there are exceptions. A brunette, for example, that has really fair skin or a blond man who has a red beard are extremely likely to be red-haired gene carriers. Red hair is caused by a MUTATED gene on chromosome 16 which causes a change in the protein that determines hair and skin color. So red hair and pale, white skin are "MUTATIONS" of real? hair and skin color. I love it...

While I am a brunette, I have some red highlighting in my hair. I also have the pale white, sensitive skin that a red-head has. Its funny to think that Sadie's hair and skin color is a "mutation." I know that tan skin is popular, but personally I am partial to fair skin. I think that white skin is beautiful. Sadie's is. Mine isn't anymore. Because I have such sensitive, fair skin, I scar easily, burn easily and I have unflatteringly red cheeks.


Wow! I just cannot imagine that the planet could really be redhairedless in just 93 years! I read another article that better clarifies the scary prediction that in less than a 100 years red heads will be extinct. Basically, people didn't used to move very much. Red haired gene carriers lived near each other and it was easy for them to marry and have children. Today, people move a lot more. Red haired gene carriers are moving away to areas where there are few other carriers and places where there are carriers, more non-carriers are moving in. So the odds of two carriers, meeting and having offspring is getting smaller. Oxford University believes that with this trend, soon red hair will be nearly extinct. The red haired gene won't disappear, but it won't come out often because the number of carriers will continue to dwindle and the rate of two carriers getting together will get smaller and smaller.

So there you have it. I really enjoy educating my readers (all two of you) about the genetics of red hair. Plus, I thought a Public Service Announcement about the extinction of carrot tops was quite urgent.