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Study Suggests People With Blue Eyes Can Read Better in Dim Lighting
The study supports my long-held theory that people with light-colored eyes can see better in darker conditions.
In 2008, researchers at the University of Copenhagen, in Denmark, found that blue eye color is due to a genetic mutation that occurred between 6,000 and 10,000 years ago and is responsible for all blue-eyed humans. Then, in 2023, researchers from the University of Copenhagen and the University of Norway discovered the genetic mutation came from a single individual — meaning all blue-eyed people have the same ancestor.
But why this mutation occurred and how it has remained to modern days has yet to be settled. Some say that since our bodies transform the sun’s ultraviolet light into vitamin D, blue eyes make sense with lighter skin tones and blonde hair, which are all due to lower melatonin levels. Meanwhile, others think blue-eyed people had more children because the trait was viewed as attractive.
All these theories make sense, but I’ve had one for a while now that lighter eye colors can see better in darker conditions than darker eye colors. Now, Kyoko Yamaguchi, who studies the genetic basis of skin, hair, and eye color at Liverpool John Moores University in the UK, discovered people with…
