Communion Of Dreams

Actually, they’re not that old. Recent genetic research shows that a single mutation less than 10,000 years ago is responsible for blue eyes:

One Common Ancestor Behind Blue Eyes

People with blue eyes have a single, common ancestor, according to new research.

A team of scientists has tracked down a genetic mutation that leads to blue eyes. The mutation occurred between 6,000 and 10,000 years ago. Before then, there were no blue eyes.

“Originally, we all had brown eyes,” said Hans Eiberg from the Department of Cellular and Molecular Medicine at the University of Copenhagen.

There’s a nice explanation of science behind understanding the genetic change and how it can be traced back to a single individual. And this closing bit:

“The question really is, ‘Why did we go from having nobody on Earth with blue eyes 10,000 years ago to having 20 or 40 percent of Europeans having blue eyes now?” Hawks said. “This gene does something good for people. It makes them have more kids.”

Nah – it just makes us more attractive.

[Minor spoilers ahead.]

The reason I mention this discovery is how it shows such a trait can propagate out through the human population quickly. And that of course relates to some of the conjecture I have in Communion of Dreams about the development of psychic abilities in the same kind of time frame.

Interesting stuff!

Jim Downey