Blue eyes are a genetic mutation

In 2008, new research suggested that people with blue eyes have a single common ancestor. Scientists tracked down a genetic mutation that leads to blue eyes. "Originally, we all had brown eyes," said Eiberg. Eiberg and colleagues showed in a study published in Human Genetics that a mutation in the 86th intron of the HERC2 gene, which is hypothesized to interact with the OCA2 gene promoter, reduced expression of OCA2 with subsequent reduction in melanin production. The authors concluded that the mutation may have arisen in a single individual probably living in the northwestern part of the Black Sea region 6,000–10,000 years ago during the Neolithic revolution.

Benoit Paille 

Blue eye macro photography Suren Manvelyan, Armenia 

Girl from Desești, Maramureș, Romania / Gabriel Motica 

PICTURE OF THE DAY / 2.10.10

Black Sea, Romania, Saturday 2nd of October 2010.

ARCA has successfully launched the first Romanian space rocket and completed the first flight in the Google Lunar X Prize Competition.

More pictures
http://picasaweb.google.com/arcaorbital/Misiunea4b#