The laws of genetics: how to determine the hair color of an unborn child before childbirth. How to take care of baby hair. Mom's or dad's baby, or try to imagine your baby
Incredible Facts
Most parents worry that their child may be born with some kind of disease or hidden genetic disorder.
It comes as a surprise to other dads and moms that their baby is born red-haired, although the hair color of both parents is completely different.
The child was born red
According to Telegraph news, a British company specializing in DNA research is asking all parents-to-be to find out if their child can inherit the so-called "ginger gene" which is responsible for red hair color.
Both parents will be tested for signs of the MK1R gene. It is this gene, according to scientists, that causes red hair.
Dr Jim Wilson, head of DNA research at a UK research centre, says a simple saliva test can show whether a person is a carrier of one of the three existing "red genes".
The red gene is recessive for hair. In other words, a person needs two copies of this gene in order for it to express itself. This means that even if both parents are carriers of the gene, then most likely only one in four children will be red.
As a result, in a family in which redheads have not been born for decades, a child with a fiery hair color may suddenly appear.
In one of his interviews with The Daily Mail, Dr. Wilson noted that the recessive "redhead" gene may not appear for several generations, and then, to the surprise of parents and others, a "redhead" is born. Scientists say this happens quite often. Therefore, you should not look for other reasons, except for genetic characteristics.
redhead people
Contrary to existing stereotypes that redheads are more temperamental and passionate, there is no scientific evidence to support this theory. But the fact that such people have some health problems is talked about by many.
A study in the journal Nature has confirmed that the pigment pheomelanin, which is responsible for red hair, may also contribute to people with red hair are more susceptible to melanoma, than fair-skinned blondes.
The risk of certain diseases in such people increases several times.
As a result of numerous experiments, indeed, it was confirmed that the owners of red hair have an increased threshold of pain sensitivity. Experts say that during operations, such people require additional anesthesia.
However, people with red hair have a number of advantages. Redheads tend to have very pale skin that absorbs the sun's rays better. As you know, ultraviolet radiation in the right proportion contributes to the production of vitamin D, an important nutrient in the human body.
There are very few red-haired people in the world. Only about 0.5 percent of the world's inhabitants have red hair.
Most red-haired people live in Ireland. According to experts, about 10 percent of all Irish people have red hair. Although, according to experts, almost half of all residents of Ireland are carriers of the recessive "red" gene.
According to The Daily Mail, there are also many redheads in neighboring Scotland and England. Foggy Albion holds the record for the number of red-haired people.
redhead celebrities
1. Young red-haired beast Lindsay Lohan (Lindsay Lohan)
The girl is known for her unpredictable character and scandalous actions. It is unlikely that anyone can call her a good girl.
2 Nicole Kidman
The sultry Australian has been stirring men's hearts for decades. It would not be an exaggeration to say that for many representatives of the stronger sex, Nicole is the standard of femininity, beauty and sensuality.
3. Alla Pugacheva
The prima donna of the Russian stage is considered one of the most successful women in the world. Known for her strong character, Pugacheva remains a role model for most young girls.
4. Julia Roberts
For most of us, "Pretty Woman" is her middle name. Many argue that it was the red hair color that brought Roberts success. Charismatic and self-confident, Julia is undeniably one of Hollywood's brightest personalities.
5. Julianne Moore
The Hollywood actress with natural red hair captivated many with her naturalness and perky freckles on her face. Moore is rightfully considered one of the most beautiful women in Western cinema.
Even in ancient times, people guessed that there is such a thing as heredity, and were interested in this, which is confirmed by ancient literature. But only in the middle of the 19th century were the main patterns of genetic inheritance discovered by the Austrian biologist Gregor Mendel. This was the first step on the way to the current genetics. And in the middle of the 20th century, scientists began to study the chemical processes that control heredity. In 1953, the structure of DNA was deciphered, and this became one of the most significant moments in the history of biology. And now everyone knows that DNA is deoxyribonucleic acid, which contains genetic information. DNA contains information about a person, about his physical qualities and character traits. Each cell of the human body contains two DNA codes - from the mother and from the father. Thus, DNA information is "mixed", and a combination of features appears, unique to each person, inherent only to him. Who will the future child look like - mom or dad, or maybe grandma or grandpa? The topic of our today's article is "Human genetics, parents, what will the child be like."
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Photo gallery: Human genetics, parents, what will be the child
It is very difficult to say what genetic combination will turn out. People try to predict, but nature and genetics just do their job. Strong (dominant) and weak (recessive) genes take part in the formation of a combination of genetic characteristics of a child. Strong genetic traits include dark hair as well as curly hair; brown, green or hazel-green eyes; dark skin; baldness in men; positive Rh factor; II, III and IV blood groups and other signs. They also include a large nose, aquiline nose, large ears, puffy lips, a high forehead, a strong chin and other "outstanding" features of appearance. Weak genetic traits include red, blond, straight hair; gray, blue eyes; bright skin; baldness in women; negative Rh factor; I blood group and other signs. Dominant and recessive genes are also responsible for the predisposition to certain diseases.
So, the child receives a set of dominant genes. For example, a child may have daddy's dark hair color, mommy's brown eyes, grandma's thick, straight hair, and grandpa's "stubborn" chin. What is the order of inheritance of genes? Each person has two genes - from the mother, and from the father. For example, a husband and wife both have brown eyes, but each also has a gene for blue eyes inherited from their parents. In 75% of cases, such a couple will have a brown-eyed child, and in 25% - blue-eyed. But sometimes dark-eyed children are born to light-eyed parents, since the parents had a gene responsible for the dark color of the eyes, which was transmitted to them, in turn, from their parents, but did not appear as dominant. In other words, everything is more confusing and much more complicated than just the struggle between dominant and recessive genes.
The external data of a person are the result of mixing several genes, so the result can not always be predicted. Let's take another example with hair color. For example, a man has a dominant gene for dark hair, and a woman has a recessive gene for blond hair. Their child is more likely to have a dark shade of hair. And when that child grows up, his own children may have blond hair. Why is this possible? This child received two genes from his parents - a dominant gene for dark hair (which appeared) and a recessive gene for blond hair. This recessive gene can interact with the partner's recessive genes when conceiving a child and win this "fight". Thus, a person can inherit genes even from distant relatives, for example, from some great-great-grandmother, which may come as a surprise to parents.
Sometimes the same gene can perform several functions at once. For example, several genes are responsible for eye color, which are combined in different ways. But some regularity can be traced. For example, black-eyed parents will not have blue-eyed children. But in brown-eyed (with various variations of shades) parents, brown-eyed children are most often born, but blue-eyed children may well be born. Parents with blue or gray eyes are more likely to have blue or grey-eyed children.
It is difficult to predict a child's height and foot size. Some predisposition to one or another growth can be traced, but here everything depends not only on genetics. Of course, with tall parents, the child will most often be above average. But a lot also depends on how the expectant mother ate during pregnancy, how the child himself ate, what diseases he had, and so on. If a child in childhood ate well and properly, got enough sleep, moved a lot, went in for sports, then he has every chance of achieving high growth rates. Also, sometimes even facial expressions and facial expressions are genetically transmitted from parents to children.
Character traits, temperament are also transmitted genetically, but it is very difficult to predict. But the character of a child is not only genetics, it is also upbringing, environment, position in society. Children also, when communicating with their parents, adopt some character traits, so parents should be careful and vigilant - show good qualities, show children a worthy example of behavior.
And, of course, the level of intelligence, mental abilities, a penchant for certain sciences, activities, hobbies are also genetically transmitted (probability - up to 60%), for example, a penchant for music, dancing, sports, mathematics, drawing and so on. In addition, even taste, aroma and color preferences are inherited, for example, a love of spicy or sweet, and the like.
There is an opinion that boys are more likely to look like mom, and girls look like dad. This is true, but only in part. Indeed, boys are often very similar to their mother, because they inherit the X chromosome from her, which contains a huge number of genes responsible for appearance, and they receive the Y chromosome from their father. Girls, on the other hand, receive one X chromosome from their father and mother, so they can be similar to both parents.
The gender of the unborn child depends entirely on the man. Female germ cells have only X chromosomes, which means that any egg at conception, respectively, contains only X chromosomes. Male sex cells contain both X and Y chromosomes. Y chromosomes are responsible for the male sex of the child. Thus, if the female X chromosome meets the male X chromosome, then a girl will be born. And if the female X chromosome meets the male Y chromosome, then a boy will be born.
In fact, it is not so important what gender the child will be, and what color his eyes and hair will be. The most important thing is that the child is healthy and happy, and his parents too! Now you will find out how important human genetics are, parents, what kind of child will be depends on your heredity! Don't forget to lead the right lifestyle!
Parents even before the birth of the baby want to know how he will look and who he will look like. Today, you can get answers to many questions without expensive tests and ultrasound. This will help the rules of genetics. They allow you to determine what hair color the child will have without much time and effort. To make a prediction, it is enough to analyze the appearance of the mother and father.
What will be the color of the child's hair?
What hair color will the child have?
For the inheritance of certain traits and characteristics from ancestors, special molecules are responsible - DNA. They consist of separate particles - genes, each of which corresponds to a certain external characteristic. These particles are of two types: dominant and recessive.
The former always win over the latter and are passed on to the next generation. If two strong or weak genes enter into a “fight”, it becomes more difficult to predict its outcome. The genetics of more distant ancestors is involved in the "struggle".
Among the external signs that manifest themselves as dominant include:
brown-eyedness;
tendency to hair loss;
curly hair;
dark hair color;
skin pigmentation;
right-handedness;
short stature, etc.
External signs due to recessive genes are:
straight hair;
Blue eyes;
light hair;
pale skin, etc.
To determine what the child's hair color will be, you need to analyze the possible outcomes of the "struggle" of different genes. Practice shows that in the overwhelming majority of cases, the strong defeat the weak.
For example, if the father has black hair and the mother is blonde, their son or daughter will be either a brunette or the owner of dark blond curls. The shade in any case will be much darker than that characteristic of the recessive trait. The structure of the hair is also not always 100% borrowed: instead of curls, the child may have a little curly hair.
Who will the child look like? This often worries future parents. But really, is it possible to know in advance what the baby will look like, who has not even been born yet? With the sex of the child, everything is more or less clear: it depends on which cell of the man fertilized the egg.
A girl or is it a boy?
50% of male gametes contain an X chromosome and the other 50% contain a Y chromosome. If the first half merges with the egg of the future mother, there will be a girl, if the second (Y) - there will be a boy. In nature, it is foreseen that a little more boys are born in the world than girls. Scientists suggest that in this way the balance of women and men is accomplished. The fact is that the male body is less resistant to diseases, any adverse factors immediately affect their body in the womb. This vulnerability of the male half of the population arises from the fact that the "X" chromosome occurs only once in them.
If we talk about the chances of giving birth to a boy or a girl, then you can believe that nutrition, postures and other methods are unlikely to help ... If you really want a child of a certain gender, then you need to go to a geneticist or be ready for artificial insemination.
Many grandmothers are sure that girls will definitely look like dad, and boys like mom. This is only true for boys. The fact is that the male sex inherits only one X chromosome from the mother, and this chromosome contains a very large amount of information about the facial features that naturally belong to the mother. The Y chromosome is not so rich in the genes responsible for appearance.
Girls get one X chromosome from their father and another from their mother, so there is a 50% chance that they are similar to one of their parents.
What color will the baby's eyes be?
Remember biology lessons at school? They talked about recessive and dominant genes. The recessive gene is "weak" and, in the presence of a dominant one, it can easily not manifest itself. The recessive gene is responsible for blue eyes, and the dominant gene is responsible for brown eyes. Therefore, other things being equal, if one of the parents is blue-eyed and the other is brown-eyed, then the child is more likely to have brown eyes. But it’s also impossible to predict which gene each of the parents will pass on to him, because a brown-eyed parent can have a second hidden gene for blue eyes.
If both partners have brown eyes, then with a probability of 75% the baby will have brown eyes. If the husband and wife are blue-eyed, then theoretically children with brown eyes cannot be born to them, because both partners carry the recessive gene. But there are cases when a brown-eyed baby is born to such a couple, why does this happen? It used to be thought that a specific gene was responsible for each feature of appearance, but recently scientists have proven that this is not one gene, but a whole group. Therefore, very rarely, but the genes of blue-eyed partners can be combined so that the baby will get brown eyes.
Despite such difficulties, there are still certain rules:
- parents with very dark eyes - children with blue or gray, most likely, will not be;
- mom and dad have brown, hazel, honey eye color - the probability of blue-eyed babies is extremely small, most likely the color of the parents' eyes is inherited;
- a couple has blue or gray eyes - the children will also be blue or gray-eyed.
What features of appearance usually dominate?
In addition to the color of the eyes of the parents, there is still a lot of interest in the appearance of the unborn baby. If there is some distinctive feature in the family of one of the parents, then most likely the unborn child will also inherit it. These include poor eyesight, strabismus, left-handedness, extra or short fingers - all of these traits are dominant. We offer you a complete list (link opens in a new window).
What will the hair be like?
Blond hair is a recessive trait. If mom and dad are fair-haired, then the baby will be like that too. But if one of the parents has dark hair, then the child inherits just such a color or the average between the shades of the parents. But all Slavs have a distinctive feature: their children are almost always born with blond hair, and only by the age of 12 does the hair acquire the color that will accompany a person all his life until gray hair appears.
Curly hair or straight? Most likely the first one. If mom or dad has curly hair, then the child inherits this feature. In extreme cases, the hair will be at least curly.
High or low heir?
As a rule, the child will grow to an average growth rate between the data of mom and dad. If in childhood the baby was not affected by adverse factors: ecology, diseases, poor nutrition, then sometimes the child can even become taller than his parents.
In general, is it really so important what kind of nose, ears or eyes your child will have. Believe me, as soon as you see him, he will be the most beautiful of all children for you. And it will stay that way for the rest of your life.
