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The remarkable native community is what we are familiar with up until now. They have become a scientific marvel in the past ten years because of their vibrant fair hair, the Melanesian People, a dark-skinned community from the Solomon Islands. The response is affirmative. Is it possible for individuals of African descent to naturally have blonde hair? Moreover, not only can individuals of African descent be naturally born with blonde hair, but they also appear aesthetically pleasing while sporting it. We have witnessed famous celebrities like Nicki Minaj and Ciara donning blonde wigs and hair extensions.

MORE: The Origins Of Black Individuals With Red Hair.

The Melanesian people are native to a cluster of islands located in the Pacific Ocean, specifically northeast of Australia and south of the Solomon Islands, including Papua and Vanuatu.

Some historians believe that Melanesians, the indigenous group that developed a unique feature of bright blonde hair, may have inherited their blonde hair from European explorers, traders, and settlers who visited the islands and engaged in cross-breeding. Researchers also believe that the bright blonde hair of Melanesian people could be a result of the whitening effect of salt and sun. Additionally, there are several theories about the high fish intake of this group pointing to scientists.

In 2012, researchers from the Stanford University School of Medicine dove deeper into the scientific reason behind the Melanesian’s blonde hair attribute.

Carlos D. Bustamante, a genetics professor at Standford, aimed to discover the gene accountable for the distinct trait. He and his research team gathered DNA information from numerous participants on the island. Utilizing a light reflectance meter, they evaluated the color of the participants’ hair and skin. Additionally, they measured heights and weights and took blood pressure readings, as stated by Stanford Medicine. Afterward, the team requested participants to spit into small tubes to obtain saliva for DNA extraction. Over the course of a month, Bustamante and his team amassed more than 1,000 samples.

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TYPR1 is the gene responsible for the unique trait

To gain a better understanding of their findings, researchers collected data from 43 blonde Solomon islanders and compared it to data from 42 dark-haired islanders. They discovered that 26% of the island’s population carries two copies of a mutant gene, TYRP1, which is related to the protein tyrosinase, an enzyme previously found to influence pigmentation in humans and mice.

Based on the findings of the study, it is not true that the blonde hair of Melanesia was caused by gene flow, as many people believed. Additional research has shown that the unique gene responsible for this trait is only present in individuals from the Solomon Islands and not found in Europeans.

Bustamante, a postdoctoral scholar in the lab, expressed similar sentiments, noting how monumental the result was for studying isolated populations of genetics. “That’s quite fascinating and unexpected,” said Bustamante, emphasizing the exciting nature of the results. Specifically, the characteristic of blond hair in humans independently emerged in equatorial Oceania.

“If we are going to be designing the next generation of medical treatments using genetic information, we need to consider that some populations could disproportionately benefit while others may be harmed. In reality, we have a broad spectrum of populations and it is important to recognize this.”

A significant number of Melanesian adults typically exhibit a darker hair color as their vibrant blonde hair gradually transitions to a deeper shade as they age. Scientists hypothesize that the genetic trait seems to be more common among the younger population residing on the Island. Approximately 5% to 10% of Melanesian individuals possess naturally occurring blonde hair.

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Melanesians are descendants of the first Homosapiens

In a genetic study led by scholars at Anglia Ruskin and Cambridge Universities in 2007, it was found that the Melanesian population is related to the first group of Homo sapiens who emigrated from Africa 2,000 generations ago. What makes the Melanesians interesting is not just their blonde hair.

Academics analyzed the mitochondrial DNA and Y chromosome DNA of Aboriginal Australians and Melanesians from New Guinea to compare the DNA patterns of early humans.

According to the University of Cambridge, the research findings indicate that both the Aborigines and Melanesians possess the genetic characteristics associated with the migration of modern humans from Africa around 50,000 years ago. Instead of intermixing with these populations, these settlers displaced other prehistoric humans like Neanderthals.

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