In the past, people believed that you could predict the eye color of children by seeing the eye colors of parents and grandparents. Based on the belief that brown eyes are a dominant feature and blue is recessive, you can guess what color a child's eyes would be.
Today, we know that eye color is not so easy to get "predicted". While genetics play a role, eye color is not the work of a single genius. There are several genes that contribute to determining eye color. The latter is the result of the amount and distribution of melanin in the iris of the eye (iris - the colored part of the eye).
So while two brown-eyed parents are more likely to have a brown-eyed child, the result is not guaranteed. Nor will it always be the case that a child of a brown-eyed parent and a blue-eyed parent have brown eyes.
- Most of the population has brown eyes.
- People with blue eyes do not have melanin in the stroma, the front layer of the iris. The lack of pigment in the eye causes light to be scattered when it hits them, making the iris look blue.
- Green eyes are the rarest. Only about 2% of the world's population has such eyes. The color comes from both melanin and the effect of light scattering when it stands out.
People born with albinism often have little or no melanin in their body. As such, they usually have light blue eyes. In rare cases, they may have clear irises, which make their eyes look pink or red.
Can eye color change?
Eye color can change in infancy. Many babies are born with blue eyes that eventually turn a different color as melanin develops in the stroma. Their eye color generally becomes permanent around the first birthday.
In general, it is rare for the eyes to change color. They may seem to change when the pupils expand or contract, but this is because the pigments in the iris coalesce or disperse. In some cases, eye color may darken slightly during puberty or pregnancy.
Health problems such as eye trauma, neurofibromatosis, uveitis (a condition that causes swelling of the eyes), etc. - can change the color of the eyes.
Source: Web MD
