National Geographic says Redheads set for extinction

Scientific Minds Want To Know

Genetic scientists warn that redheads are a dying breed; soon they will become extinct in the next 100 years. National Geographic magazine reports that less than two per cent of the world’s population has the natural red hair.

There are many famous redheads in history, such as the bard William Shakespeare, Christopher Columbus and the Queen Elizabeth, and the more recent ones Peter Beattie, Nicole Kidman, Prince Harry and Michael Voss. But the future doesn’t look bright for the redheads according to the National Geographic article. Red hair was created by a genetic mutation in northern Europe some thousands of years ago. The article reports that the gene had the beneficial effect of increasing the body’s ability to cope with sunlight; it helped make vitamin D from sunlight. But now because of worldwide interactions, today’s carriers are more prone to skin cancer and are more sensitive to heat and cold-related pain. Because of the smaller percentage of redheads present in the population, it has reduced the chances considerably for the redheads to get redhead partners, so their offspring may or may not be a redhead. The redhead can produce a baby from a single redhead parent; the chances rise when both the parents are redheaded, however. Some experts warn those with red hair could be gone as early 2060, but others say the gene can be dormant in the reproductive system for generations before returning. It is too early to predict redhead extinction; more research and analysis needs to be done if that is the case. For more about red hair check the Wikipedia article.