What determines the colour of the eyes? Can the colour of eyes be changed?

Answer 1

genes

Answer 2

There's at least two genes affecting eye color. Generally, dominance goes from brown to green to blue. In other words, if at least one allele is for brown, the person will have brown eyes. If green and blue alleles, the person will have green eyes. (Green eyes are rare only because there aren't a lot of people with green alleles - in fact, most 'green eyed' people I've known actually have hazel eyes, but think green sounds more exotic.)

That's very simplified. Grey eyes and hazel eyes show the process is a little more complicated.

Butterfield 8 said: "Eye color is a physical trait that is genetically determined. A favorite pastime for many expectant parents is documenting the eye color of grandparents and extended family members to attempt to predict the eye color of their baby. "

That's not always a good idea if both parents have blue eyes. What if the child has brown eyes?

Answer 3

It's to do with the allele genes each parent has. Each parent has two; some colours are more dominant than others. For example, brown is more dominant than blue, so if one parent had two brown alleles and the other had one brown allele and one blue allele, then the offspring would have brown eyes. This is because there are four "chances", if you like, of what eye colour you will have. Because in this case brown is more dominant than blue, if one of the brown allele bond with the brown allele from the other parent, the offspring will have two brown alleles; a homozygous pair. If it attatches with the blue allele from the other parent, then the child would have a heterozygous pair of alleles, as they would have one brown and one blue allele. Therefore, if they later had offspring with somebody who also had at least one blue allele, then the offspring has a chance of having blue eyes. Here's a "chart" method of figuring this out.

B= brown b= blue


-----|--B-----b----
B | BB Bb
|
B | BB Bb
|


As for changing the colour of eyes, probably not; the DNA structure would have to be altered to do so. Or there's always contact lenses.

Hope this helps.

Answer 4

Eye color is a physical trait that is genetically determined. A favorite pastime for many expectant parents is documenting the eye color of grandparents and extended family members to attempt to predict the eye color of their baby. Any discussion of the inheritance of eye color, requires a review of genetics. In basic terms, eye color is determined by the amount of a pigment called melanin that is in the iris of the eye. Brown eyes have lots of pigment, blue eyes very little. The amount of pigment is determined by a number of genes controlling pigment production. Generally speaking, brown is dominant, meaning that if one parent has brown eyes and the other has blue eyes, the baby will most likely have brown eyes. But the situation is really much more complicated than that. For a more complete description, read on.

Answer 5

genes control eye colour. different alleles (forms of the same gene) can mix together to make new colours, as well as basic dominant and recessive examples.

I wouldn't exactly recommend it but sometimes if people get hit in the eye when they are paintballing their eye change colour (think this happened to Katy Hill but may be getting muddled up). Also I have heard of people using eye drops to make their eyes bluer, but I'm not really sure how that works (or how safe it is).

Answer 6

One thing that I would like to add is that eye color naturally changes based on light availible. TJust as the stronger the light the darker your hair gets, in most cases the stronger the light the lighter the color in your eyes become. However, this is only incrementually changing tones, not creating an altogether different color.

IN addiction, development not only genes effects the color of ones eyes. This development occurs with the aid of genes Im sure, but usally mutations bring about two different color eyes or one eye with two different colors within it.

As I remember eyes color is based on several different genes, different from the layering effect of the skin based alleles but similar. In most cases a brown eyed parent and blue eyed will have a brown eyed offspring but thesre is a degree of blending possible through mutation and natural occurences.

Answer 7

the colour of the eye is determined by 2 genes one for dark and one for light colour, they are co-dominant genes giving any shade of eye colour in the middle. check it though because i studied it 6 years ago and the memory of it is slightly faded

Answer 8

only way to change the colour of the eyes is through contact lenses, the genetic makeup within the embryo decides what your going to look like

Answer 9

brown eyes dominate. you have blue eyes if both parents have blue eyes. like the ginger gene. if 1 parent has blue and the other has brown then the brown more likely wins. did you know men determine the sex of baby, it has nothing to do with mum? can you imagine all those female babies that were killed just because they were female and their moms were got rid of because they gave birth to girls? how foul is the human?

Answer 10

Butterfield 8 is mostly right, though other genes can affect eye color. My father had blue eyes, my mother brown. My two brothers and I have blue or green eyes; both of my sisters have brown eyes.

Answer 11

genetics...as far as changing the color I do not know. They make colored contacts. The Nazis tried to bleach out eyes to make them blue, although it worked the eyes would be ruined and you will probably be blind.