why are my eyes blue and my dads brown?

Answer 1

The way I learned it at school although I appreciate this is probably a simplified explanation...

You have two genes that determine eye colour B (pigmented) and b (non pigmented). Non pigmented eyes are blue, pigmented eyes are brown.

You receive one gene from each of your parents and this determines your eyes colour.

BB = brown
Bb = brown
bB = brown
bb = blue

and this is why brown eyes are more prevalent.

My family:
Mum: bb (blue)
Dad: Bb (brown)
Me: Bb (brown)
Bro: bb (blue)

As an example my mum has blue eyes and my dad has brown eyes. My mum must have bb and my dad either BB or Bb. I can only have received little b from my mum as both her genes are non pigmented. However, my eyes are brown so I must have got the pigmentation from my father so I am Bb.

My brother has blue eyes and so is bb. He got one little b from my mum and the other from my dad so my dad must be Bb.

You could still inherit blue eyes even if both your parents have brown eyes. If both parents were Bb, you have a 25% change of receiving both recessive genes and having blue eyes.

Answer 2

YOu don't say what color your mothers eyes are.

Blue eyes are a recessive gene. YOu have to get the recessive gene from both parents to get the blue eyes. Two brown eyed parents can create a blue eyed child if they both have a recessive gene.

If you got a brown gene from your dad and a blue gene from your mother you would have brown eyes. Brown trumps blue.

Answer 3

Like many human characteristics, eye colour is determined at least partially by genetics. This is where your parents' characteristics are passed onto you and your siblings via your genes.

As with most genes, people have two copies of the gene controlling eye-colour (one from each parent). You only need one copy turned 'on' to make enough melanin to have brown eyes. Obviously the same applies to your parents, so a brown-eyed parent could have one or two 'on' copies, but a blue-eyed one must have two 'off' genes.

So, if your father has brown eyes, he might have both genes turned 'on', or just one. If he gives you an 'on' copy then you will have brown eyes, whatever colour eyes your mother has. The same applies to your mother. If she gives you an 'on' copy then your eyes will be brown. If you get an 'on' copy from each parent then your children's eyes will be brown too. You can still get blue-eyes from two brown-eyed parents, but only if they both have one 'on' and one 'off' copy and they both give their 'off' copy to you. If this were the case, you should have three brown-eyed siblings for every blue-eyed one (although you would need a lot a brothers and sisters to test this).

However it isn't as easy as that. There is more than one gene controlling eye colour, allowing for various degrees of pigmentation.

Answer 4

I'm not sure how the whole eye colour thing works...
I have 1 blue eye and the other is half blue/brown... People ask me how it happened and i don't know so i tell them my mum knocked some pepper into my eye when i was a baby... They believe it too lol!!

Answer 5

I am assuming your mother's eyes are blue. Blue eyes are a recessive gene. 2 Brown eyed parents can produce a blue eyed child if it is in their genes somewhere but it is very unlikely for 2 blue eyed parents to produce a brown eyed child. Have some fun and trace back your familie's eye colour by talking to your parents. Also apparently blue eyed men are more attracted to women with blue eyes.

Answer 6

For a childs eyes to be blue both the mother and the father must be carriers of the blue eyed gene. It doesn't mean that they themselves actually have to have blue eyes.

Answer 7

your dad has a recessive blue gene, this means whilst the colour you see in his eye's is brown the eye colur gene he passed on to you during conception was blue. This mixed with your mothers blue eye gene and gave you blue eyes.

Answer 8

Its all in your genetic make up if you look back in your family you will find brown eyes.Its not that your dad is not your dad or anything like that so don't worry just look at grandparents eyes or ask who had what colour eyes.

Answer 9

You don't always get the same colour eyes as your parents. Perhaps your mum has blue eyes or you have inherited an eye colour from someone else in your family tree.

Answer 10

my son may well ask me the same question oned day

i have very brown eyes, my wife too
one boy has brown eyes, the other has blue

my mother had blue eyes, so i guess they are inherited from her

as a lot of answers say...genetics, they can skip a generation