Why do humans have different eye colors? And does one’s eye color have an evolutionary advantage? These are questions scientists have been trying to figure out for years, but now anthropologists say that lighter eyes might actually have an edge under certain conditions.
Category
📚
LearningTranscript
00:00Why do humans have different eye colors and does one color have an evolutionary advantage?
00:08These are questions scientists have been trying to figure out for decades.
00:12But now anthropologists say lighter eyes might actually have an edge under certain conditions.
00:17Researchers conducted 30-second eye tests all while dimming the lights incrementally for both brown and blue-eyed participants.
00:23They found that those with blue eyes were able to read under significantly darker conditions at just 0.7 lux.
00:29Meanwhile, those with brown eyes tapped out once the light levels fell to just 0.82 lux.
00:34So why might this be of evolutionary benefit?
00:36Well, that's still unclear.
00:37But the researchers say their best guess is that it provided some advantage during the low-light months of winter as mankind moved north out of Africa.
00:45Perhaps blue-eyed people were able to hunt for longer or work longer days next to dimly lit campfires.
00:50Experts warn that this not-yet-peer-reviewed study is still incomplete and that the photo-processing parts of everyone's eyes are the same, regardless of iris color.
00:58Still, if the results are sound, it shines a light on how such a small mutation can affect the course of human history.
01:05Magneto's The High-Speed