[Scutter]

I don't know much about genetics, but this sort of makes sense to me. I never did understand how the simple model could explain eye color. For example, I was taught that brown genes were dominant, and blue were recessive. I have one brown gene, and one blue-eyed gene. So does my wife. We both have brown eyes. So my children have a one in 4 chance of having blue eyes:

Mom's Gene	Dad's Gene	Child's Eye Color
Brown	Brown	Brown
Brown	Blue	Brown
Blue	Brown	Brown
Blue	Blue	Blue

4 combinations, 1 of which leads to a blue-eyed child, hence the 1 in 4 chance.

So my son has grey eyes. How does this simplistic model explain that?

[Andrew Byler]

Grey eyes are a slight color variation on blue.

[Caipirabob]

So my son has grey eyes.

Sounds very cool.

My father had blue eyes, my mother brown.

Of my two other brothers (one older, one younger) and myself, we have 1) Blue/Grey eyes 2) Hazel/Green eyes 3) Dark brown eyes.

I'm the middle. Also the tallest but the weakest (strongest brother presses 345lbs or so.) I'm also the laziest, but I don't think that's genetics. ; )

[CarrotAndStick]

Eye colour inheritance is far more complex than the erroneously simplified "brown gene", "blue gene" etc.

There are people in India with blue eyes, while both parents have brown eyes.

[peyton randolph]

So my son has grey eyes. How does this simplistic model explain that?

---

The milkman.

I'm sorry...couldn't resist.

[I'm ALL Right!]

I have blue eyes, my husband has green w/ hazel around the pupil. My son has green, my other son has blue....my daughter has blue with hazel around the pupil. Strange.

[doc30]

My wife hd an interesting experience in her freshman biology class where simple genetics like this were discussed. The prof mentioned that if both parents were brown eyed, their children would be brown eyed. One girl raised her hand and argued against this because she had blue eyes and her parents both had brown eyes. The prof went into the detailed explanation and the girl ran out of the cloass crying.

Turns out she was adopted and wasn't told. She guessed in in class and left to confront her parents that confirmed it. Talk about a surprising way to learn somehting like that!

[Elsie]

How does this simplistic model explain that?

The mailman?? ;^)