The visual organ is a rather complex system with a number of features. However, at birth, most babies have light blue eyes, their color changes with age. Why it happens?
What determines eye color?
The main factor that affects this parameter is heredity. If the parents of the baby have the same eye color, there is a high probability that it will be transmitted to the newborn.
If the color of the iris is different between mother and father, then the child will most likely inherit the darker one. For example, if one parent has brown eyes and the other has green eyes, then most likely their baby will acquire brown irises in the future.
The same principle works with animals. Although representatives of most species and specific breeds most often have the same eye color, and any deviations are unique cases.
Interesting fact: The rarest eye color is considered purple, and so much so that 99.9% of people on the planet have never met its carriers live. Violet color is obtained by mixing red and blue pigments. Biologists consider such eyes a subspecies of a blue tint.
Scientists also found that about ten thousand years ago, all people had brown eyes, because they lived in certain territories with a fixed climate.
Why do babies change eye color?
When a baby is born, the color of its eyes is light blue or gray.At the age of 3-4 years, he begins to gradually change, acquiring a specific shade. What is the reason for this?
Human eye color depends on the amount of melanin. This substance is responsible for pigmentation of the iris, hair and skin. When the baby is in the womb, melanin is practically not produced, due to which the corresponding parts of the body do not have a fixed hue.
After birth, melanin in the baby’s body begins to be synthesized much faster due to interaction with light. By about three years of age, it accumulates enough to affect the formation of color. At that moment, eye color begins to change in accordance with the inherited genes.
It is due to the formation of melanin in children that the hair color gradually changes, and it can become both lighter and darker.
In nature, there are people with red eyes. This is due to the fact that they basically do not produce melanin. Because of this, the appearance of the iris is determined only by the capillaries inside. Such people are called albinos.
Interesting fact: In photographs taken with the flash, some people may have red eyes. This is due to the fact that due to the bright light entering the pupil, capillaries located inside are visible.
Pigment can change in the future, already in adulthood. The amount of melanin can gradually decrease and increase in the body. However, most often it becomes less and less, especially in old age. So, for example, a person has gray hair closer to old age.
The color of the baby's eyes depends on the amount of melanin. When it is in the womb, the substance is practically not produced, due to which the eye remains light blue or gray. After the birth and the baby is in the world, melanin begins to be synthesized much more actively. And its color determines the color of the iris. The larger it is, the darker the eye will be. There are also albinos - people in whose body there is no melanin.
