A delightful case of pheomelanism

Originally uploaded by e³°°°

Redhead Day 2009, Breda (the Netherlands) see en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Redheadday & www.roodharigen.nl

The pigment pheomelanin gives red hair its distinctive colour. Red hair has far more pheomelanin than other hair colours, but far less of the dark pigment eumelanin.

The genetics of red hair, discovered in 1997, appears to be associated with the melanocortin-1 receptor (MC1R), which is found on chromosome 16.

Red hair is the rarest natural hair colour, aproximately 1% to 2 % of the human population has red hair. Scotland : 13% of the population, Ireland : 10 %; Wales : 10 %.

Do not despair! DNA WILL SAVE THE DAY!

Source: http://ghr.nlm.nih.gov/dynamicImages/chromomap/mc1r.jpeg

The RedTracer DNA Test can spare you both the heartbreak. You can still remain true to your crimson beauties with this DNA test specifically targeting the MC1R gene responsible for red hair. You can order it for her, for him or for the both of you. According to the Alpha BioLaboratory, Inc. which offers this imposter-proof test,

There are at least 5 SNP’s (Single Nucleotide Polymorphism) in the MC1R gene that result in red hair color. It is estimated that as many as 1 in 4 European descendants might be red hair carriers. The RedTracer DNA test can tell you whether you carry any of the most common changes resulting in red hair.

Now you can avoid the tacky questions without leaving it to chance.