** SAVE THE REDHEADS!!!*

[underpants]

If predictions by the Oxford Hair Foundation come to pass, the number of natural redheads everywhere will continue to dwindle until there are none left by the year 2100.

The reason, according to scientists at the independent institute in England, which studies all sorts of hair problems, is that just 4 percent of the world's population carries the red-hair gene. The gene is recessive and therefore diluted when carriers produce children with people who have the dominant brown-hair gene.

Red hair certainly has made the endangered list. But with 4 percent of 6.4 billion people carrying the gene, says University of Rochester Medical Center's David Pearce, it is too large a figure to be wiped out completely in the next 95 years.
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/living/2002266852_redhair09.html

Red alert!

Gene for flaming tresses is dyeing out, experts say
The red hair gene possessed by stars such as Lindsay Lohan and Debra Messing is heading toward extinction, according to National Geographic magazine.

Experts are warning the red-hair gene could be completely wiped out by 2100.

Scotland has one of the highest numbers of redheads in the world, with 40% of its residents carrying the gene, and 13% of the population sporting red locks.

But even though the genuine redhead may one day become a thing of the past, the appeal of having vibrantly colored hair shows no signs of diminishing.

About $123 million was spent on red hair dye in the U.S. last year, according to National Geographic.
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/us_world/2007/08/19/2007-08-19_red_alert.html

[WilliamPitt]

1. 1991-1992, I dated three redheads back-to-back-to-back.

Wasn't trying to, it just happened.

Hoo.

Didn't promulgate the gene with any of them, tho.

Sorry.

[underpants]

2. My wife is a redhead

our girl has some red hair.

Doing what I can

[poverlay]

21. My wife is a strawberry blonde redhead and my grandmother was too. Together we produced a girl with

that deep, dark, red that woman would kill and dye for. I've seen the color on the front of scores of dye brands, but never seen it work out in real life like it is on my daughter.

Long story short:
Doing what I can too.

[TheCowsCameHome]

10. A four-way, huh? You da man.

Woo Hoo.

[WilliamPitt]

11. Yeah.

I mainline Wheaties. ;)

[blogslut]

3. Noooo!

This will not stand! I love redheads. I have several members on my mother's side of the family that were born redheads but all I got was crappy strawberry blonde hair at birth. That quickly turned to mousy brown. Now, I dye it red because I love red hair that much.

[shanti]

27. it seems that

redheads and blondes run in the same families....

[Marrah_G]

4. Hmm I have red hair, none of my kids do though.

My guy is a red head also, his son is not.

Yeah we both come from Scottish blood.

[Blue_Tires]

5. one word: cloning!

:yoiks: :scared: :think:

[ProudToBeBlueInRhody]

6. God, I love redheads

I'd say 2100, in relative terms, is a bit too soon for it to disappear like that.

[poverlay]

20. You have forever earned my respect and affection for posting that pic of Shirley. She is the first

celebrity that I have ever been truly a "fan"atic for. What a wonderful, talented, and sexy woman. That accent of hers drives me crazy!

[ProudToBeBlueInRhody]

34. I admit, I love her

Not a celebrity obsessed nut, but if she ever goes back on tour, I will be there to see her and hopefully get an autograph or picture. Her accent just kills me.

I just started putting random pictures of her and Garbage in my sig.

[we can do it]

7. Are You Serious? I Have a Neice and Nephew with Red Hair

No other redheads in either family...weird. And there are several other redheads in their area too. A lot more than we had in my schools.

[grannie4peace]

8. that sounds impossible-- i covet red hair!

[liberal N proud]

9. I did my part

My wife is redhead and we have one redhead daughter.

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

12. I was born with red hair

and then it fell out and was replaced with childhood blond hair, which turned brown as I grew older. Now it is turning blond again naturally, though some call it yellowish-white hair :)

My step-father was a redhead, but as he aged his hair turned brown--and his son and daughter had the same thing happen. Is this a common thing to happen? Or were they not really redheads? Their complexion wasn't as pale as my red-headed cousins.

[msu2ba]

13. I'll be gone by then.

Thank goodness I won't be around to see this if they're correct. It'd be an awful world without redheads! :cry:

[Political Tiger]

14. Here's one redhead I wouldn't mind see going extinct:

[redwitch]

16. I was sure this would be that awful picture of CarrotTop.

Whew.

I am a redhead, 2 sons with dirty blonde hair. Maybe grandkids someday????

[Arugula Latte]

38. Here's another ... An evil Bush spawn.

Why doesn't little Pierce get his ass to Iraq?

[dysfunctional press]

15. that may not be a completely bad thing...

[-..__...]

23. I agree.

[gollygee]

17. My parents would like me to have a red headed child

Not likely with my husband. Brown haired kids here. Sorry, mom and dad, I've had two kids and I'm not having any more. Anyway, I have a red-headed nephew.

[Waiting For Everyman]

18. Redhead here.

I was the only one in our family of 6, growing up. But my 2 kids are redheads, and so is a neice... we're makin' a comback! :P

I used to always gripe that redheads are the minority group that nobody notices. Believe me, we get a lot of shit for it too.

Although there is the flip side of the coin as well. When I traveled out west years ago, the older Indians of several tribes told me that redheads were traditionally regarded as magic, and it was considered extreme bad luck to harm one. There were similar traditions in some other native areas of the world too.

[lunatica]

19. My father, his sister and mother were redheads

None of us came out redheads, although my son's beard is red, but his hair is brown. None of his sister's five kids has red hair, nor do their offspring.

Now if the fat gene would go recessive that would be welcomed!

[aikoaiko]

22. Evolution marches on......

[AngryAmish]

24. I read somewhere that the mutation for blue eyes is only 6,000 years old

Maybe a new mutation will come along.

The problem: successful males and females do not have as many children as they used to. Octomom excluded. My point is a new mutation would probably take longer to get into the general population than it did when a man could have 14 wives and 100 kids if he was the king.

[Bake]

25. IBTOPOCT!

In before the obligatory pic of Carrot Top!

:rofl:

Bake

[Barack_America]

35. Ahem. You're #25. See #23.

;)

[Arugula Latte]

36. Nevahmind...

[blindpig]

26. Yes, by all means....

[Zodiak]

28. Bullshit

The way this article is put together, they still do not give a REASON for the red haired gene going down in the overall population.

In order for gene frequency to go down, there has to be selective pressure against it.

Anyone have a problem marrying/having sex with redheads? No?

Do redheads die at an early age where they cannot have children? No?

Is the redheaded gene linked with a disease at all? No?

Then the gene is fixed in the population, and just because allele frequency is low doesn't mean it will dwindle to nothing.

Humans are panmyxic and long since removed from natural selection. We have plenty of horrible, debilitating genes that kill kids long before they are able to reproduce, and those genes are pretty fixed in the population. So why would the gene for red hair be special?

If anything, the redheaded gene should find itself fixed in new populations because of the ease of world travel, etc.

Sorry, just on the surface, this article strikes me as sensationalist BS.

[Barack_America]

39. Perhaps Dr. Pullmeov's research is yielding results.

;)

[Blue_Roses]

29. my daughter has red hair...

so does my sister, my husband's sisters, five of my uncles (who are now deceased)...I guess we've helped some with keeping the gene going...although, it wasn't intentional!:D

[Blue_Roses]

30. dupe

[Blue_Roses]

31. my daughter has red hair...

so does my sister, my husband's sisters, five of my uncles (who are now deceased)...I guess we've helped some with keeping the gene going...although, it wasn't intentional!:D

[Harry Monroe]

32. My son is a redhead and so is a niece.

Also a cousin.

I've dated redheads, but my wife's hair is brown. My son gets his hair from his Irish great-grandmother on my wife's side.

[stanwyck]

33. Guess I'm one of a dying breed.

My brother, sister, and I are all natural redheads - our parents both have (had) dark hair. Only my brother has a red-haired child. I have fraternal twins -- a blonde son and a brunette daughter. I'm hoping someday to have a red-haird grandchild.

[Blue_In_AK]

37. My family is doing its part to save the redheads

My grandson Sebastian :loveya: