By Rob Waugh PUBLISHED: 06:13 EST, 4 May 2012 | UPDATED: 21:59 EST, 5 May 2012 The inhabitants of the Solomon Islands - east of Papua New Guinea - are very dark-skinned - but have puzzled scientists for decades with their blond hair. Now a genetic study has found that the islanders have a 'homegrown' gene that gives them blond hair - and it's different from the one in Europeans. ‘Its frequency is between 5 and 10 percent across the Solomon Islands, which is about the same as where I'm from,’ said study author Eimear Kenny, PhD, who was born in Ireland.
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Many assumed blonde hair came from Europeans
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'Homegrown' gene actually evolved separately
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5-10% of population have distinctive blond gene
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Islanders believed blond hair came from the sun, or a diet rich in fish
Because the vast majority of human physical characteristics analyzed to date have many genetic and environmental factors, @placeholder expected an inconclusive result that would require much further study.