A clear, molecular view of how human color vision evolved
Summary:
After much research, scientists have traced how human vision evolved from being able to see few colors, to being able to see all of the colors of the visible light spectrum. Researchers have traced the evolution back 90 million years, back when our ancestors could only see UV and red light. Initially, there were 5040 different ways that researchers believed eye pigments could have evolved, but 80% of those ways could not have worked. In 1990, Shozo Yokoyama discovered how genetic changes allowed humans to be able to see green light. As of 2008, he headed a project to explore the evolution of the other colors that are visible to humans, and how they evolved.
Relevance:
This article relates to both our studies in genetics, and our current topic, evolution. It documents how changing genetic traits were passed on from generation to generation which allowed humans to see better in the visible spectrum.
Citation:
Emory Health Sciences. "A clear, molecular view of how human color vision evolved." ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 18 December 2014. <www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/12/141218210100.htm>.
What were the advantages of being able to see all colors back in their time, and why could they only see UV and red light initially?
ReplyDeleteThe advantage of seeing more colors is that the organism to can see in more detail. UV and red are on opposite sides of the visible light spectrum so it would have been like a black & white movie with 2 main colors. Only later on did the genes develop to fill in the visible spectrum between UV/red.
DeleteHow were scientists able to discover which colors humans could see at which periods of time?
ReplyDeleteDifferent eye pigments determine which light will be visible. Using DNA evidence, researchers could tell which pigments were being produced and therefore which light spectrums could be visible.
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