Spanish scientists from the University of the Basque Country have shown that the gene for red hair, V60L , appeared 50,000 years ago, when humans left the warm climate of the African continent and moved to northern Europe , where they had to adapt to absorb enough vitamin D despite the decrease in the amount of sunlight they received.
The gene is practically exclusive to the European continent and has a drawback for human health: its presence increases the risk of suffering from melanoma , the deadliest form of skin cancer, mainly due to the depigmentation of the skin that usually accompanies the reddish color of hair, according to Saioa Lopez, co-author of the study that will be published in the journal Molecular Biology and Evolution .
