Over 100 genes found to affect human hair color

BEIJING, June 11 (Xinhua) -- Scientists have found more than 100 genes that affect hair color, reported Monday's China Youth Daily.

Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) Beijing institute of genomics, in partnership with overseas institutions, used multi-ethnic samples to precisely quantify the hair color of almost 300,000 individuals, analyzing the relationship between hair color and over eight million genes, said the newspaper.

They discovered more than 100 genes that affect hair color.

It is possible to accurately predict a person's hair color based on the new discoveries. The findings have a wide scope of applications, including police investigations, allowing authorities to determine an unidentified criminal's hair color from a DNA sample.