Genealogy /
Red Hair - recessive gene from Poland? [108]
That's what it says...
Biochemistry and genetics
A close-up view of red hairThe pigment pheomelanin gives red hair its distinctive colour. Red hair has far more pheomelanin than other hair colours, but far less of the dark pigment eumelanin.
The genetics of red hair, discovered in 1997, appears to be associated with the melanocortin-1 receptor (MC1R), which is found on chromosome 16. Red hair is associated with fair skin colour due to low concentrations of eumelanin. This lower melanin-concentration has the advantage that a sufficient concentration of important Vitamin D can be produced under low light conditions.
Other parts reference studies as late as 2000 and 2004.
And this...
Red hair was thought to be a mark of a beastly sexual desire and moral degeneration.
red hair and green eyes were thought to be the sign of a witch, a werewolf or a vampire during the Middle Ages;
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_hair