• Question: I asked about my central heterochromia in my eyes in chat, but we only had 30 seconds left, could someone please explain how this happens?

    Asked by anon-253397 to Sophie, Richard, Laura, James_the_Scientist on 6 May 2020.
    • Photo: Richard Burns

      Richard Burns answered on 6 May 2020:

      Hey sorry I tried to type an answer fast but I guess we were out of time!
      It looks like there are a lot if different ways that heterochromia can happen; your eye colour is determined by the amount of a pigment (melanin) that is in your eyes. Heterochromia is a condition in which your eyes are producing different amounts of melanin and so are different colours. In some mechanisms of getting heterochromia there is a genetic basis; you may have a mutation that affects the genes which code for melanin production, or you may have inherited these different genes (or alleles) from your parent(s).

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