It's Parents' Day!
I sat down and thought about what is it that I could share as I've been thinking about my parents and me, and my husband as parents to our children. It took me a few days to get an idea. Then something came to my mind. I was wondering why my daughters have brown eyes while my son has black eyes. I continued my investigation by asking a few of my colleagues, "Are you like your mother or your father?". Here are their answers;
Maya: "I look exactly like both of my parents, I don't know how that's possible."
Iman: "I look exactly like my mom!"
Azhar: "I can't even count how many times I have heard, "Wow! you look just like your dad!" I've heard it from my family, friends and also strangers."
Iza: "I've been told that i look like my father."
Ruby: "Apparently I look like my mom but act like my dad."
Annuar: "People say my siblings and I look alike. My eldest brother is always told he resembles our dad. My little brother looks like my mom. The other 5 of us are a mix between our dad and mom. One common feature is we all have the black hair and brown eyes."
Well, it is interesting to listen from them. Sometimes, a person looks like the mother, sometimes a person also could look just like the father and sometimes a person looks like a combination of both parents. Still trying to figure out how come a person could look nothing like either of the parents but he or she is identical to his or her great grandmother? The answer is genetics!
Many would be surprised at how random genetics actually are. Everything from our hair color to our blood type is determined by genes. A combination of our parent's genes and all of their parent's genes combine to determine traits.
A dominant gene always overpowers a recessive one. For example, my husband has brown eyes which is the dominant eye color trait and i have black eyes which is recessive. That is probably why my daughters have brown eyes.
When the parents' DNA combines, we only get one set of genes for a particular physical trait from either the mother or father. We have a fifty-fifty chance of receiving one or the other so it is completely random. We may also receive mostly our father's genes and look exactly like him. Maybe someone might receive a mixture from both and look like a cross between both parents. That is why sometimes a person doesn't look identical to his or her brothers and sisters, unless he or she is a twin. It is even possible for someone to inherit most of his or her genes from the father's mother in which case he or she will look nothing like either parent. This happened with my little daughter who could be our great grandmother's twin if they were the same age. For me, I look identical to my father.
This also means that my daughter inherited her brown eyes from my husband. She also has curly hair as it is different to my straight hair. In this case she must have got my husband's mother's hair type.
It's amazing. So if you are wondering why you look like your mother while your sibling looks like your father, it's all because of genetics.
Here you are. It's me, my husband and our children! No matter who we look like, we must appreciate our family relationship. And always remember, who and what we are now, all comes from our parents.
Posted by Ayu
Learning Specialist, Petrosains
A dominant gene always overpowers a recessive one. For example, my husband has brown eyes which is the dominant eye color trait and i have black eyes which is recessive. That is probably why my daughters have brown eyes.
When the parents' DNA combines, we only get one set of genes for a particular physical trait from either the mother or father. We have a fifty-fifty chance of receiving one or the other so it is completely random. We may also receive mostly our father's genes and look exactly like him. Maybe someone might receive a mixture from both and look like a cross between both parents. That is why sometimes a person doesn't look identical to his or her brothers and sisters, unless he or she is a twin. It is even possible for someone to inherit most of his or her genes from the father's mother in which case he or she will look nothing like either parent. This happened with my little daughter who could be our great grandmother's twin if they were the same age. For me, I look identical to my father.
This also means that my daughter inherited her brown eyes from my husband. She also has curly hair as it is different to my straight hair. In this case she must have got my husband's mother's hair type.
It's amazing. So if you are wondering why you look like your mother while your sibling looks like your father, it's all because of genetics.
Here you are. It's me, my husband and our children! No matter who we look like, we must appreciate our family relationship. And always remember, who and what we are now, all comes from our parents.
Posted by Ayu
Learning Specialist, Petrosains
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