Are redheads going extinct? - Live Science

What the report says

Live Science reports that natural red hair, while uncommon, is not expected to disappear from the human population. The article addresses a recurring claim that redheads could go “extinct,” noting that people with red hair make up less than 2% of the world’s population and that the trait is most visible in places such as the United Kingdom and Ireland. Experts cited by Live Science said there is no evidence of an impending loss of the trait.

The explanation centers on genetics. Red hair is linked to recessive variants of the MC1R gene, meaning a person generally needs to inherit relevant variants from both parents to have red hair. But people with one copy may not be redheaded and can still pass the variant to children. Ian Jackson of the University of Edinburgh told Live Science that recessive traits can remain hidden in carriers across generations, so rarity in appearance does not mean the genes are vanishing.

The article also examines melanoma risk, since red hair is often associated with pale skin, sun sensitivity and elevated skin-cancer susceptibility. Jonathan Rees, also of the University of Edinburgh, said MC1R variants are associated with a higher skin-cancer risk, but Live Science notes that many skin cancers occur after reproductive age, limiting their effect on whether the trait persists in the gene pool.

Experts said red hair frequency may shift as populations become more mobile and people have children with partners from regions where MC1R variants are less common. However, Live Science concludes that this would amount to a change in prevalence, not extinction, as long as the variants continue to be inherited and redheads are not having significantly fewer children than others.