Question

Explain detailly in at least 10 lines why or why not, if GWAS is useful for helping in determine why some people have blue eyes while others do not?

Answer 1

In this case, it is important to explain what Genome Wide association study is and for what it is used. GWAS is a type of analysis of genetic variation along the whole human genome. It is tries to identify an association between the genomic variations and an observable trait. GWAS is focused in the association between single polymorphism nucleotides (SNPs) and observable traits.

To accomplish this task, GWAS requires the study of a huge amount of individuals. With a bid genomic library, the data can compared and conclude some associations. In other words, the genetic of various individuals are compared and it is observed similar polymorphism depending on the gene that is being studied.

For example, we can observe deletions, repetitions or variations in several SNPs and compare them with the genome of an individual that express the trait that we want to study. In the case of the color of eyes, we can take the pattern of several individuals that posses blue eye color and estimate a pattern. Based on this pattern, we can actually identified which genes are responsible for this trait. So yes, GWAS can help us to determine why some people have blue eyes while others do not.