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The mystery of Pingelap, the island whose inhabitants live in black and white

In one of the four states that make up the Federated State of Micronesia , is the island of Pingelap .It is part of an atoll that has only 1 tide '8 km2. 250 people live on the island and are of great interest to geneticists around the world who want to investigate the mystery of Pingelap, the island whose inhabitants live in black and white .

The mystery of Pingelap, the island whose inhabitants live in black and white

The 10% of the island's inhabitants suffer from a vision disorder that prevents them from appreciating colors .They suffer from achromatopsia .This particularity means that the person who suffers it can only see the white, the black and the different ranges of gray.For the inhabitants of the island who are mostly engaged in fishing and live in full sun, this is a great inconvenience .The world as if it were the burned image of an old negative.In addition, the fact of not distinguishing colors complicates their lives in many other matters, such as knowing the optimal moment to consume certain fruits because of its tone .On the other hand, Pingelap residents who have achromatopsia have excellent night vision .

The mystery of Pingelap, the island whose inhabitants live in black and white

To know the origin of this disorder geneticists studied the history of the island.In the year 1775 the atoll was razed by a typhoon called Liengkieki who killed 90% of its inhabitants.They were only 20 people alive .All those who suffer from achromatopsia are descendants of one of them: the chief Mwanenised.This man suffered complete achromatopsia, which causes blindness to I color those who suffer.The curious thing about this case is that the disorder did not appear until the fourth generation and it doubles in the sixth.

The mystery of Pingelap, the island whose inhabitants live in black and white

Geneticists believe that It is due on the one hand to the inbreeding , since there were very few inhabitants.On the other hand, due to the effect called «bottleneck» , which means that there is very little genetic variety left very few members in the community, and thirdly to the so-called founder effect.The "founder effect" are the consequences that derive for a new population the fact of coming from a very small number of individuals.In addition to the isolation of the atoll , the beliefs of the native people of Pingelap prohibit them from marrying people from outside the island , a fact that results in the increase of individuals affected by the achromatopsia.

The mystery of Pingelap, the island whose inhabitants live in black and white

If you have been interested in this article, you may want to know more about another community with a genetic disorder that is transmitted from generation to generation, an African tribe with ostrich feet goes.

Images: Kelly, Sarah Boyd, T-Town Photo Booth

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