1) The gene that makes some South Asians fairer is the same gene that makes Europeans fairer than most of the world. Fair East Asians, on the other hand , owe their color to a different gene. 2) The skin-color genes of the people of the Indian subcontinent defied one well-known pattern in color in the world. Generally, people living in—or descended from people living in—higher latitudes tend to be fairer. 3) This study provides new insights into positive selection acting on the gene and the evolutionary history of light skin in humans. It also reveals that the gene, which is responsible for 27 percent of skin color variation in Indians, was positively selected for in North, but not South Indian populations. When something is "selected for," that means it provides some advantage and so gets passed down to offspring, becoming more prevalent in a population over time. Link: http://www.plosgenetics.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjour