ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

Perry–Robertson formula

So, you know that when we have a big family, there are certain things that we can see in our family members that we also have. Maybe we have the same eye color as our mom or dad, or the same curly hair as our grandparents.

Scientists use something called the Perry-Robertson formula to understand how certain traits (like eye color or hair texture) are passed down from generation to generation.

Basically, our parents each have two copies of every gene (one from their mom and one from their dad), and when they have a baby, they pass down one copy of each gene to their baby.

The Perry-Robertson formula helps scientists figure out how likely it is that certain traits will be passed down based on how often they show up in the genes of a big group of people.

So, if lots of people in a big family have blue eyes, and we know the Perry-Robertson formula, scientists can use that information to figure out how likely it is that someone in that family will also have blue eyes.

It's kind of like a puzzle that scientists can solve using the Perry-Robertson formula to help understand how different traits get passed down in families.