Albinism

Albino African Penguin

An albino baby girl in an orphanage in Malawi.

Albinism is a condition some people and animals are born with. This condition is caused by a lack of pigment (color) in their hair, eyes, and skin. A person or animal with albinism is sometimes called an albino, but many people prefer to be called a “person with albinism”.

People with albinism usually have white or light blonde hair and very fair skin. Their eyes are blue, or rarely pink-ish. People with albinism in reality do have some problems including bad vision and getting sunburn easily. All of these problems are because people with alibinism have little or no pigments in their eyes, skin and hair.^[1]

Vision problems in albinism include nystagmus (irregular fast movements of the eyes), strabismus (where the eyes fail to balance) and refractory errors (like being near-sighted or far-sighted).

Albino animals are easily attacked by predators because they cannot hide themselves like the non-albino members of their species.^{[needs proof]}

Genetics of albinism 

Albinism is a hereditary condition. It is usually inherited in an autosomal recessive pattern; it means, both parents should carry the albinism gene to have a child with albinism.^[1]

 Famous people with albinism 

• Edgar Winter-musician