The piercing blue eyes of huskies — those beloved, wolf-like canines — stand out among most dog breeds. Now, using genetic tests, scientists find where blue-eyed Siberian huskies get their distinctive eye color. The researchers say this marks another step in our understanding of canine genetics.

“This is the first discovery that’s been made this way outside of humans,” said Adam Boyko, a genomics researcher at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York and co-founder of Embark Veterinary, Inc