Tag Archive for 'Melanin'

The synthetic melanin is being applied to inflamed skin; just under the surface of the skin are green free radicals, also known as reactive oxygen species (ROS). Image credit: Yu Chen, Northwestern University.

Synthetic Melanin Cream Improves Skin Healing after Chemical and UV-Induced Injuries

Nov 2, 2023 by News Staff

In a new study, scientists at Northwestern University show that their synthetic melanin, mimicking the natural melanin in human skin, can be applied topically...

Jaws of Glycera dibranchiata are composites of protein, melanin, and both mineral and ionic copper; to date, nanomechanical tests have correlated the ionic copper and melanin with hardness and wear resistance, but the function of protein is uncertain. Wonderly et al. characterize a Gly- and His-rich protein called multi-tasking protein (MTP) and, using recombinant protein, show that it performs six distinct functions critical for jaw formation and performance, namely (1) recruiting 22 equiv of Cu2+, (2) mediating a liquid-liquid phase separation of the MTP-copper complex, (3) catalyzing the oxidation of 3,4-dihydroxyphenylalanine (Dopa) to melanin, (4) templating the interfacial polymerization of melanin, (5) integrating melanin and itself into thin films and fibers, and (6) providing intermolecular cohesion through Cu bridging. MTP achieves all these by assuming unprecedented roles as a building block, organizer, and fabricator -- a processing feat of considerable relevance to the autonomous production of other polymer composites, blends, and/or networks. Image credit: Wonderly et al., doi: 10.1016/j.matt.2022.04.001.

Study: Bloodworms Use Copper Harvested From Marine Sediments to Form Their Unique Jaws

Apr 26, 2022 by News Staff

Bloodworms Glycera dibranchiata are known for their unusual jaws, which are made of protein (∼50% w/w), ionic and mineralized copper (up to 10%), and...

An artist’s reconstruction of Tupandactylus imperator, showing the feather types along the bottom of the headcrest: dark monofilaments and lighter-colored branched feathers. Image credit: Bob Nicholls.

Pterosaurs Could Control Their Color Using Melanin Pigments

Apr 20, 2022 by News Staff

Paleontologists have examined the fossilized headcrest of Tupandactylus imperator, a species of tapejarid pterosaur that lived in north-eastern Brazil...

Bumblebees exhibit remarkable color pattern diversity that is primarily attributed to Müllerian mimicry. Previous research has identified the red-black mimetic color variation in Bombus melanopygus to be driven by genetic changes in a major upstream developmental gene (Hox gene Abd-B) dictating segmental morphology. Using a stage-specific transcriptomic approach, Rahman et al. unravel how this gene ultimately drives the melanic pigmentation differences, identifying a suite of genes from the most upstream Abd-B, to intermediate developmental genes, and finally to a set of interacting downstream melanin and redox genes. Image credit: Rahman et al., doi: 10.1093/gbe/evab080.

Researchers Discover Gene Network that Drives Color Variation in Bumblebees

Oct 26, 2021 by News Staff

A Hox gene, a major developmental gene that regulates the identity of structures on the segments of black-tailed bumblebees (Bombus melanopygus), turns...

Dry age-related macular degeneration is one of the most common causes of vision loss in people over the age of 50. Image credit: Pexels.

Researchers Identify 50 New Eye Color Genes

Mar 15, 2021 by News Staff

The largest genome-wide association study for eye color to date, involving up to 192,986 European participants from 10 populations, has identified 124...

This deep-sea dragonfish Idiacanthus sp. has ultra-black skin capable of absorbing the bioluminescent light that might blow its cover. Image credit: Karen Osborn, Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History.

Biologists Identify 16 Deep-Sea Fish Species with Ultra-Black Camouflage

Jul 16, 2020 by News Staff

In a paper published today in the journal Current Biology, a team of marine biologists from the United States and the United Kingdom investigated the distribution...

Reconstruction of Eocoracias brachyptera with hypothesized plumage coloration. Image credit: Marta Zaher, University of Bristol.

Paleontologists Uncover New Insights into Non-Iridescent Feather Colors in Prehistoric Birds

Jun 27, 2019 by News Staff

An international team of paleontologists from the United Kingdom and Germany has shown that blue feather melanosomes are highly distinct from melanosomes...

Life reconstruction of Palaeochiropteryx sp. Image credit: Obsidian Soul / CC BY-SA 3.0 / adapted by Sci-News.com.

Paleontologists Determine Original Color of Extinct Bats

Sep 29, 2015 by News Staff

A team of paleontologists from the United States and the United Kingdom has discovered the reddish brown color of extinct bats from fossils dating back...

Fossils Reveal True Color of Mosasaurs, Ichthyosaurs, Prehistoric Turtles

Jan 9, 2014 by News Staff

Fossilized skin pigments from an 85 million-year-old mosasaur, a 193 million-year-old ichthyosaur and a 55 million-year-old leatherback turtle have revealed...

Melanin as New Material for Bioelectronics

Jun 29, 2012 by Enrico de Lazaro

Melanin – the pigment that colors skin, eyes and hair – could soon be the face of a new generation of bio-friendly electronic devices used in applications...

Organic Material Found in Jurassic Cephalopod Ink Sac

May 22, 2012 by Natali Anderson

An international team of paleontologists has found that two ink sacs from 160-million-year-old giant cephalopod fossils discovered two years ago in England...