Melanin News and Research

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In humans, melanin is the primary determinant of skin color. It is also found in hair, the pigmented tissue underlying the iris of the eye, and the stria vascularis of the inner ear. In the brain, tissues with melanin include the medulla and zona reticularis of the adrenal gland, and pigment-bearing neurons within areas of the brainstem, such as the locus coeruleus and the substantia nigr

Researchers make new discovery on pigment melanin and skin - hair color

The pigment melanin, which is responsible for skin and hair color in mammals, is produced in specialized cells called melanocytes and then distributed to other cells. But not every cell in the complex layers of skin becomes pigmented.

10 Sep 2007

Beware some cosmetic treatments carry health risks!

According to a consumer group in the UK people who undergo some cosmetic treatments put their health at risk by going out in the sun too soon.

29 Aug 2007

Discovery on manipulating skin tone and color

In the timeless quest for healthier, younger looking skin, scientists from the University of Cincinnati and Tokyo Medical University have made an important discovery toward manipulating skin tone and color.

24 Aug 2007

New options in treating pigmentation disorders

Melanocytes are not the only cells responsible for differences in skin coloration. New research from the University of Cincinnati (UC) has shown that some of the most basic cells on the skin's surface influence pigment production and help regulate skin coloration.

24 Aug 2007

Diagnosing skin cancers with laser-based system

In an early step toward nonsurgical screening for malignant skin cancers, Duke University chemists have demonstrated a laser-based system that can capture three-dimensional images of the chemical and structural changes under way beneath the surface of human skin.

5 Jun 2007

Discovery of fungi that uses radioactivity as an energy source

Scientists have long assumed that fungi exist mainly to decompose matter into chemicals that other organisms can then use.

24 May 2007

Gene-for-gene interactions help bacteria kill their host

Scientists have discovered that a cousin of the plague bacterium uses a single gene to out-fox insect immune defences and kill its host.

4 May 2007

Melanin concentrating hormone found to be involved with insulin production

A new Joslin Diabetes Center-led study has shown conclusively that a neuropeptide, melanin concentrating hormone (MCH), found in the brain and known for its role in increasing appetite in people, plays a role in the growth of insulin-producing beta cells and the secretion of insulin.

28 Jan 2007

New technique detects signature of metastasizing melanoma with as few as 10 cancer cells present in blood sample

Researchers at the University of Missouri-Columbia can now detect the spread of skin cancer cells through the blood by literally listening to their sound.

16 Oct 2006

Atp7a determines a hierarchy of copper metabolism essential for notochord development

A new study reveals the timing of developmental events that critically depend on copper. While copper deficiency is rare in humans, the findings suggest that suboptimal copper metabolism might contribute to birth defects, according to the researchers.

8 Aug 2006

Doctors may be over-diagnosing melanoma in sun-damaged skin

A Mayo Clinic physician and colleagues have defined the normal number of melanocytes that are present in Caucasians' sun-exposed skin.

18 Jul 2006

Human hair follicles found to be a new source of adult stem cells

Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine have isolated a new source of adult stem cells that appear to have the potential to differentiate into several cell types.

12 Jul 2006

New way of targeting proteins to exosomes - potential for melanoma, Alzheimer's disease

Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine have discovered how a protein called Pmel17 is sorted by pigment cells in the skin and eye to make a fiber matrix that eventually sequesters melanin, the dark pigment found in skin, hair, and eyes.

28 Mar 2006

Why people of African descent are more vulnerable to tuberculosis infection

A team of scientists has identified a cellular mechanism that may help explain the puzzle of why people of African descent are more susceptible to tuberculosis infection and why, once infected, they develop more severe states of the disease than whites.

27 Feb 2006

Functional amyloid formation within mammalian tissue

What do neurodegenerative diseases and suntans have in common? Scientists at the Scripps Research Institute have found an intriguing molecular connection.

7 Dec 2005

Technique for inserting genes into specific sites on the genome in liver cells

The genes are inserted into non-coding regions of the genome so there is no danger of interfering with the functioning of other genes. Once inserted, the gene remains a permanent part of the cell's genome.

10 Oct 2005

Pigment explains why red heads are more at risk of skin cancer

A team of scientists have discovered that tiny chemical differences in how our skin reacts to ultraviolet light could explain why red heads are more likely to suffer skin cancer.

29 Aug 2005

New way to prevent macular degeneration

Two studies from an unusual research partnership at the University of Chicago appear to have resolved a long-standing dispute about the role of melanin in the eye. The studies, one published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) and one early online in the Journal of the American Chemical Society (JACS), also suggest a new way to prevent a common cause of blindness.

28 Jul 2005

Zebrafish provides cancer researchers powerful new insights into the development of malignant melanoma

The embryo of a tiny, silvery tropical fish found in many home aquariums is providing cancer researchers at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine with powerful new insights into the development of malignant melanoma, the deadliest form of skin cancer.

20 Jun 2005

Increasing exposure to either natural or artificial ultraviolet (UV) light should not be recommended as a supplemental source of vitamin D

Based on data reviewed by a consensus conference convened by the American Academy of Dermatology Association to examine the relationship between sunlight, tanning booths and vitamin D, renowned medical experts agreed that increasing exposure to either natural or artificial ultraviolet (UV) light should not be recommended as a supplemental source of vitamin D.

2 May 2005