Melanin

Race is groupings of people believed to share common descent based on perceived innate physical similarities (Lecture 3/28/16). Some physical similarities include skin color, head and shape, hair color and texture, shape and size of the nose, eye color and shape, size and shape of the lips, body size, shape musculature, and size of genitalia (Lecture 3/28/16). To say that race is a social construction means that the concept of race results from a process of signification whereby only certain…

Vitiligo is a condition in which cells that produce skin color melanocytes no longer function properly. Some cells mysteriously stop working and others are attacked by the immune system. Vitiligo is caused by loss of pigment in the skin due to destruction of pigment forming cells. This disease will cause you to develop multiple patches of white skin. When someone notices they have white patches in areas where skin is most exposed that could be a sign of vitiligo. These patches can appear on the…

White patches spread across my body. My feet, knees, elbows, hands, and all across my eyelids fall to the victim of my disease. Have you seen it before? Have you ever wonder about that person who has a discolored skin problem? Or do you know someone who might be conflicted with my same problem? Have you ever wondered how they got it or what it is? Well I’m one of those people…… I was diagnosed with Vitiligo when I was around 10 years old. In the beginning, I was struck with a virus at 7…

Melittin is the active component of bee venom and when injected releases histamine from mast cells and ruptures red blood cell corpuscles. This interaction is responsible for the initial pain and swelling that is associated with a bee sting. (Collison, 41) However, the properties that make melittin toxic can also be harnessed for therapeutic purposes. Melittin is a small protein containing 26 amino acids that comprises 50% of bee venom’s dry weight. (Collison, 40) It exists primarily in two…

out. Society has categized others the color of the skin is the race. Melanin is black or dark brown pigments present in the hair skin and eyes of man and animals (dictionary.com). Race people from "people of common descent," a word from the 16th century, from Middle French race, earlier razza "race, breed, lineage, family" (16c.), possibly from Italian razza, of unknown origin (cf. Spanish and Portuguese raza).…

production of melanin resulting in a derivation in iris pigmentation from the brown origin. According to research done at the University of Copenhagen, albinism is the result of a mutated OCA2 gene which leads to a lack of melanin based pigmentation in the skin, hair and eyes (Troelsen, 2008). Statistically, the OCA2 1/1 homozygote diplotype is found at 65% frequency in blue-eyed individuals vs. only 9.5% of the brown-eyed individuals (Duffy, 2006). Similar to the way increased melanin in skin…

the epidermis, produce melanin which is a pigment that gives skin its color. Melanin is an absorbent of light and is able to dissipate most of the absorbed UV radiation. It is for this reason that people with more melanin, a darker skin color, have a lower rate of skin cancer than those who have less melanin. The epidermis is the outer layer of the skin and it serves to protect us from the harsh outside world. The melanocytes are found in the epidermis and therefore the melanin is produced in…

are the two main top layers of the skin followed by the lower subcutaneous tissue. The epidermis is the main component of the skin because it contains millions of important cells called melanocytes (Gohara and Perez 1). These melanocytes produce melanin which provides the skin with pigment (skin color) that play an important role in allowing the skin to become a natural sun block. Despite this, there are many individuals such as Caucasian men and albinos who lack the melanocytes needed to…

hydroquinone can be briefly described as follows: Melanocytes are pigmented cells (called melanin) in the epidermis. There are many longitudinal tassels reaching the top cell layer of the epidermis to bring the melanin bags up here. Melanin plays a role in protecting the skin from the effects of ultraviolet radiation, which is why, after sun exposure, your skin will become darker, whites are less likely to have melanin bags when exposed to sunlight. Only sunburn, not black, and if exposed to the…

effective by reducing the activation energy. The enzyme tyrosinase is located in melanocytes. These are cells that produce the pigment melanin. Melanin gives skin, eyes, and hair their color. Tyrosinase is a key factor in the first step of melanin production. It transforms the amino acid tyrosine to the compound dopaquinone. Then dopaquinone is converted to melanin in the hair follicles, skin and the retina. Tyrosinase is also responsible for the brown color that forms on the inside of fruits…