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The Science of Melanin

Middle school learnscience.org

Name Date

Predict

Squids squirt a cloud of dark ink when a predator comes close. Your hair gets its color from a pigment called melanin. Could squid ink and your hair get their color from the same kind of pigment?

Circle one. Yes / No

Why?

Watch

  1. The Science of Melanin Magicyoutube.com/watch?v=5Dt1NYLqMqM

Word of the day

Melanin (MEL-uh-nin). A family of natural pigments that give color to skin, hair, eyes, feathers and more.

Word partComes fromMeaning
melan-Greek mélāsblack
-inNew Latin -inaan ending for names of chemicals
  • Melancholy, a word for deep sadness, comes from Greek words meaning “black bile.”
  • Keratin, the protein that makes up your hair, ends in -in too.

Bonus word. Melanocyte (muh-LAN-uh-site). Melano- means “black,” and -cyte means “cell.” A melanocyte is a cell that makes melanin.

Questions

  1. Melanin comes in three main kinds. Eumelanin makes brown and black colors. Pheomelanin makes red and yellow colors. Neuromelanin is found in the brain. Which kind of melanin gives red hair its red color?

    Circle one. Eumelanin / Pheomelanin / Neuromelanin

    Hint. Look for the kind of melanin that makes red and yellow colors.

  2. Melanocytes are the cells that make melanin in your skin. Each melanocyte passes melanin to about 36 skin cells nearby. Inside those skin cells, the melanin collects in a cap over the part of the cell that holds the DNA. How does melanin from one melanocyte help protect the skin cells nearby from the sun?

    Hint. UV rays from the sun can damage DNA. What does the melanin cap sit on top of?

  3. People with light skin and people with dark skin have about the same number of melanocytes. Light skin and dark skin have about the same number of melanocytes. What makes one person’s skin darker than another person’s?

    Hint. Think about what the melanocytes make, not how many melanocytes there are.

  4. Squids, octopuses and cuttlefish squirt ink when a predator attacks. The ink gets its dark color from melanin. How could a dark cloud of ink help a squid escape from a predator?

    Hint. Think about what the predator can see after the ink spreads through the water.

Exit ticket

Hair color comes from melanin made by melanocytes. How can the same kind of cell make black hair, blond hair or red hair?

Hint. Think about the kind of melanin and the amount of melanin.

Sources