Melanin

High school (ages 12+)
Human Body

Name:

Date:

Step 1 · Read the article

Open the article and read it at the level above. Then answer the questions below in your own words.

https://smallwhale.org/articles/melanin

Write what each word means, using the article.

Do not copy the article. Write two things you learned, the way you would explain them to a friend.

Answers below are taken from the article’s stored facts, so they match what the student read.

1. What is the biochemical composition?Polymers of indole-5,6-quinone (eumelanin) and benzothiazine units (pheomelanin)
2. What is the synthesis organelle?Melanosomes, specialized organelles within melanocytes
3. What is melanin and why does it give us color?Melanin is a natural pigment made in special cells called melanocytes. It comes in two types, eumelanin (brown/black) and pheomelanin (red/yellow), and it gives our skin, hair, and eyes their colors.
4. How does melanin protect us from the sun?Melanin absorbs ultraviolet light and turns it into heat, forming a shield over our skin cells that keeps their DNA safe from sun damage.

Melanogenesis: The complex biochemical process of synthesizing melanin pigments within melanocytes.
Melanosomes: Membrane-bound organelles where melanin is synthesized, stored, and transported.
Cytocrine Transfer: The process by which melanosomes are transferred from melanocytes to surrounding keratinocytes.
Supranuclear Caps: Melanin granule arrangements above the nucleus of keratinocytes, shielding DNA from UV radiation.