short answers( Just few words) Basic bio, answer them all and I will rate you 1-

Question

short answers( Just few words) Basic bio, answer them all and I will rate you

1-What is the primary pigment responsible for skin color? How is this pigment made? Where is it made? Where is it primarily located?

2-Intuition suggests that people with dark-colored skin have more pigment-producing cells (i.e., melanocytes) than people with light-colored skin. Can you explain the real difference between dark skin and light skin?

3-What is the difference between albinism and vitiligo?

4-What are the major differences between UVA and UVB? For example, which one penetrates deeper into skin? Is the one that penetrates deeper more carcinogenic (i.e., cancer causing)?

5-Tanning salons maintain the safety of their tanning beds due to the lack of UVB. Are they misinforming the public?

Explanation / Answer

Ans) 1. Primary skin pigment is Melanin, which is responsible for skin color. Melanin is mainly produced/made by amino acid tyrosine by the process of oxidation followed by polymerization. The pigment is produced in a specialized group of cells known as melanocytes. Melanocytes from melanin are found in the basal layer of the epidermis.

2). There are actually three ways the skin can be colored differently. One is by the concentration of melanocytes found in the epidermis. Second is the amount of melanin produced, if you produce less melanin you will have lighter skin whereas more melanin will result in darker skin. Third, there are two different kinds of melanin called Eumelanin, which is the black and brown pigment, and pheomelanin, which is the yellow and red pigment. So if you produce more pheomelanin you would have lighter skin and maybe even more freckles. The opposite occurs with producing more Eumelanin.

3) Both vitiligo and albinism are medical conditions in which the skin has too little of the pigment melanin. People are born with albinism, while vitiligo develops over time (before the age of 40). people with vitiligo start life with normal pigment in their skin and only lose pigment in certain patchy areas.Albinism is an inherited condition caused by a genetic mutation. In albinism, pigment cells melanocytes are present but do not function in right way. In contrast, in vitiligo, the melanocytes die, possibly due to an immune system malfunction that kills them off.

4.) Sunlight that reaches us is made up of two types of harmful rays: long wave ultraviolet A (UVA) and short wave ultraviolet B (UVB). UVA is ultraviolet radiation between 400-320nm wavelength and UVB is between 320-290nm wavelength.  UVA radiation can penetrate glass and clouds. UVB is very biologically active and is responsible for burning, tanning, and acceleration of skin aging, and plays a very key role in the development of skin cancer. UVA penetrates deeper into skin.UVB is more carcinogenic.

5). UVA rays are considered tanning rays, and UVB rays are the ones that cause redness. Yes, heavy exposure to UVA, as in a tanning bed (~10x), can also lead to severe damage to the skin and skin cancer.

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