Epic pigmentation, 135 genes that color your world

Friends of amazing colors and super cool science! Have you ever wondered why some people seem to have been vacationing in the sun all year long, while others seem more like winter fans? Well, get ready for a whirlwind of information about melanin, this pigment that plays the conductor of your colors. Over 8 billion human beings across the planet have their skin, hair and eye color controlled by a magical pigment called melanin! Think of melanin as a kind of natural dye that decides whether you’re the champ sunbather or the “shade and sunscreen” team.

Remember those puzzle-solving experts in the movies? Well, in the scientific world we have our own champion: Vivek Bajpai, as the hero of Melanin Science! This genius and his team have dropped a knowledge bomb, revealing that they have found 135 new genes that have a party on your pigmentation! But how do those genes change the color game in your skin? Well here comes the exploding science: melanin is made in special cells called melanosomes, and these are inside pigmented cells called melanocytes, they are like little artists mixing just the right dye to give you your unique skin tone.

But wait, how did they manage to unravel this mystery? With a technology called CRISPR-Cas9, which is like the magic wand of gene editing! They used this to change genes in hundreds of millions of melanocytes, looking at how that affected melanin production. What a job of scientific magic! Ah, but the adventure does not end there, they used a spectacular technique called “flow cytometry side scatter” (yes, it sounds fancy) to separate the cells with more and less melanin, as if they were taking the VIPs out of a party, they succeeded isolate the genes that actually influence the color of your skin. A real dance of molecules!

And guess what? They found 135 new genes that had never before been linked to pigmentation. As if they had found new color artists in the genetic world! And to top it off, they discovered two emerging stars: KLF6 and COMMD3. These two players are like team captains in the world of melanin, one controlling the acidity of the melanosomes and the other deciding how much melanin to make! It’s a genetic dance between melanin and sunlight, which has been a most interesting survival story. The darker pigmentation became the armor of protection against ultraviolet rays, while those who moved to less sunny places needed less melanin to avoid looking like authentic “photo negatives.”

And there you have it, friends of genes and colors, an exciting journey through the science behind our appearance, all thanks to Vivek Bajpai and his team of geniuses. So the next time you look in the mirror and wonder how you got that gorgeous shade, remember that genes and melanin are the artists behind that unique painting that is you! Until the next knowledge explosion, STEAM adventurers!