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Recommended: Albinism reseach
Having very pale and white skin is a dream for some people, but there are others that experience being born with their pale-colored skin due to a medical condition called albinism.
What you need to know about albinism
Albinism is caused by the lack of a usual color pigment in our body that is responsible for producing a sufficient amount of melanin – the chemical responsible for making our skin darker and more protected against harmful UV rays in the sunlight. Albinism can affect a person regardless of their race and gender and will cause either an extremely pale color of the eyes and skin coupled with white hair (oculoctaneous) or, in some cases, a greater coloration of the hair, eyes, and skin.
Aside from possible problems in their eyesight and a different pigmentation of their
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There are cases wherein Albinism affects only the eyes, leading to what is known as ocular albinism. In this case, the eyes become blue or pink. There are also rare cases wherein the hearing nerves are affected due to albinism, and can eventually lead to partial or complete deafness.
Special attention is needed for people with albino eyes as they have poorer eyesight caused by eye problems such as nearsightedness, farsightedness, and astigmatism. There isn’t a threat of being completely blind due to albinism, but more serious cases only allow people with albinism to read larger prints of text. Those with albino eyes can also be sensitive to light due to the pigmentation of their iris, causing them to be unable to see when levels of light are high.
Albinism: Causes and Complications
The main cause of albinism is the lack of melanin in the body due to the insufficient protein produced to trigger its production. Melanocytes are the cells responsible for the production of melanin, but gene mutation and other hormonal imbalances can cause these cells to malfunction. In turn, albinism causes paler color because of the lack of melanin in the
In the article Skin Deep written by Nina Jablonski and George Chaplin, they discuss and look deeper into the diverse differences in skin color. Our skin color has developed over the years to be dark enough to prevent the damaging sunlight that has been harming our skin and the nutrient folate that it carries. At the same time out skin is light enough to receive vitamin D.
In the Radiolab episode “Colors,” Adam Cole hosts Jay Neitz, a neurologist and color vision researcher at the University of Washington, to discuss colorblindness in primates and humans. Neitz hypothesizes that the test they used to cure colorblindness in squirrel monkeys could also cure the same disorder in humans. Colorblindness is a genetic disorder that causes the cones in the eye to perceive colors differently. In the back of the eye lies the retina that holds three photoreceptor cells called cones. Each cone is sensitive to either red, green, or blue and when functional, allows the brain to process the different wavelengths of color. Humans and some primates have two genes on the X Chromosome that encodes visual pigments, one holds green
...be also highly affected in people with albinism. Usually people with albinism wait until the sunsets to go outside to do some of these activities. Some individuals with albinism have problems with emotional regulation skills which is mainly affected by the way society react to their looks.
When people are exposed to UV light, from the sun or, for example, in a tanning booth, the melanocyte cells make more melanin and pack together tighter, resulting in darker skin tones. If the skin is receiving too much ultraviolet light, the melanocytes may begin to grow abnormally and become melanoma during this process.
Tanning is a commonly used by Caucasian women to cause their skin tone to darken. Melanin is what gives skin its color. Naturally, when we are exposed to sun, the production of a pigment known as melanin starts which itself acts as a deterrent to the burning effects of ultra violet rays of sun (Pakhare). Some Caucasians find it necessary to tan to increase beauty. It is not necessary to tan to increase beauty.
Retinitis pigmentosa can be caused in a person in numerous ways. It normally runs in families, however, it can also be caused from a mutation. We believe my grandmother developed the disorder from a genetic mutation, as no one else in my family has ever had the disorder or has developed it as of...
Melanin helps reduce the absorption of wavelengths into the skin (Chaplin, Jablonski, 59). The more melanin in the skin, the greater the protection against harmful UV rays, and the amount of melanin in the skin correlates with the skin’s color (more melanin means darker skin)....
In conclusion, melanin production has played a considerably important role in human evolution. Not only does it influence color pigmentation through its protective role of defending against harmful UV rays, but also determines detrimental features such as eye-sight and hearing. Furthermore, melanin production and its evolutionary adaptions mark an important presence upon our biological systems to this day. Therefore, in the process of furthering human evolution, melanin production has played an enormous role in human evolution by selecting for several features that allow for particular adaptions according to the human's geographical location and environment.
...ee any differences, if there were any. The way the community is shaped, they may not want people to think less of themselves, or want an attribute from someone that they don’t have themselves. Instead of being an individual, a person with pale eyes, feels shameful of their difference.
The color of your skin used to depend on where you live. (Before transportation became so easy.) Darker skinned people would live where it is hotter, and the sun shines more. Lighter skinned people would live in cooler, less sunny areas. This is because the darker pigments in your skin would keep you from burning.
Photosynthetic pigments are essential for life because they allow photosynthesis to occur by capturing sunlight which is then used alongside carbon dioxide and water to form organic compounds such as glucose and oxygen. The pigments allow the conversion of light energy to chemical energy which other organisms can benefit from. Oxygen is utilised by other organisms in aerobic respiration. The different pigments present in the chloroplasts allow a wide variety of wavelengths of light to be absorbed for efficient photosynthesis and provide colours to the plant to attract pollinators.
True to form, this macula pigment absorbs light virtually only in the blue light spectrum, preventing it from reaching sensitive photoreceptors. However, the macular pigment density and its ability to filter blue light varies from person to person which is why some people are more sensitive to light than others. Fortunately, the amount of macular pigment isn’t necessarily set in stone. You can increase the quantity of macular pigment in your eyes by consuming a diet rich in green leafy vegetables. You could also turn to supplements of the carotenoids which make up macular pigment – lutein, zeaxanthin and
Throughout society today, colorism and racism play a huge role in many lives. Though the similarities between the two may confused individuals, there happens to be a difference between colorism and racism. Racism is the belief that all members of each race processes certain characteristics or abilities specific to that race. Gloria Yamato says, “Racism is persuasive to the point that we take most of its manifestations for granted believing, “That’s Life” (Yamato 65). Racism can vary seeing as though you could be a specific type of racist. The four different types of racism that exist today are the “aware/blatant, the aware/covert, the unaware/unintentional, and lastly the unaware/self-righteous” (Yamato 66). Colorism is prejudice and discrimination against individuals with a darker skin tone. Colorism typically happens between individuals of the same ethnic and racial groups. In society today, colorism exists due to the accumulated experiences of racism, “which can generate questions and doubts in the minds of people of color about their place in a predominately white society” (Osajima141).
Colorism has became a huge issue in today’s society. Colorism is an issue because, it is a form of racism, it reflects back on the days of slavery, it is overall rude, and jail terms are affected.