pigment

The click beetle’s intricate false eyes cast a deep black color with the help of pigment-coated hairs.

Melanism in felines is both helpful and harmful.

This ancient red pigment came from underwater.

Scientists uncover a potential reason why redder house finches have better health.

Certain populations have been historically underrepresented in genome sequencing studies, but the NIH, private clinics, and 23andMe and other companies are trying to fix that.

New research shows how they get their deep hue.

Researchers recently used CRISPR single-guide RNAs to alter genes involved in pigmentation in frog embryos.

Biodegradable pigments could be custom-grown by bacteria in the future, say researchers.  

A new study reveals that a constant stream of ink-gobbling immune cells helps hold tattoos in place.

Zebrafish, Danio rerio, develop patterns of colorful stripes on their skin thanks to pigmented cells—dark melanophores, orange-gold xanthophores, and iridescent iridophores. 

Immune cells called macrophages shuttle cellular messages in the skin.

People without red hair who possess the variant are also more likely to develop this form of skin cancer, researchers report.

Analysis of a 7,000-year-old human genome suggests that Mesolithic people had relatively dark skin and had begun to evolve pathogen resistance characteristic of modern Europeans. 

Researchers seek insight into the pigmentation patterns of guppies and zebrafish.

Scientists engineer a spectrum of artificial pigments to understand how animals see in color.

Dinosaur and early bird feathers trapped in amber around 80 million years ago provide unprecedented insight into the evolution of plumage.

After rummaging through thousands of amber inclusions housed at the University of Alberta and the Royal Tyrrell Museum of Paleontology in Canada, researchers discovered 11 amber encased-feather fossils that provide the most detailed picture yet of early feather evolution.

Using synchrotron rapid scanning X-ray fluorescence to map the distribution of trace metals in avian fossils over 120 million-year-old, researchers reconstruct the pigment patterns of their feathers—revealing some of the extinct birds' long-lost colors.

Researchers map pigments in early bird fossils using preserved metallic residues.