The Study of Pigments Essay

Introduction: In this frog population, traits such as eye color, skin color, and the presence or absence of spots are coded for by DNA. The nitrogenous bases in a strand of DNA make up an organisms genotype. The physical expression of the genotype is the phenotype.

Chimpanzees have what is called melanin, which is a dark brown pigment that protects them from UV radiation. Melanin is a natural sunscreen, which filters out UV radiation. It is been proven that people with high concentration of melanin in their skin heading to come from tropical areas and it has protected them from skin cancer. After all of this research, Jablonski and Chaplin then ask, “what role melanin might play in human evolution?” (170).

4. Clear wing, Black eye, and Hairless (c, b, and h) are linked, recessive traits carried on

How does the change in the alleles affect the pigment in the alligators; which also affects the fitness of the animal?

The foundation of genetics lies with the principles that Gregor Mendel outlined after his experiments with pea plants where he discovered the relationship between physical characteristics, or phenotype, and genetic traits, or genotype. This experiment aimed to reproduce Mendel’s results with the Brassica rapa plant, noted for it’s fast generation time, and anthocyanin, a purple pigment that can be visually tracked through subsequent generations. It is important for experiments resulting in scientific discovery to be replicable and peer reviewed. Since Mendelian genetics are the foundation of scientific education, including answering questions about

Abstract: The purpose of this lab is to separate and identify pigments and other molecules within plant cells by a process called chromatography. We will also be measuring the rate of photosynthesis in isolated chloroplasts. Beta carotene, the most abundant carotene in plants, is carried along near the solvent front because it is very soluble in the solvent being used and because it forms no hydrogen bonds with cellulose. Xanthophyll is found further from the solvent font because it is less soluble in the solvent and has been slowed down by hydrogen bonding to the cellulose. Chlorophylls contain oxygen and nitrogen and are bound more tightly to the paper than the other pigments.

Most genes don't do anything as flamboyant as the changing our eye color, instead, they make enzymes, which are deep inside our cells. These enzymes are important for organisms because they do different jobs that are needed for living, for example, running chemical reactions that are used help us digest our food, and burn energy. Metabolism is the name of these chemical reactions.

Introduction: The gene that codes for red-green color blindness, the most common form of color blindness in humans, is found on the X chromosome. One in 12 males is color blind. In females, however, color blindness affects only about 1 in 200. Why is

From the cross white eye males with wild females, our results were we got both phenotypes in the males as well as the females to be wild type.

Human pigmentation is influenced by hemoglobins within blood vessels in the skin, carotene and melanins. Melanin, the basis of pigmentation, can be found in the forms of eumelanin and phaeomelanin. Eumelanin is the brown-black pigment located in the skin, hair, and eyes. Phaeomelanin is a yellow to reddish-brown pigment found in small quantities within the skin, eyes, and red hair. Because of these two pigments, to a greater or lesser degree, we have the variation

In evolutionary terms colour and the way it is perceived is an important aspect. Sumner and Mollon (2000a) conducted research looking into the photopigments and the detection of targets. They found that the L/M subsystem provides an advantage for the detection of fruits and leaves. This led them to their conclusion that finding these foods may have been an essential selective advantage in the original development and maintenance of primate trichromacy, and thus the process of colour perception can be beneficial to primates. Despite having the same visual system, the research is problematic as it was conducted on animals, and thus the findings may not be the same when applying it to the human concept of colour vision. Further support towards the evolutionary basis of colour perception comes from Bompas, Kendall and Sumner (2013) who found that normal trichromats made faster responses and fewer errors than their colour deficient competitors. This shows that colour is an important aspect and both of these research findings combined suggest enhanced survival due to the way in which colour is

Although very informative, I nearly lost interest in the subject as it was a bit dry, however, with the incorporation of pictures, I was able to grasp the science of how this structure functions and the significance of melanin, “the most important substance imparting color to skin” (9). Melanin is formed in cells called melanocytes, located between the dermis and epidermis; these cells produce different amounts of melanin and this is the main reason why people have different skin colors (11,14). The author breaks down the scientific terms in a clear and coherent

Three other genes make proteins that are also involved in melanin pigment formation and albinism, but the exact role of these proteins remains unknown. These genes are the P gene on chromosome 15, the Hermansky--Pudlak syndrome gene on chromosome 10, and the ocular albinism gene on the X chromosome.

For lab 12, it is hypothesized that chlorophylls a and b are present in a plant leaf and contribute to the starch production in photosynthesis. Also, products of photosynthesis will be present in leaf tissue exposed to red and blue light wavelengths for several days, but a decreased presence in leaf tissue exposed to green and black light wavelengths. In lab 13, it is expected that since chlorophylls a and b are more polar and smaller molecules than the anthyocyanins and carotenoids, they will travel higher up the chromatography paper than the other pigments.

However, the photosynthetic process can be affected by different environmental factors. In the following experiment, we tested the effects that the light intensity, light wavelength and pigment had on photosynthesis. The action spectrum of photosynthesis shows which wavelength of light is the most effective using only one line. The absorption spectrum plots how much light is absorbed at different wavelengths by one or more different pigment types. Organisms have different optimal functional ranges, so it is for our benefit to discover the conditions that this process works best. If the environmental conditions of light intensity, light wavelength and pigment type are changed, then the rate of photosynthesis will increase with average light intensity and under the wavelengths of white light which will correspond to the absorption spectrum of the pigments. The null hypothesis to this would be; if the environmental conditions light intensity, light wavelength and pigment type are changed, then the rate of photosynthesis will decrease with average light intensity and under the white light which will correspond to the absorption spectrum of the pigments.