Our Built-in Superpower: A Scientific and Cultural Deep Dive Into the Power of Melanin
What makes our beautiful skin so beautiful: melanin. Melanin is a molecule in our bodies that provides the pigment that gives our skin its beautiful color. We have three types of melanin in our bodies:
Neuromelanin: colors neurons
Pheomelanin: The pinkish tint we have on our lips.
Eumelanin: Determines the color of eyes, hair, and skin, and it absorbs radiation from the sun to protect against cell damage.
Our melanin has been researched for many decades, and scientists have discovered that melanin can conduct electricity. Imagine that—our bodies carry a substance powerful enough to power computers, medical devices, and renewable energy systems. In 2019, Frontiers in Chemistry published a study that found melanin to be on the same order of magnitude as copper.
Melanin contributes to the advancement of biotechnology, particularly in medical technology, as well as the adoption of more sustainable practices. Melanin is an organic and biodegradable substance, so it doesn't leave a carbon footprint. Using melanin in more consumer products will reduce our environmental footprint as a world. Melanin can also serve as a conductor and could be utilized to power our computers, medical devices, energy storage systems, and other applications.
Melanin also acts as a healer and protector. It fights off unstable molecules that can cause cellular stress, premature aging, and other health issues. It also reduces DNA damage that can be caused by the sun. Melanin helps protect the fibers of collagen from UV rays, which contributes to slower signs of aging.
According to Bernard Ortiz de Montellano in Melanin, Afrocentricity, and Pseudoscience, Melanin is a regulator of mental activity. It's essential in the control of memory and recall, motivation, mental maturation, organization, integration of sensation, dreaming, emotion, motor function, and the regulation of the immune system. Whether in science, health, or culture, one truth never changes: melanin is powerful.
Alfred B. Pasteur and Ivory L. Toldson state in Roots of Soul: The Psychology of Black Expressiveness that dark-eyed people have a faster reaction time than blue-eyed people because of the presence of melanin. And what if I told you that the stereotype that black people are more athletic has some science to back it up; We have more melanin in our muscle cells, because melanin holds biocharacteristics as a semi-conductor and its ability to trap free radical energy is the explanation for why we are faster. “why Blacks run faster” and “Black athletic superiority” (Pasteur and Toldson, BERNARD R. ORTIZ DE MONTELLANO).
Melanin has existed long before humans; the specific type of melanin in our skin developed 1.2 million years ago to help protect humans from the sunlight. Later, when humans began to migrate to places with less intense sunlight, natural selection led to the development of lighter skin, which improved vitamin D synthesis.
Every human has the amazing molecule of melanin in their body. But black people like you and I were blessed with amounts of melanin that make us superhuman. Don’t let anyone undermine your powerful, beautiful melanated skin because we hold the power.
References
Cleveland Clinic. (2022). Melanin: What Is It, Types & Benefits. Cleveland Clinic. https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/body/22615-melanin
Flenoury, C. (2024, April 1). The Powers of Melanin [Review of The Powers of Melanin]. Illumin. https://illumin.usc.edu/the-powers-of-melanin/
Lucock, M. D. (2022). The evolution of human skin pigmentation: A changing medley of vitamins, genetic variability, and radiation during human expansion. American Journal of Biological Anthropology, 180(2). https://doi.org/10.1002/ajpa.24564
Ortiz, B. (2009, December). Melanin, Afrocentricity, and Pseudoscience. Academia.edu. https://www.academia.edu/199944/Melanin_Afrocentricity_and_Pseudoscience
