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News tagged with pigment

Advantages of living in the dark: The multiple evolution events of 'blind' cavefish

The blind Mexican cavefish (Astyanax mexicanus) have not only lost their sight but have adapted to perpetual darkness by also losing their pigment (albinism) and having altered sleep patterns. New research publis ...

Biology / Evolution

created Jan 22, 2012 | popularity 4.8 / 5 (11) | comments 41 | with audio podcast

Breakthrough model reveals evolution of ancient nervous systems through seashell colors

Determining the evolution of pigmentation patterns on mollusk seashells—which could aid in the understanding of ancient nervous systems—has proved to be a challenging feat for researchers. Now, however, through ...

Biology / Evolution

created Jan 12, 2012 | popularity 3 / 5 (1) | comments 3 | with audio podcast

Grapes may help prevent age-related blindness

Can eating grapes slow or help prevent the onset of age-related macular degeneration (AMD), a debilitating condition affecting millions of elderly people worldwide? Results from a new study published in Free Radical Biology an ...

Medicine & Health / Research

created Jan 12, 2012 | popularity 4.5 / 5 (4) | comments 1 | with audio podcast

Flexible adult stem cells, right there in your eye

In the future, patients in need of perfectly matched neural stem cells may not need to look any further than their own eyes. Researchers reporting in the January issue of Cell Stem Cell, a Cell Press publication, have identi ...

Biology / Cell & Microbiology

created Jan 05, 2012 | popularity not rated yet | comments 3

Genetic study of black chickens shed light on mechanisms causing rapid evolution in domestic animals

The genetic changes underlying the evolution of new species are still poorly understood. For instance, we know little about critical changes that have happened during human evolution. Genetic studies in domestic animals can ...

Biology / Biotechnology

created Dec 22, 2011 | popularity 5 / 5 (1) | comments 0

Researchers discover hereditary predisposition of melanoma of the eye

Ohio State University researchers have discovered a hereditary cancer syndrome that predisposes certain people to a melanoma of the eye, along with lung cancer, brain cancer and possibly other types of cancer.

Medicine & Health / Genetics

created Dec 15, 2011 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Fossil moths show their true colors

The brightest hues in nature are produced by tiny patterns in, say, feathers or scales rather than pigments. These so-called "structural colors" are widespread, giving opals their fire, people their blue eyes, ...

Other Sciences / Archaeology & Fossils

created Nov 15, 2011 | popularity 4 / 5 (1) | comments 4 | with audio podcast

Newly identified gene mutation adds to melanoma risk

A major international study has identified a novel gene mutation that appears to increase the risk of both inherited and sporadic cases of malignant melanoma, the most deadly form of skin cancer. The identified mutation occurs ...

Medicine & Health / Cancer

created Nov 13, 2011 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0 | with audio podcast

China breaks up fake medicine racket

China said Friday it had busted a gang that produced and sold fake medicine -- some made of animal feed -- arresting 114 suspects and seizing more than 65 million counterfeit tablets.

Medicine & Health / Medications

created Nov 04, 2011 | popularity 5 / 5 (1) | comments 0

Laser treatment can make your brown eyes blue

Just like the old Crystal Gayle song, a new laser technology could soon allow you to turn those boring brown eyes of your to a rich and beautiful blue. But you better make sure that blue eyes are what you really want because ...

Medicine & Health / Other

created Nov 04, 2011 | popularity 3.8 / 5 (9) | comments 21 | with audio podcast report

Human skin begins tanning in seconds, and here's how

We all know that human skin tans after days spent in the sun. That relatively slow process has known links to ultraviolet (and specifically UVB) exposure, which leads to tanning only after it damages the DNA of skin cells. ...

Medicine & Health / Cancer

created Nov 03, 2011 | popularity 5 / 5 (1) | comments 1

A new species of a tiny freshwater snail collected from a mountainous spring in Greece

A new minute freshwater snail species belonging to the genus Daphniola was found by a researcher from University of Athens (Canella Radea) in a spring covered by snow on Mt. Parnassos, central Greece. This study was publis ...

Biology / Plants & Animals

created Nov 01, 2011 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

Novel approach to treat proliferative vitreoretinopathy shows promise

Proliferative vitreoretinopathy (PVR), or the formation of scar tissue within the eye, is a serious, sight-threatening complication in patients recovering surgical repair of retinal detachment. A new study conducted by investigators ...

Medicine & Health / Diseases

created Oct 31, 2011 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

Scientists find vitamin D crucial in human immune response to tuberculosis

Not just important for building strong bones, an international team of scientists has found that vitamin D also plays an essential role in the body's fight against infections such as tuberculosis.

Medicine & Health / Research

created Oct 12, 2011 | popularity 4.6 / 5 (5) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Three new gene faults found to increase melanoma risk by 30 percent

An international team of researchers has discovered the first DNA faults linked to melanoma - the deadliest skin cancer - that are not related to hair, skin or eye colour.

Medicine & Health / Genetics

created Oct 09, 2011 | popularity 4.7 / 5 (3) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Pigment

A pigment is the material that changes the color of light it reflects as the result of selective color absorption. This physical process differs from fluorescence, phosphorescence, and other forms of luminescence, in which the material itself emits light.

Many materials selectively absorb certain wavelengths of light. Materials that humans have chosen and developed for use as pigments usually have special properties that make them ideal for coloring other materials. A pigment must have a high tinting strength relative to the materials it colors. It must be stable in solid form at ambient temperatures.

For industrial applications, as well as in the arts, permanence and stability are desirable properties. Pigments that are not permanent are called fugitive. Fugitive pigments fade over time, or with exposure to light, while some eventually blacken.

Pigments are used for coloring paint, ink, plastic, fabric, cosmetics, food and other materials. Most pigments used in manufacturing and the visual arts are dry colourants, usually ground into a fine powder. This powder is added to a vehicle (or matrix), a relatively neutral or colorless material that acts as a binder.

The worldwide market for inorganic, organic and special pigments had a total volume of around 7.4 million tons in 2006. Asia has the highest rate on a quantity basis followed by Europe and North America. In 2006, a turnover of 17.6 billion US$ (13 billion Euro) was reached mostly in Europe, followed by North America and Asia.

A distinction is usually made between a pigment, which is insoluble in the vehicle (resulting in a suspension), and a dye, which either is itself a liquid or is soluble in its vehicle (resulting in a solution). The term biological pigment is used for all colored substances independent of their solubility. A colorant can be both a pigment and a dye depending on the vehicle it is used in. In some cases, a pigment can be manufactured from a dye by precipitating a soluble dye with a metallic salt. The resulting pigment is called a lake pigment.

For more information about Pigment, read the full article at Wikipedia.
This text uses material from Wikipedia and is available under the GNU Free Documentation License.