Posted on June 9, 2017 in 5x5 Anniversary Feature, ASRC in the News, Nanoscience Initiative
Melanin produced by your body isn’t something you can change at will. But a group of researchers with the ASRC Nanoscience Initiative have developed a melanin-like substance that can be tuned to different shades—darker or lighter—to confer UV protection:
>There’s no perfect way to protect your skin from sun damage. Whether you must constantly lather with sunscreen or seem to defy burning depends on the pigment, or melanin, in your skin. Melanin produced by your body isn’t something you can change at will. But a group of researchers have discovered a way to create a melanin-like substance in the lab that can be tuned to different shades—darker or lighter—and confers corresponding UV protection. Rein Ulijn, a professor of chemistry and the director of the Nanoscience Initiative at CUNY’s Advanced Science Research Center, joins Ira to discuss how products containing melanin-like material could soon be replacing traditional sunscreens.