Melanin, the Master Molecule E-Book
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- Herausgeber: Bentham Science Publishers
- Kategorie: Wissenschaft und neue Technologien
- Sprache: Englisch
Melanin is a biological molecule associated with pigmentation in humans and animals. However, melanin has been observed to have other functions such as neuroprotection and energy production. In Melanin, the Master Molecule, researchers summarize several d
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Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2018
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PREFACE
This book is the result of more than two decades of research, which began with a simple question: what can we do to try to stop the inexorable advance of the three leading causes of blindness in Mexico and that are also all over the world?
The answer was not simple, because despite my best efforts as an ophthalmologist, my patients were losing vision both for glaucoma, diabetes and macular degeneration by age. And the statistical information at the local level, regional and global showed that the incidence and prevalence of these diseases remained unchanged, which meant that the treatments available, by expensive, heroic, sophisticated or pompous to be called were not result.
Research we propose, initiated in 1990, was only intended to find morphological changes in vessels that emerge and penetrate (arteries and veins, respectively) into the optic nerve head, which can be used as indicators of early disease, enabling early treatment.
Nobody thought that the research would be more fruitful than we could even imagine. Twelve years later, in February 2002, was stunned at the results: the melanin was able to dissociate the water molecule.
At that time I was aware of that the result was important, even I thought that already knew many researchers; so it continued working on developing strategies that would allow me to modulate the activity of melanin, as years before understanding as acted, I had noticed that when melanin appeared to be active, the ocular tissues were in a better State than when melanin seemed "off".
It wasn't until 2005, listening to a speech by the then president Bush, who literally said "We need substances that remove hydrogen from water to enter fully into the era of hydrogen".
And I kept thinking about: because not used melanin? Greener want it? We have it all. I began to read to trying to find the answer, and a few months later I came to the conclusion: do not use it because they have not realized. So I decided to start the procedure of patent.
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DEDICATION
INTRODUCTION
Arturo Solís HerreraPresentation
Few molecules have been so reviled than and despised as melanin. Some think that melanin is a stigma that tends to disappear as the civilizations advance. It seems that a greater amount of melanin, greater contempt. The least that is said, is that melanin is a simple solar filter, which only protects us from dangerous UV rays, hypothesis proposed in London in 1820 by Sir Everard Holmes. To date, the idea is still present, even among dermatologists.
Melanin are high molecular weight pigments, ubiquitous in nature, with a variety of biological functions. In mammals, melanin is found in skin, hair, eyes; brain, eye, and in many internal tissues [1]. The wide variations in hair coloration in mammals are all the result of the melanin paint brush.
Animals with dark fur usually have few pigmentations in the skin. Oppositely, polar bears have black skin under their white fur. Melanin´s thermoregulatory action supposedly is due to tyrosinase, the main enzyme involved in melanin synthesis; is temperature sensitive compound and active only in cooler regions of the skin.
In amphibians, the dispersion and aggregation of melanophores, make the animal dark or pale, respectively. These particular responses are under hormonal control. Theoretically, in plants, melanin and related pigments may be metabolic by-products. The lignin of the wood is very similar to melanins.
Careful assessment of minimal erythema dose (MED) has been shown that the protective role of skin pigmentation is not merely of a sun screen due to a sunscreen would raise the threshold. Paradoxically, melanin´s sunscreen efficiency is greatest at biologically irrelevant wave lengths. The sun protection factor (SPF) of melanin is 2, the same as a solution of copper sulfate at 2% concentration.
Many chemical and drugs are bonding and retained in tissues that contains melanin. This binding property can be both detrimental and beneficial [2]. Drug-melanin interactions may be a two-edged sword. Melanin has defied optical characterization, and its absorption pattern looks more like inorganic material than organic [3]. This means that electrical properties of melanin can be described as exotic.
Melanin is known to have a large capacity to absorb atmospheric moisture and other polar gases, but the mechanisms involved are poorly understood. So far, there is no satisfactory knowledge of the molecular structure of melanin pigment granules. Melanin is a bio-macromolecule, and one of its most unusual properties is its persistent electron spin resonance (ESR) signal, which means free radical centers presence in the material [4]. There is a very little quantitative data related to redox properties of melanin, probably because the technical obstacles to make experiments with the material.
Heating of melanin or irradiation with light, induces transient melanin radicals [5].
An intriguing finding of several studies on human hair melanosomes [6] and cow ocular melanosomes [7] is that while the amounts of diverse heavy metals ions bound to red-hair and black hair melanosomes are significant and rather similar, the Fe (III) content is four times higher in the red hair melanosomes. The explanation, at this time, is not clear.
The photo-dynamics of melanin is very fast, in the range of Nano and Pico seconds, and is responsible for almost complete conversion of the energy of the absorbed photons into heat, theoretically. The photoreactions of melanins are so far, considered responsible for the generation of superoxide anion and hydrogen peroxide, and supposedly, to the photodegradation of pigment [8]. The melanin mediated photo-reaction, can reduce molecular oxygen; although the exact origin of involved electrons has not been unambiguously determined [9].
Prolonged aerobic irradiation of melanin with UV or even short-wavelength visible light, leads to melanin bleaching [10]. The observed photobleaching explained theoretically by oxidative photo-degradation via ring-opening reactions [11]. Melanin is considered an intrinsically insoluble pigment, but when is photo-degraded, appears a distinct solubilization [12].
It is unclear whether in-vitro studies of melanin have any biological implication.
The above data are very interesting, but to date it does not seem possible to correlate between them to allow the proper structuring of the knowledge, which, at this moment, seem loose.
The widespread presence of melanin in nature reflects its importance in biology, but the substantive technical obstacles to study it in the laboratory, have constituted a serious difficult to advance in the complex problem of the biological role of melanin.
So, the big question remains: which are the main function of melanin, in example: in the eye?
Melanin Functions in the Eye
It is generally accepted that melanin in the skin and eye (Fig. 1) acts as natural sunscreen, absorbing and scattering solar radiation, mainly the UV rays and short wavelength visible photons. A correlation between the UV-induced erythema and sunburn of human skin, and its constitutive pigmentation is observed [13]. Skin susceptibility to photoaging and skin cancer (solar radiation-related) inversely correlates with the amount of melanin in the skin [14].
Through unknown mechanisms, melanin was shown to protect against induction of DNA lesions by UVB, in cultured melanocytes [15]. The main cause of blindness in cold countries, age-related macular degeneration, is more often found in individuals with lower content of uveal and skin melanin [16]. The mechanism of photoprotection by melanin at molecular and cellular level is poorly understood. The very efficient non-radiative de-excitation of melanin or energy dissipation, there has not unraveled [17].
The molecular nature and behavior of melanin under normal conditions and age-related changes is unknown. It is necessary to solve the structure-property problem.
Fig. (1)) Melanin is present in the eyelashes, in the skin, in the eyebrows, in the iris, etc. Melanin is especially noticeable on the edge of the pupil.Melanin is present in the human eye wherever we look for it (Fig. 2). Melanin is not unique to the superficial tissues of the human body or animals.
Fig. (2)) The picture shows the optic nerve of a clinically healthy person. However, melanin is present at the edge of the nerve (blue line).It has long been said that melanin is a ubiquity molecule, as it is one of the pigments found in all living beings. Its apparent stability, although it is considered by some researchers as a disordered system within the molecule; it was one of the main obstacles to be able to give it a role in biology.
So far it has been considered primarily as a simple solar filter, but its location inside the body, as in the midbrain, the inner ear, and the interior of the eye (Fig. 3), cast doubt about its photo protective role.
Fig. (3)) The melanin covers the entire interior of the eye, it upholsters it completely, but it is perceptible around the optic nerve, as in the photograph, where the melanin is pointed out by a blue stroke.The uveal tract completely covers the inside of the eye of the human eye (Figs. 4, 5), and is a pattern that is repeated in all species. The only function currently attributed to the high melanin content of the choroid layer is to absorb excess light, so that the light that penetrates the eye is not reflected in the interior, which contributes to a better image quality.
Fig. (4)) The microphotography corresponds to the uveal tract of the eye, of the Greek: grape color. It is the most pigmented part of the eye as it contains 40% more than the skin. The uveal tract or choroid layer completely covers the inside of the eye. Fig. (5)) The uveal tract fully upholsters the inside of the eye, it has only two main holes, one of which corresponds to the pupillary orifice and the second corresponds to the exit hole of the optic nerve. The uveal tract resembles a hollow sphere on the inside. Fig. (6)) The human retina and in mammals in general, is a very thin layer, almost transparent tissue, which is attached to the uveal tract.The adhesion of the retina to the uveal tract is not understood to date, as it is a dynamic process, rather than anatomical.
Fig. (7)) The sclera of the eye is a fibrous layer that forms an envelopment around the choroidal layer. Fig. (8)) Photographic composition showing the position of the tissues described above: retina (right) and uveal tract or choroidal layer on the left.The photoreceptors (cones and rods) are slightly immersed in the first layer of the uveal tract (Figs. 6-8), which is called the retinal pigmented epithelium, although anatomically it belongs to the choroid layer.
The current concept of melanin functions in the eye is limited to absorbing excess light, allowing a clearer and more precise vision. The foregoing has been a sufficient explanation for decades. But an anatomical pattern that is repeated in all humans and in the species, that have eyes, raises doubts about such a simple function of melanin. It is possible that the biological role of melanin is more extensive, more fundamental than it is currently attributed.
It is precisely the purpose of this book to delve into it.
The Omnipresence of Melanin in All Biological Realms (Figs. 9-93)
It is a very rooted idea that the main function of melanin is to protect us from ultraviolet radiation. Its main function, from quite simplistic point of view, is to protect us from excess light.
But in nature, our prejudices have you carelessly. Surprisingly the presence so extensive of melanin in nature, and more surprising that has gone unnoticed for so long.
Fig. (9)) The squirrels, the presence of melanin is undeniable, it is enough to observe the eyes, fur and tail. Fig. (10)) Fruits and seeds are no exception, as they also contain melanin.Theoretically, UV radiation induces skin cancer, but in plants and seeds, cancer is nonexistent.
Fig. (11)) Melanin is present in all biological realms. In the skin of the rhinoceros, the presence of melanin is substantive and in its full extent. Fig. (12)) The omnipresence of melanin is observable in any species. In the photograph we can see it in the skin of the pigs, and in the lignin of the trees. Fig. (13)) The skin of the American bison shows a great concentration of melanin. Fig. (14)) The buffalo skin, in its full extent, also contains significant concentrations of melanin. Fig. (15)) The dromedary, like many species, presents remarkable concentrations of melanin in its entirety. Fig. (16)) In turtles, melanin is found not only in the skin, but also in its shell. Fig. (17)) Nature is concerned that melanin is present in all living things. In the case of the turtle it is not only in the skin, the shell, the eyes, but also in the fingernails. Nature only insists on important things. Fig. (18)) In the Gila monster, the skin has stripes where the amount of melanin is greater than in others. and the presence of melanin is re-fulfilled. Fig. (19)) The distribution of melanin in the skin of the different vertebrate species is characteristic. But the presence of the master molecule is always constant. Fig. (20)) In reptiles, the presence of melanin is no exception. Its presence is universal, so its biological role must be beyond a simple solar filter. Fig. (21)) In amphibians, the presence of melanin appears to be discrete, but even the brown hue is due to melanin. Fig. (22)) The distribution of melanin can change according to the species of reptile, but invariably it is always present. Fig. (23)) Melanin, distributed in a different way, but it is always part of the living being in question. Fig. (24)) In the different species of reptiles, melanin is distributed in a characteristic form for each species. But it will always be present in one way or another. Fig. (25)) In the carapace and skin of the turtles, melanin is a constant, despite the different distribution. Fig. (26)) The appearance, and electron properties of melanin, change significantly when they are hydrated. To date, the explanation was not known. Fig. (27)) The presence of melanin in the tortoise shell is important. Turtles that are replaced by a plastic shell, for example, after an accident, do not survive for long. Fig. (28)) The appearance of melanin changes when hydrated, which can be seen at first sight. Fig. (29)) The amount and distribution of melanin in reptiles is different for each species, not their constant presence. Fig. (30)) In chameleons, also melanin is always present. Fig. (31)) In reptiles (and in the trunk of trees) can vary the size, length, thickness, weight, etc., but the omnipresence of melanin is invariably in both plants and animals. Fig. (32)) In the iguana, melanin also acts of presence, and in some areas of the skin, the concentration of the pigment is remarkably high. The insistence of nature to place melanin in all living things definitely has another explanation, beyond the merely photo protection. Fig. (33)) Water and melanin are constant elements in any way of life. It is said that water is life, but we could add that light, melanin, and water are essential elements for the miracle of life to happen. Fig. (34)) The need for light in living things, which is observed in daily life, does not have a satisfactory explanation to date. How to concatenate melanin and water in that intuitive need for light of living beings is one of the purposes of this book. Fig. (35)) The need for light is intuitive. Both humans and animals are looking for light. Fig. (36)) What is the reason that the tortoise shell contains significant amounts of melanin? Fig. (37)) Melanin is widely distributed in nature. The photograph shows his presence in the reptile and in the trunk of the tree. Fig. (38)) Melanin present in both the reptile and the tree trunk. Fig. (39)) The designs on the skin of the reptiles, are fascinating, and in all of them the melanin is the basis Fig. (40)) Light, melanin, and water. In order of abundance in the universe. Fig. (41)) The beauty of melanin-based designs that creates nature in the skin of reptiles is immense. Fig. (42)) The magnifying of the previous photograph, highlights a pattern that is repeated in the animal Kingdom: the organs of the senses have a higher concentration of melanin than the rest of the tissues observable to the naked eye. Fig. (43)) The innate search for light is something that was not fully understood to date. It happens in all animal and plant species. Fig. (44)) Melanin is the same in all living things. The differences are reduced to the size of the granule, the orientation of it, the tissues that surround it, the number of granules; etc. Fig. (45)) The macro and microscopic appearance of melanin, as well as its electronic properties, change dramatically depending on the amount of water. It was a phenomenon that had not been able to be explained to date. Fig. (46)) If the species is, in evolutionary terms; of recent or previous appearance, is not an obstacle to the presence of melanin. Fig. (47)) The pattern of distribution of melanin appears to recur regardless of whether the animals are homeotherms or poikilotherms. Fig. (48)) In all biological realms the presence of melanin is indisputable. The tarantula is a palpable specimen. Fig. (49)) In the case of amphibians, in this case the axolotl, melanin returns to act of presence. Its importance in biology must be enormous given the insistence of nature. Fig. (50)) The axiom is also fulfilled in the fish. Melanin seems to be an indispensable element for life. Fig. (51)) The skin of the iguana presents a coloration that is explained, again, by the presence of melanin. Fig. (52)) and the distribution pattern of melanin is repeated. Note that the concentration of melanin is higher in the organs of the senses, in this case the eye. Fig. (53)) Even the terrifying Komodo dragon, the presence of melanin seems to be indispensable. Fig. (54)) And melanin seems to have a special predilection to locate in the organs of the senses and in areas close to them. Fig. (55)) In the case of deer, the special location of melanin in the organs of the senses, note the nose and eyes. Fig. (56)) Evolutionarily speaking, food originated at the same time as living beings or perhaps before. It is more feasible to think that life originated in the midst of an abundance of food substances than the opposite. Carbohydrates, lipids, amino acids, vitamins and minerals that food contains, are used by living organisms to replenish biomolecules that are worn or discarded with normal metabolism. Fig. (57)) The melanin that is observed in the skin of the giraffe, is a type of melanin that is called Pheomelanin, which contains, characteristically, abundant disulfide bonds. Fig. (58)) The organs of the senses seem to require a greater amount of melanin to function properly. The reason for this was not so far understood. Fig. (59)) The melanin present in the chimpanzees is indistinguishable from the human. Apparently, a greater amount of melanin is an advantage. The chimp has the strength of five men. Fig. (60)) Melanin is present in any living being, whether an orangutan or a chimpanzee. Fig. (61)) In the Okapi (Okapia johnstoni), mammal of the family Giraffidae, melanin makes its accustomed appearance. Fig. (62)) The sable antelope is not exception. Melanin in the fur with higher concentration around senses. Fig. (63)) It is a constant behavior of melanin, the highest concentration around eyes, nose and mouth. Fig. (64)) Hippotraginae, orix. With its characteristic melanin distribution. Fig. (65)) Pongo pygmaeus. The reddish hue is due to melanin with high content of sulfur. Fig. (66)) Elephantidae. The largest terrestrial animal that exists today, and the melanin present. Fig. (67)) The photograph shows that the hair is scarce and the skin thick, but the presence of the melanin is evident. Fig. (68)) The presence of melanin is essential for life. And melanin has a great affinity for calcium. Fig. (69)) The amount of light influences our perception. Although it is the same melanin in both specimens, the color seems different. Fig. (70)) Melanin tends to approach energy sources. Fig. (71)) In general terms, the colors observed in the different kingdoms are explained by the presence of melanin or its combination with other elements, for example, some metals. Fig. (72)) The presence of melanin is constant in all living things. Food presents greater variations, given that, mainly, they are used as precursors of the biomolecules that make up us and that the body synthesizes. Fig. (73)) Peafowl: The iridescent coloration of the large train of Peacock, blue and green plumage; they are the result of combining melanin with metallic elements, but melanin remains the main basis of this pigmentation. Fig. (74)) In the side portion of the peacock, as well as in the distal portion of the plumage, melanin can be easily observed. Fig. (75)) The back part of the peacock, the presence of the dark pigment is more noticeable. Fig. (76)) In this photograph, it is seen that the plumage closest to the body of the peacock is dark, denoting the presence and unusual importance of melanin. Fig. (77)) The appearance of melanin is similar even among distinct species. From a chemical point of view, they are indistinguishable from each other. Fig. (78)) The amount of melanin present in the fur and skin of the gorilla is substantive. It covers the whole animal. Why so much insistence on nature? Fig. (79)) The silver tenderloin of male adult gorillas is because melanin, as it progresses in age, begins to have a less homogeneous distribution than young animals. Fig. (80)) The homogeneity of the distribution of melanin in the skin and fur of animals, is a common characteristic of young specimens. Fig. (81)) The melanin of the gorilla is indistinguishable from the melanin of the humans. The higher concentration of melanin seems to be an advantage for life, as the world champion Weightlifting, male; It has a record of 200 kg, while a gorilla, male, adult; can lift 4 tons. Fig. (82)) A good test of the wide presence of melanin in all living beings, we have in this photograph in which we can see the dark coloration of the rhinoceros and the plumage of the dove. Fig. (83)) It is important to draw attention to the constant presence of melanin in individuals of the same species. The invariably presence of a molecule so far considered as a simple solar filter, in all living things, reflects an unsuspected importance. Fig. (84)) It can be said that the melanin molecule is the same in all species, and its anatomical disposition is also very similar. It is to be expected that its function is also analogous: to transform the visible and invisible light into chemical energy by means of the dissociation of the water molecule, like the chlorophyll in the plants. Fig. (85)) The beauty of the coat with abundant melanin is something that we recognize instantly. There is not much difference with the beautiful hair of the girl in the next photo. Fig. (86)) Melanin is a molecule whose complexity far exceeds our capacity for abstraction, hence to date, it is not possible to distinguish, by chemical tests; between the melanin of the distinct species. Fig. (87)) The disposition of the melanin in the different species is characteristic of each one of them. The photograph shows the typical disposition of melanin in the zebra. Fig. (88)) In humans, the amount of melanin in the skin is lower than in other species. The photograph shows a person who could be classified as photo-type IV, dark hair and dark eyes. Fig. (89)) Melanin is also present in plants, but is notable mainly in the trunk. Fig. (90)) In the plumage of birds, melanin is also a constant characteristic. Fig. (91)) The color of the trunk of the trees is like the coloration of the skin of some species, and the reason is that, in both cases, is due to the presence of melanin. Fig. (92)) Melanin behaves in a surprisingly constant way in all animal or plant species, because when it is present, it tends to approach the energy sources and surround them. Fig. (93)) The melanin in the tree trunk is as surprisingly constant as its presence in the skin, fur or feathers of the animal species. Melanin can be found in any being alive, at all latitudes. Fig. (94)) Wherever that the look is directed, we will find the melanin.The melanin molecule is very similar in all species, and also its function: transform light energy into chemical energy dissociating the water molecule (Figs. 94-96), as chlorophyll in plants.
Fig. (95)) The distribution of melanin in the skin of marine mammals, responds to the light source.The observation that led me to discover the inherent capacity of melanin transform the visible and invisible light to chemical energy through the dissociation of the molecule of water, such as chlorophyll in plants, was precisely the omnipresence of the melanin in the vicinity of the optic nerve, in the almost six thousand patients that were reviewed during the observational study that began in 1990. I may not have been necessary to reach it, if it had been repaired in the also omnipresence of melanin in all biological kingdoms.
Melanin tends to approach the sources of energy, in this case, to the Sun.
Fig. (96)) The beautiful picture of the steed, begins by the melanin skin contains in abundance. Fig. (97)) Bighorn sheep skin because its different shades melanin, whose granules can be of different sizes, different orientation, differences in the molecular weight of pigment, however, its function remains the same: production of chemical energy.The biology of life is the same since the beginning of time, and even, in prehistoric specimen melanin always is found.
Fig. (98)) In ravens, the amount of melanin is very marked. Fig. (99)) In leopards, melanin is evident on the skin and gums.The obscure's and the Red of blood and skin support to Darwin, who said that although there are millions of species, life is just one. The constant presence of melanin suggests a dominant role not only in life itself, but from its origin.
Fig. (100)) In the seal also melanin? Of course, and their function is the same: transforming the visible and invisible light into chemical energy.Regardless of without are cats or dogs, melanin is presence by supplying chemical energy.
Under certain conditions, the aspect of melanin is very similar, even among reptiles, and plants.
Despite the huge differences between different species (Fig. 100), the vital principle is the same: the chemical energy that emanates from the melanin.
Life is possible at the ends, thanks to the extraordinary stability of the melanin. Demonstrated: 170 million years.
The amount of melanin in the skin is determined mainly, by the amount of light. In places of plenty of sunshine, the amount of melanin increases for seize this light energy, but at the same time regulates the amount of light which penetrates inside the body, since up to bone and muscle need light. In dim light, such as Northern Europe, the amount of melanin in the skin is less so that it can pass and pass through the tissues, nourishing them.
Fig. (101)) Did they think scholars, that despite observing such amount of melanin and in different biological kingdoms; they delegated their role to a mere sunscreen?Feeding is just exchange of biomass or more precisely of carbon chains. Energy comes from the light. In some specimens, melanin is especially contrasting. And their function is the same wherever you are. Even in birds, in their chicks, melanin cannot miss. Nature just insists on important things. Even in specimens of unknown species that eventually found on the beaches, the presence of melanin occurs without exception.
Fig. (102)) The melanin present in the rhino and readily observable in the skin, is indistinguishable from the melanin present in other species, including the human. Fig. (103)) Plants also have melanin, mainly on the trunk and roots. Fig. (104)) Melanin forms masses of the size of galaxies in outer space. And their behavior is characteristic, tends to approach energy sources and surround them.The huge roots of trees also require melanin to convert light into chemical energy (Fig. 103).
In seabirds, seems to be repeating the distribution of melanin in some marine species such as dolphin and shark, because melanin is especially abundant in the upper part, which is the most exposed to the rays of the Sun, but not with the purpose to protect from UV rays, but to make the most likely to be transformed into chemical energy light energy.
Fig. (105)) Fungi are no exception, also based their biology in the melanin.Melanin is especially abundant in the organs of the senses. At any age, the presence of melanin is indispensable. Melanin is required since the initial stages of gestation. It seems no one millimeter of skin or furrow in which melanin was not present. So important is its presence.
In some species, the amount of melanin present seems to be especially notable, although is carefully regulated by around 200 genes, which determine the amount and nature of the molecule, according to factors such as the environment. The presence of melanin in all species, appears to be out of the question.
Fig. (106)) Polar bear fur is dark due to the abundant melanin, perceptible in the nose. The hairs seem to function as optical fibers that transmit light to dark skin, and at the same time form a kind of insulation for cold. Fig. (107)) In some birds, the presence of melanin jumps at the sight. It is difficult to believe that, in spite of the insistence of nature to melanin in all living things, its main function has been neglected for centuries. Fig. (108)) Even the tiny moth uses the same principle: melanin as source of energy.Reddish melanin is low molecular weight, the dark, is of high molecular weight (million Daltons).
Nature does not make distinctions between species. Melanin in each and every one, without exception (Figs. 104-120), and its main function is invariable: transform light into chemical energy by dissociation and re-form of the water molecule.
Fig. (109)) While the very obscure-haired dogs are relatively frequent in our daily lives, the importance of the melanin had gone unnoticed. Fig. (110)) Melanin is in all living beings, plants, animals, and others. In the case of Pitaya seeds, the presence of melanin in the seeds is beyond doubt.Fish is another clear example of the omnipresence of melanin, and its remarkable dominance at the top, is consistent with the fact that the light always comes up.
Despite the remarkable presence of melanin, both human, tree trunks; as well as the tortoise, etc., its function had been relegated to the of a mere solar filter.
Turtles, like any living being, they obtained the chemical energy that require, separating the water molecule, by melanin, which is especially visible in the shell and skin. The need for breathing is mainly to expel CO2.
Fig. (111)) Stunning Bengal tiger also requires melanin to live. Dark Striate show, although melanin is really in all the skin, and the different shades of melanin, are due to variations in the molecular weight, the orientation of the molecule, the nature of the tissues surrounding it, combined with some metals; etc. Fig. (112)) The process of transformation of light energy into chemical energy is the same in plants and animals, but melanin in the plants is in the trunk, the books call it lignin. The lignin, a kind of melanin; withstands extreme conditions than chlorophyll not.The shell of the tortoise possesses a remarkable amount of melanin, which is the same: transforming light into chemical energy through the dissociation of the water molecule. The behavior of turtles is not casual, they are exposing the melanin in the shell for energy.
Fig. (113)) The milky way covered in significant part by the so called cosmic dust, that is indistinguishable from neuro-melanin. Cosmic Dust covering a significant part of the milky way. Fig. (114)) The behavior of the water droplets is influenced, in a substantive part; by the melanin of the plant. Fig. (115)) Melanin has variations in color depending of the amount of sulfur, size of the granule, orientation of the molecule, associated structures, etc. In the picture, the cat has a variant named pheomelanin, with content of sulfur. Fig. (116)) The disposition of the feathers of the birds, allows that during the flight they capture the molecules of water of the atmosphere, and thanks to the flapping, these molecules of water are directed towards the central part of the feather which is hollow. Gradually the water droplets fill the central hollow part, and the movement of the wings makes them go towards the skin of the bird, which normally has a high content of melanin. Fig. (117)) Once melanin and water come into contact, it begins the transformation of light into chemical energy by dissociating the water molecule into the melanin. The above explains why birds can fly thousands of miles without stopping, without drinking water or food; and when they reach their destination, they've almost lost weight. The classic example is the Arctic swallow. The intraocular organ named pecten is heavily melanized. Fig. (118)) Melanin can absorb all wavelengths of the electro-magnetic spectrum, from radio waves to gamma rays. The mechanisms of this astonishing fact is not understood. Therefore, it is said that melanin is the darkest substance known. Fig. (119)) The picture shows the retina of a living patient. The constant presence of melanin in the retina and around the optic nerve in all patients, detected in an observational, descriptive study; About the three main causes of blindness, initiated in 1990 and completed in the year 2002; It allowed us to detect the unexpected intrinsic ability of melanin to dissociate the water molecule, such as chlorophyll in plants. Fig. (120)) Melanin is present in plants, animals and insects. In the photograph a cricket (Gryllidae) is seen and at first sight there are areas where melanin is in greater quantity. Fig. (121)) Melanin tends to approach the energy sources and surround them. The pattern that we observe in the cat of photography, is repeated in other species, such as whales, dolphins, sharks, etc.The omnipresence of melanin in all living things, in nature in general, and even in stellar space has gone unnoticed. Its function as a simple solar filter gained much acceptance since it was proposed in the eighteenth century, which difficult its study. On the other hand, melanin is very difficult to study in the laboratory, as it is said to resist the available study techniques. Incidentally, we study it in one of its natural locations, in the human eye (Figs. 121-123); And that made the difference.
Melanin, the First Self-replicating Molecule
The alternative chemistries to the origin of life, must fit functional requirements from the standpoint of first principles. The ignorance of the totality of reactions involved in the creation of successive generations of increasingly complex prebiotic organic molecules is substantive.
The nature simple-to-complex of chemical self-organization, suggests an evolution from broadly ranging consecutive chemical trial and errors, were some pathways will work. However, this kind of chemical evolution requires the existence of a global chemical engineering system, which at the system level, amplify, at least theoretically; the probabilities of effective stochastic self-organization at the molecular level.
But the theoretical requirements of such a system is too long, for example: the likelihood that appropriate reactions happen have to be significant, the necessary processes have to be highly efficient and fast; the system to be able to explore continuously different routes possible chemistry as well as the mechanisms involved; that the system to be able to select only what is good, evil discard it; and be sealed to some extent, so that it is capable of retaining materials within the system total.
It would seem a race between a complex organizational structure that it self-building and at the same time self-organizing versus its tendency to dissipation due to entropy. The functional requirements of this ideal system, would be something like: ability to select and concentrate necessary appropriate compounds as reactants, stabilization and coordination of these reactants, able to control power and synthesis (directed synthesis); some stage products become the reactants of the next stage, and all of the above should occur in an appropriate geochemical and geophysical environment.
Fig. (122)) Melanin is altered in most diseases of the retina, before it was thought to be secondary to the initial problems in the retina, but now we understand that first alters the generation and distribution of energy from melanin and then they alter the tissues that depend entirely on that energy. Fig. (123)) The constant presence of melanin near the optic nerve, in the 6000 patients that were included in the study, over twelve years (1990-2002), was the first data that led us to discover the unsuspected intrinsic property of melanin dissociate the molecule of water in its gaseous components, hydrogen and oxygen, such as plant chlorophyll.But reality has shown that difficulties in implementing a system like this, are formidable, as the chemistry of carbon, water-based, requires microenvironments that promote both heterogeneous reactions and dehydration. This, because the polymerization of biomolecules, required, almost universally make a H+ and an OH- scrapped at each end of the links in training, which means that, thermodynamically speaking, the expulsion of these elements isolated or combined (water), in an aqueous environment is very difficult.
This means that the pure environmental aqueous, is one obstacle rather than an advantage, on the way to the complexity of organic molecules. The possibilities are various, including the emergence of microenvironments that had added each other and in the end the complexity, against all odds entropic; it predominated. Or rather than processes that are part of a broader organization, larger; It led to the conditions at a microscopic level.
Theories on the matter are entertaining: i.e. the cycle of the bubble-aerosol - rain, also called the bubble hypothesis, model bubble Lerman, the hypothesis of the bubble in solution; where is examined thoroughly the physicochemical properties of interfaces, as well as cycles that could, but in the end, did not get anything conclusive, in spite to be called as: a universal planetary hydrology cycle.
About the appearance of prebiotic compounds remains outstanding questions.
It is for that reason that the theories about the origin of life are so far; just theories, because they still do not solve the basic problem. Another ingenious theory, is that the organic material that gave rise to life on earth could come by a series of collisions of comets. But trying to concatenate the few findings and numerous theories, the result is similar: uncertainty.
Melanin, the Molecule Base of Biological and Planetary Systems
Apparently, the intrinsic properties of melanin, it comes to solve so far intricate questions about the origin of life.
Ability to select and concentrate necessary appropriate compounds as reactants, how is it possible?Melanin delivering power in a very consistent way, constant, incessant, as it takes place both day and night. The ranges that the H2 and the e- derived from it are also surprisingly accurate; so, the effects that happen in the close environment is also similar, since different atoms or elements that are influenced by this chemical energy (H2 and e-) behave in a similar way all the time, this is forming the same compounds, with the same of primary, secondary, tertiary and quaternary chemical characteristics.Stabilization and coordination of these reactants. How is it possible?In the presence of visible and invisible light and water, the melanin provides chemical energy for thousands or millions of years. Which speaks of an enormous influence in terms of consistency of products it generates, as products are repeated and again throughout eons of years.Able to control power and synthesis (directed synthesis). How is it possible?The energy that emanates from the melanin, in the presence of light and water, is generated with accurate characteristics repeatedly, both day as at night, for millions and millions of years, carbon chains that are formed because of this as consistent energy, are also consistent. What effect has the chemical energy of the melanin on an isolated carbon atom is somewhat different to that happens when present 2, 3, 4, are or more carbon atoms, but the result will always be the same for millions and millions of years.Stage products become the reactants of the next stage. How is it possible?The influence of melanin is enormous given the astonishing precision with which the water molecule dissociates. And the energy that determines each of the various stages of formation of the different compounds, from simple to very complex, is the same (H2 and e-).And all the above should occur in an appropriate geochemical and geophysical environment.The effect of melanin on their environment is very powerful, not so much by the amount of energy but by the amazing consistency that shows. It is a kind of driven synthesis (melanin) which left very little to chance.Conclusion
The importance of melanin as a source of energy, has only just begun to see. It is a disruptive knowledge that has applications in many branches of human knowledge. Having understood that way organisms absorb and process energy from the environment (of light), it will mean a great step forward, because we understand the arose and biology of life in a more concrete way.
So powerful is the way in which the melanin is going to change our very rooted and so wrong concepts about life, we think that the title of the book describes very closely the future: Melanin, the Master Molecule.
This work was supported by Human Photosynthesis® Research Center.
