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NEWTON Home Page NEWTON Teachers Visit Our Archives Ask A Question How To Ask A Question Question of the Week Our Expert Scientists Volunteer at NEWTON! Frequently Asked Questions Referencing NEWTON About NEWTON About Ask A Scientist Education At Argonne Melanocytes and Albinism 
Name: Talitha M.
Status: Student
Age: 20s
Location: N/A
Country: N/A
Date: N/A
Question:
Do albino's still produce melanocytes or do they lack them..etc - what happens to these cells in the case of albinism? or is albinism a result of malfunctioning melanocytes?


Replies:
Tricky question...melanocytes are by definition those cells that are in the epidermis above the germinitival layer that produce melanin so functionally they are not there but the cells that could produce the melanin if the gene(s) for it was active are there.

Peter Faletra Ph.D.
Senior Science Advisor
Office of Science
Department of Energy


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