A pigment that makes feathers and hair orange helps prevent cellular damage by removing excess cysteine from cells. Pheomelanin is an orange-to-red pigment that is built with the amino acid cysteine and found in human red hair and fair skin, as well as in bird feathers. Previous research has shown that pheomelanin is associated with increased melanoma risk, raising questions about why evolution has maintained genetic variants that promote pheomelanin production.

A pigment that makes feathers and hair orange helps prevent cellular damage by removing excess cysteine from cells. Pheomelanin is an orange-to-red pigment that is built with the amino acid cysteine and found in human red hair and fair skin, as well as in bird feathers. Previous research has shown that pheomelanin is associated with increased melanoma risk, raising questions about why evolution has maintained genetic variants that promote pheomelanin production.

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