Certain genes can be switched off to prevent melanocytes from maturing.

某些基因可以被关闭以防止黑素细胞成熟。

First, they thought it could be the immune system attacking the melanocyte stem cell population.

他们一开始认为可能是免疫系统攻击黑色素细胞干细胞群。

The melanocytes make the pigment, which is then packed into small packets of pigment called melanosomes.

黑素细胞制造色素，然后将其包装成称为黑素体的小包色素。

Melanocytes associated with the hair root will deposit melanin to the cells that compose our hair.

相关的黑色素细胞会将黑色素沉积到构成我们头的细胞中。

The chemical then flowed through the stem cells up into the hair follicles -- where melanocytes are kept.

然后，这种化学质会流过干细胞，流至头的皮囊--生黑色素细胞就得以保留。

If that damage is severe enough, the cells mutations can lead to melanoma, a deadly cancer that forms in the skin's melanocytes.

当DNA受到严时，会使细胞突变导致黑色素瘤，一种由黑色素细胞形成的致命癌症。

The research focused on cells in the skin of mice and also found in humans called melanocyte stem cells, or McSCs.

这项研究点关注小鼠皮肤中的细胞，也在人类中现了称为黑色素干细胞（McSC）的细胞。

How long your melanocytes last—and therefore when you “go gray”—is mostly determined by your genetics.

你的黑素细胞能持续多久——以及你何时“变白” ——主要取决于你的基因。

Each hair gets its color from melanin, a pigment made by specialized cells called melanocytes in hair follicles.

每头的颜色都来自黑色素， 黑色素是一种由毛囊中称为黑素细胞的特殊细胞制成的色素。

And it doesn’t affect melanocytes, so for young people, the hair that falls out grows back its normal color.

而且它不会影响黑色素细胞， 因此对于年轻人来说， 掉落的头会新长出正常的颜色。

Coat colour, an important consideration for many owners, is easily dealt with by picking the right pattern of melanocyte cells in the skin.

许多宠的主人都比较在意动皮毛的颜色，要打印出不同的颜色只需要在皮肤中选取合适的黑色素细胞排列形式就能轻松实现。

They recruited a paleoartist to construct a life-size color model of Psittacosaurus, using careful measurements of the fossilized body and pattern of melanocytes.

他们招募了一位古生学家，通过仔细测量化石化的身体和黑色素细胞的模式，构建了真人大小的鹦鹉嘴龙彩色模型。

Just like forest-dwellers today, the countershading pattern produced by the dinosaur’s melanocytes was probably subtle, switching from dark to light fairly low on its body.

就像今天的森林居民一样，恐龙黑色素细胞产生的反阴影图案可能很微妙， 在其身体相当低的地方从暗色切换到亮色。

A senior investigator on the study, Mayumi Ito, said: " It is the loss of chameleon-like function in melanocyte stem cells that may be responsible for greying and loss of hair colour."

该研究的高级研究员伊藤真由美（音译）表示：“黑色素干细胞变色功能的丧失可能是导致头变白和褪色的原因。”

When scientists looked at tiny zebras fetuses as they developed, they observed that genes related to melanin production were selectively switched off in those areas destined to become white stripes, especially those involved in melanocytes maturing.

当科学家们观察育过程中的小斑马胎儿时，他们观察到黑色素产生相关的基因在那些注定会变成白色条纹的区域被选择性地关闭，尤其是那些参黑色素细胞成熟的区域。