Melanin can be used in clothing and pigments.

Want to know what color is the surface of oily raindrows and soap bubbles? These rainbows - also found in peacock feathers and hummingbird wings - are called structural colors and appear when light is reflected by microscopic features on the surface of an object.
However, when scientists imitate this natural palette, they always get colors that "don't work out as usual": structural colors are natural rainbow colors, which means that their shimmering hues can't be used to make fixed pigments.
such as melanin, a naturally occurring molecule that gives human hair and skin a unique color.
then, the researchers embedded a synthetic version of the melanin molecule in a special silicon coating and adjusted the color by adjusting the concentration of the silicon, then submerged hundreds of these small particles in the water.
, the team then added oil to it and sped out the water, allowing the ball to gather into a microscopic "upper ball."
while removing oil, these upper balls can be turned into powder dyes and can be used like traditional pigments.
but unlike traditional pigments, they don't disappear in UV rays.
researchers recently published their findings in Scientific Advances.
importantly, because melanin is bio-compatible, these pigments can be used not only in clothing and pigments, but also perhaps one day in the cosmetics and food industries.
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