Some say gray hair is a crown of wisdom. Now, science suggests it might be a shield against cancer.

The color of your hair comes from specialized pigment cells called melanocytes. These cells produce melanin, the pigment that gives hair its natural color. Over time — or when we’re under stress — the number of melanocytes in our hair gradually declines, causing it to lose its color.

Along with melanocytes, your body has melanocyte stem cells. They act as a backup system, ready to create new melanocytes when the older ones die off.

Recently, researchers at the University of Tokyo studied melanocyte stem cells in mice to see how they responded to different forms of stress.

When these cells were put under stress, they reacted in two very different ways. Some stopped turning into mature pigment cells and died, leaving the hair without color. Others, however, started dividing rapidly, causing genetic damage to build until they began behaving like cancer cells.

The study revealed a surprising biological trade-off between aging and cancer: The loss of color might be the body’s way of prioritizing safety.

By allowing damaged cells to die and turn gray, the body prevents those same cells from potentially developing into melanoma, a dangerous form of skin cancer.

Scientists say more research is needed to understand how this process works in humans, but these findings mark a major step in learning how our cells balance aging with protecting our bodies.

This does not mean that gray hair prevents cancer, but it does suggest that those steel streaks could be a sign that your body has chosen the safer route.

Perhaps there’s a silver lining to those silver strands …