Fun (and safe) In the Sun
September 24th 2006 00:44
Fun (and safe) In the Sun
Now that spring is blossoming into quite a streak of hot weather we have to be careful of the suns powerful rays and the possible resulting skin damage. As most of us know, Australia has the highest rate of skin cancer in the world. People may not believe this claim as there are many other countries closer to the equator that must face harsher temperatures than us, but the fact of the matter is; most residents of Australia dont have skin that is equipped to protect them from the UV rays of the sun. Darker skinned people (such as the native inhabitants of Australia, who are better protected from the sun) are less prone to skin cancer due to greater concentrations of the melanin pigment in their skin.
When very early humans evolved out of Africa, there was less demand for melanin in the skin due to the less severe climate in the new areas of the world they inhabited. The Australian aborigines withheld their melanin to cope with the intense Australian sun, but peoples from the UK, for example, adapted to lighter skin as that area of the world is not as hot. Now that Australia is very much inhabited with the Brits and their descendants, we have the highest rate of skin cancer in the world, as British skin cannot cope with the Australian sun.
So now that you know there is a scientific reasoning behind why the lighter skinned of us need to be extra careful out in the sun please do what the ad says slip on a shirt, slop on some sunscreen and slap on a hat!
Now that spring is blossoming into quite a streak of hot weather we have to be careful of the suns powerful rays and the possible resulting skin damage. As most of us know, Australia has the highest rate of skin cancer in the world. People may not believe this claim as there are many other countries closer to the equator that must face harsher temperatures than us, but the fact of the matter is; most residents of Australia dont have skin that is equipped to protect them from the UV rays of the sun. Darker skinned people (such as the native inhabitants of Australia, who are better protected from the sun) are less prone to skin cancer due to greater concentrations of the melanin pigment in their skin.
When very early humans evolved out of Africa, there was less demand for melanin in the skin due to the less severe climate in the new areas of the world they inhabited. The Australian aborigines withheld their melanin to cope with the intense Australian sun, but peoples from the UK, for example, adapted to lighter skin as that area of the world is not as hot. Now that Australia is very much inhabited with the Brits and their descendants, we have the highest rate of skin cancer in the world, as British skin cannot cope with the Australian sun.
So now that you know there is a scientific reasoning behind why the lighter skinned of us need to be extra careful out in the sun please do what the ad says slip on a shirt, slop on some sunscreen and slap on a hat!
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