Feb 21, 2015: Although sunlight is said to be a major source of Vitamin D, exposures to it for extended hours damage people’s skin and increase the risk of cancer.
According to a study by the Scientists at Yale University, in the US, when people who come to sunbath leave the beach and head indoors, the chances of getting caught by cancer is high.
They discovered that a protective pigment called ‘melanin’ was causing the damage.
Meanwhile, the investigation team has said that the findings may lead to better sunscreens that can prevent the extra damage.
In the opinion of British experts, the findings “reinforce” current advice.
The UV radiation pummelling our skin cells cause mutations in the DNA.
Absorbing the radiation is the pigment behind a tan or natural skin tone, which is popularly known as ‘melanin’.
However, previous studies was mum on what happens to all the energy that the melanin has absorbed.
The study of the yale team published in the journal Science states that the high-energy version of melanin supercharges a series of chemical reactions.
As per lead researcher Prof Douglas Brash, cocktail of superoxides and peroxynitrites culminate in a “very high-energy molecule breaking apart and releasing the energy that was holding it together.”
The damage in skin continued in laboratory tests four hours after UV exposure was ceased.
“Half or more of this kind of DNA damage is not happening on the beach, it’s on the car on the way home,” Prof Brash said.
Hopeful of developing a sunscreen that combines the usual protection with absorbing any energy from the melanin, the team has mentioned its optimism in the journal. With Inputs From BBC.
