4 ms·

How did we evolve to "need" sunscreen? It honestly doesn't make any sense at all.

by tempsy 3y ago

klooney 3y ago
It's different being outside all day everyday from day 0 and being inside most of the time except for on the weekends. Plus, you know, we take lots of notes about cancer now.
- deleted 3y ago
  [deleted]
tayo42 3y ago
You just needed to make it to puberty, so like 12 to 14?,to reproduce. Anything after for evolution is bonus I would think.
- tempsy 3y ago
  And what would be the consequence of not wearing sunscreen be exactly? The skin cancer rates are wildly different depending on what ethnicity you are. For Asians and Blacks it's 4% of the rate of Caucasians. In fact it's nearly non-existent. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9345197/#:~:text=EPIDEMIOLOGY%20OF%20SKIN%20CANCER%20DISPARITIES,%2DHispanic%20Blacks%20(1.0) https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9345197/#:~:tex....
missedthecue 3y ago
Evolution doesn't optimize for eeking out extra years by lowering risk of skin cancer, and it doesn't optimize for minimizing wrinkles as you age. These are benefits sunscreen provides. If you're white, your skin was evolved over generations of time spent in very low UV sunlight. The UV index in North Europe is 1 or 2 right now, depending on the city. In Ecuador, it's 12. A white person would begin to burn within a few minutes without protection there. Caucasian people have evolved with very little melanin because that means they can absorb more vitamin D in low, intermittent, or weak sunlight conditions
- tempsy 3y ago
  Asian and Black people basically do not get skin cancer. It wildly depends on your ethnicity. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9345197/#:~:text=EPIDEMIOLOGY%20OF%20SKIN%20CANCER%20DISPARITIES,%2DHispanic%20Blacks%20(1.0) https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9345197/#:~:tex...
  - missedthecue 3y ago
    Because they evolved and adapted in much higher sunlight conditions.
    - pcl 3y ago
      I think it’s the other way around, right? Our common ancestors evolved high-melanin skin, and people with less melanin in their skin evolved to lose the melanin as a response to moving to lower-light parts of the world.
      - missedthecue 3y ago
        Technically, you are right, I don't mean all ethnicities evolved independently.
    - tempsy 3y ago
      So that goes back to my original comment then - apparently billions of people can get away with not using sunscreen due to evolution.
      - missedthecue 3y ago
        Well large regular amounts of solar radiation isn't great for anyone's skin over long periods of time, but yes they can still live relatively normal lives without sunscreen.

How did we evolve to "need" sunscreen? It honestly doesn't make any sense at all.

by tempsy 3y ago

How did we evolve to "need" sunscreen? It honestly doesn't make any sense at all.

It's different being outside all day everyday from day 0 and being inside most of the time except for on the weekends. Plus, you know, we take lots of notes about cancer now.

deleted 3y ago
[deleted]

tayo42 3y ago

You just needed to make it to puberty, so like 12 to 14?,to reproduce. Anything after for evolution is bonus I would think.

tempsy 3y ago
And what would be the consequence of not wearing sunscreen be exactly? The skin cancer rates are wildly different depending on what ethnicity you are. For Asians and Blacks it's 4% of the rate of Caucasians. In fact it's nearly non-existent. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9345197/#:~:text=EPIDEMIOLOGY%20OF%20SKIN%20CANCER%20DISPARITIES,%2DHispanic%20Blacks%20(1.0) https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9345197/#:~:tex....

missedthecue 3y ago

Evolution doesn't optimize for eeking out extra years by lowering risk of skin cancer, and it doesn't optimize for minimizing wrinkles as you age. These are benefits sunscreen provides. If you're white, your skin was evolved over generations of time spent in very low UV sunlight. The UV index in North Europe is 1 or 2 right now, depending on the city. In Ecuador, it's 12. A white person would begin to burn within a few minutes without protection there. Caucasian people have evolved with very little melanin because that means they can absorb more vitamin D in low, intermittent, or weak sunlight conditions

tempsy 3y ago
Asian and Black people basically do not get skin cancer. It wildly depends on your ethnicity. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9345197/#:~:text=EPIDEMIOLOGY%20OF%20SKIN%20CANCER%20DISPARITIES,%2DHispanic%20Blacks%20(1.0) https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9345197/#:~:tex...
- missedthecue 3y ago
  Because they evolved and adapted in much higher sunlight conditions.
  - pcl 3y ago
    I think it’s the other way around, right? Our common ancestors evolved high-melanin skin, and people with less melanin in their skin evolved to lose the melanin as a response to moving to lower-light parts of the world.
    - missedthecue 3y ago
      Technically, you are right, I don't mean all ethnicities evolved independently.
  - tempsy 3y ago
    So that goes back to my original comment then - apparently billions of people can get away with not using sunscreen due to evolution.
    - missedthecue 3y ago
      Well large regular amounts of solar radiation isn't great for anyone's skin over long periods of time, but yes they can still live relatively normal lives without sunscreen.