We have all learned about the dangers of too much sun exposure. Sunscreen products are a multi-billion dollar market across the globe. We are careful to limit our hours in the sun. Meanwhile, many animal species spend their entire lives outdoors and apparently don’t suffer from too much exposure to the sun.
Researchers at Oregon State University have figured out how these animals do it. The answer is that they effectively make their own sunscreen. It turns out that many fish, amphibians, reptiles and birds naturally produce a compound called gadusol, which among other biological activities provides protection from ultraviolet rays.
The researchers believe that the ability to produce gadusol may have come about through prehistoric, natural genetic engineering. The gene that enables the production of gadusol occurs in algae, and it may have been transferred to vertebrate animals hundreds of millions of years ago and retained and passed along because it is so valuable. Humans and mammals don’t have the ability to make gadusol, but many other vertebrates do.
It is possible to naturally produce gadusol in high volume using yeast. This opens the door to the possibility of developing it as an ingredient in sunscreen products, cosmetics or pharmaceutical products for people. And conceptually, at least, one could imagine an ingested product based upon gadusol that would provide humans with a systemic sunscreen, as opposed to a cream or compound that is applied to the skin.
Further studies are needed on this topic. In the meantime, we have to be a little envious of all the animals who have the ability to manufacture their own sunscreen.
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No lotions needed: Many animal species produce their own sunscreen
Photo, posted January 27, 2015, courtesy of Mike Mozart via Flickr.
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Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.