Darker Skin Evolved To Reduce Cancer Risk

A long-discounted theory about the evolution of skin color may have had it right all along, new research suggests.

Darker skin gives individuals much greater protection from UV light-induced skin cancer. Pale-skinned people are roughly 1,000 times more likely than individuals with dark skin to suffer from the three most common skin cancers. But for years, researchers believed the lowered risk was an incidental benefit, not one derived through the pressure of natural selection.

Even Charles Darwin poo-poohed the notion that pigmentation could be an adaptive trait. A new study, however, finds evidence that skin cancer was in fact a driving evolutionary force for early hominids to have darker skin.

http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/d-brief/2014/02/26/darker-skin-evolved-to-reduce-cancer-risk/#.Uw5SmeN_vfI

Well if one were to believe in evolution I'd say that we were all born dark-skinned (say of African origin) and that pieces of land broke off and drifted to cooler climates.
Hence the reason white people go darker in the sun and dark people don't go paler in the winter.

There's another theory that dark-skinned people evolved when they moved to cooler areas and became paler so that they could synthesise Vitamin D from UV rays.

Charles Darwin was a fool who knew nothing.

We all know that god sent us here on the backs of angels.

BigAndy9 wrote:Charles Darwin was a fool who knew nothing.

We all know that god sent us here on the backs of angels.

darwin did say that if the fossil record does not support his hypothesis then he is wrong and it didn't so by his own standards he is wrong..

heavenly father wrote:

BigAndy9 wrote:Charles Darwin was a fool who knew nothing.

We all know that god sent us here on the backs of angels.

darwin did say that if the fossil record does not support his hypothesis then he is wrong and it didn't so by his own standards he is wrong..

Oh my, so you back everything on Darwin being right in regards to evolution , one moment

 ://?roflmao?/: 

This article has yet again shown more evidence for evolution, but then you missed that part I guess

eddie wrote:
Well if one were to believe in evolution I'd say that we were all born dark-skinned (say of African origin) and that pieces of land broke off and drifted to cooler climates.
Hence the reason white people go darker in the sun and dark people don't go paler in the winter.

 

I agree with the origin angle, (but not with your notion of pieces of Africa breaking off !
I suggest you look  up "Gondwanaland" and "Pangaea", Eddie..).

The "Out of Africa" evidence for "the Ascent and Evolution of Man" also points to those early humans having a dark "reddish brown" skin colouring, when one looks at the demographics of that time, and present day descendants still occupying the same locales..


EVEN if those three faux_creationists on here had actually taken the time to read their Old Testaments (instead of simply copy&pasting from evangelists' websites..) they would have been well aware that Adam and Eve and their offspring are described as being of a red brown colour ~ as with the colour of the soil they were created from.     

heavenly father wrote:

BigAndy9 wrote:
Charles Darwin was a fool who knew nothing.

We all know that god sent us here on the backs of angels.

darwin did say that if the fossil record does not support his hypothesis then he is wrong and it didn't so by his own standards he is wrong..

  

Gees, you're stoopid...

You just keep on making up your lies on the run, Mr. 'father..   

Raggamuffin wrote:
There's another theory that dark-skinned people evolved when they moved to cooler areas and became paler so that they could synthesise Vitamin D from UV rays.  

  

SUCH a hypothesis (NOT a theory, 'muffintop ~ there is a big difference ..) suggests to me that it was worded by a non-scientist who didn't actually have even a basic understanding of the principles of physiology, adaptation through natural selection, and survival of the fittest, that would be involved in such long-term population changes..

Beekeeper wrote:

Raggamuffin wrote:
There's another theory that dark-skinned people evolved when they moved to cooler areas and became paler so that they could synthesise Vitamin D from UV rays.  

  

SUCH a hypothesis (NOT a theory, 'muffintop ~ there is a big difference ..) suggests to me that it was worded by a non-scientist who didn't actually have even a basic understanding of the principles of physiology, adaptation through natural selection, and survival of the fittest, that would be involved in such long-term population changes..

What's the problem with it? Melanin would help to block UV rays, which is fine in hot countries, but in cooler countries where there are less UV rays, the skin would need to have less melanin.

eddie wrote:Well if one were to believe in evolution I'd say that we were all born dark-skinned (say of African origin) and that pieces of land broke off and drifted to cooler climates.
Hence the reason white people go darker in the sun and dark people don't go paler in the winter.

Humans evolved long after the land formations as we know them today had formed eds (though there may have been some 'land bridges' such as the northern eastern most point of modern Russia and Alaska); but yes we were originally all dark skinned and originated in Africa- I have no idea why or how we evolved to have lighter skin but ragga's hypothesis seems likely.

Eilzel wrote:

eddie wrote:Well if one were to believe in evolution I'd say that we were all born dark-skinned (say of African origin) and that pieces of land broke off and drifted to cooler climates.
Hence the reason white people go darker in the sun and dark people don't go paler in the winter.

Humans evolved long after the land formations as we know them today had formed eds (though there may have been some 'land bridges' such as the northern eastern most point of modern Russia and Alaska); but yes we were originally all dark skinned and originated in Africa- I have no idea why or how we evolved to have lighter skin but ragga's hypothesis seems likely.

Well I won't argue my point les as my knowledge of these things is tepid to say the least lol

I think beekeeper' spots about the reddish-brown skin - I've heard that before? But do you then have to believe in Adam and Eve and ergo, God?

eddie wrote:

Eilzel wrote:

Humans evolved long after the land formations as we know them today had formed eds (though there may have been some 'land bridges' such as the northern eastern most point of modern Russia and Alaska); but yes we were originally all dark skinned and originated in Africa- I have no idea why or how we evolved to have lighter skin but ragga's hypothesis seems likely.

Well I won't argue my point les as my knowledge of these things is tepid to say the least lol

I think beekeeper' spots about the reddish-brown skin - I've heard that before? But do you then have to believe in Adam and Eve and ergo, God?

I wouldn't take anything written in the Bible as Gospel   

You could believe we had reddish-brown skin, but you don't have to accept Adam and Eve. I think (correct me if I'm wrong Bee) that Bee's point was that even in the Bible the first people were described as having that colour skin and so even from a Biblical pov there is still a need to explain diverse skin colour; which our resident creationists cannot do   

Raggamuffin wrote:

Beekeeper wrote:


SUCH a hypothesis (NOT a theory, 'muffintop ~ there is a big difference ..) suggests to me that it was worded by a non-scientist who didn't actually have even a basic understanding of the principles of physiology, adaptation through natural selection, and survival of the fittest, that would be involved in such long-term population changes..

What's the problem with it? Melanin would help to block UV rays, which is fine in hot countries, but in cooler countries where there are less UV rays, the skin would need to have less melanin.

Ragga is right that is a hypothesis, but the more detailed version is that albino people are born at random in any area, but only in the cooler climates could they survive as effectively as dark skinned people. Once you get to really cold climates the albino actually survives better (due to the high Vitamin D absorption). Thus the more pigment-less breeders over time resulting in a lighter average skin colour.