High levels of radiation is one way that can negatively impact humans and add environmental stresses to their survival. Humans who are exposed to these levels of solar radiation may experience damage including sunburn, photo aging, or even skin cancer. This can interrupt the processes of homeostasis because it can actually break down certain cells too quickly and damage healthy tissue if proper protection like sunscreen is not being used while being exposed to high levels of solar radiation. While some UV's are actually healthy for the skin, others can be extremely harmful.
A short term cause for high exposure to high solar radiation may include sunburn. While this may seem temporary, it actually causes the skin to turn red and eventually thicken and dry out which then creates a thickening of the skin. As for facultative stresses, different pigmentation in the skin may occur dependent on the genes or stress. Pigmentation may darken through moving from a population with low exposure to a population with higher exposure to solar radiation. Developmental stress occurs from your phenotype. For example people with darker constitutive pigment are more likely to exhibit higher levels of photons that absorb UVR photons, resulting in a darker skin tone. Lastly, through cultural stress, people often use methods of tanning to create a darker tone of their skin and may use products like tanning oils to help this process. They may also use spray tans to try and imitate this look of darker skin.
By studying human variation through environmental clines, we can determine how different climates can effect human traits why people are all made differently. This information can help us determine how our ancestors may have looked dependent on where they lived and what environment they were in. For example, if we are trying to determine how these specific stresses may affect a whole population of humans, we can help prevent things such as skin cancer and find solutions like using sunscreen.
From the examples I got from example two, race is nothing more than a pigmentation that is dependent on different levels of UV rays and how solar radiation may react to a person's skin differently to someone else's. Race has pretty much nothing to do with anything and it really is all scientifically how one's skin reacts to sunlight. This is a much better method to understanding humans because it does not put people in specific categories, it just gives scientific facts as to how people may react differently based of off genetics.
A short term cause for high exposure to high solar radiation may include sunburn. While this may seem temporary, it actually causes the skin to turn red and eventually thicken and dry out which then creates a thickening of the skin. As for facultative stresses, different pigmentation in the skin may occur dependent on the genes or stress. Pigmentation may darken through moving from a population with low exposure to a population with higher exposure to solar radiation. Developmental stress occurs from your phenotype. For example people with darker constitutive pigment are more likely to exhibit higher levels of photons that absorb UVR photons, resulting in a darker skin tone. Lastly, through cultural stress, people often use methods of tanning to create a darker tone of their skin and may use products like tanning oils to help this process. They may also use spray tans to try and imitate this look of darker skin.
By studying human variation through environmental clines, we can determine how different climates can effect human traits why people are all made differently. This information can help us determine how our ancestors may have looked dependent on where they lived and what environment they were in. For example, if we are trying to determine how these specific stresses may affect a whole population of humans, we can help prevent things such as skin cancer and find solutions like using sunscreen.
From the examples I got from example two, race is nothing more than a pigmentation that is dependent on different levels of UV rays and how solar radiation may react to a person's skin differently to someone else's. Race has pretty much nothing to do with anything and it really is all scientifically how one's skin reacts to sunlight. This is a much better method to understanding humans because it does not put people in specific categories, it just gives scientific facts as to how people may react differently based of off genetics.
Hello Pumpkin Spice! Your post was great to read. It is very detailed and well explained. I wish you had added some photos to specify what are the cultural, Facultative, short term, and developmental adaptions. You did explain that short term adaptations are the use of sunscreen and people tanning; however, you did not explain Faculative adaptation. I thoroughly enjoyed your post, it is well organized.
ReplyDeleteOpening comment: Missing required images?
ReplyDeleteGood explanation of the dangers of solar radiation stress, but do we gain anything positive from exposure to the sun which complicates this issue?
For your short term adaptation, remember that adaptations help the body adjust to a stress. It is a physiological response that has a positive impact. A sunburn isn't a positive response, it is an indicator that the body hasn't responded quickly enough to solar radiation. It is a symptom that damage has already occured, not a response to deal with the stress.
There actually is no short term adaptation to solar radiation which is why it is such a dangerous stress.
Okay on your facultative trait, but how does pigmentation help deal with this stress? Missing that key to the puzzle here.
"For example people with darker constitutive pigment are more likely to exhibit higher levels of photons that absorb UVR photons, resulting in a darker skin tone. "
Causation is backwards here. Populations that experience higher levels of solar radiation (like equatorial populations) have evolved darker skin tones because that trait is helpful. It is helpful because it protects against harmful radiation. But then why do some populations have lighter skin tones? Wouldn't it be better for all of us to just have darker skin? Just in case? That variation needs to be explained as well.
Tanning oils don't "help" protect the body. They may amplify and accelerate the tanning process in those who can tan, but they don't actually protect against solar radiation itself. It encourages the biological response. It doesn't protect in and of itself. What about sun screen? Wouldn't that be a better example of a cultural adaptation to protect against solar radiation?
"...we can help prevent things such as skin cancer and find solutions like using sunscreen."
Good. We can also use this information to help develop clothing that protects us from solar radiation while perhaps allowing us to still absorb Vitamin D.
"Race has pretty much nothing to do with anything and it really is all scientifically how one's skin reacts to sunlight."
Excellent (though I will note that race is not just based upon skin tone). Race is not based in biology but is a social construct, based in beliefs and preconceptions, and used only to categorize humans into groups based upon external physical features, much like organizing a box of crayons by color. Race does not *cause* adaptations like environmental stress do, and without that causal relationship, you can't use race to explain adaptations. Race has no explanatory value over human variation.
Hi Pumpkin Spice, reading your blog post & learning more about high levels of radiation was extremely helpful! As we know, California's heat conditions have continued to worsen, so knowing how solar radiation can negatively impact us is important information to know. Sunburns are very common but I wasn't aware that it causes the skin to thicken. I know you mentioned sunburns are a short term consequence of solar radiation, but do you think we're capable of developing a short-term adaptation to help us protect against solar radiation?
ReplyDeleteI also have a question about the cultural stress: does tanning oil biologically affect our bodies to help prevent sunburns and other harmful consequences from solar radiation? I usually think of tanning as just a physical aesthetic that some people choose to participate in. While tanning oil darkens the skin, does it have the same effect and protections that natural melanin has?
I like that you emphasized the importance of understanding human variation through environmental clines, in this case, it definitely expands our comprehension of the risks to our health. I hope these conversations will spark ways we can protect ourselves (like using sunscreen) if our bodies cannot adapt to solar radiation like it does with other environmental stressors we read about.
Thank you, good luck on finals!
Hey,
ReplyDeleteI thought your post was really good! It was quite detailed and I thought you gave good examples. Your intro definitely helped me understand the process with homeostasis better, because I was kind of struggling to understand that aspect.