ELI5; Why is dark skin selected for when you’re in the sun a lot? Dark colors absorbs most visible light, while white reflects it. Is it different for UV light?
In: Biology
You get all of your vitamin D in about 7-10 minutes in the sun with no sunscreen. Past that you start to risk burns (UV damage). Eventually darker mutations, which have more melanin to stop the penetration of UV rays, would be selected for as they wouldn’t be in pain often and would have a lower risk of melanoma.
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