if our skin cells are constantly dying and being replaced by new ones, how can a bad sunburn turn into cancer YEARS down the line?

Question

if our skin cells are constantly dying and being replaced by new ones, how can a bad sunburn turn into cancer YEARS down the line?

In: 3306

Answer 1

Each cell is a copy of a copy. Imagine doing a photocopy of a document and each new copy isn’t based on the original, but the latest photocopy.

Eventually it’ll become more and more degraded, and eventually it won’t be readible everywhere.

Bad sunburn is, essentially, damaging one of those copies. Meaning it’s even more likely that the copy of that copy will be slightly worse off.

Cancer is a percentages game – some things increase the probability of a mutation and there’s a chance that mutation could be cancerous.

Sunburn and UV radiation is one of those factors that can damage your cells and their DNA, making it more likely that a copy comes out damagged.