The Science of every skin color

TED Talk: The Science of every skin color

PHS April 29, 2021

Multiple Choice

The ingredient that gives skin its color and a version of its own sunscreen is known as:

• Melanocytes

• Pigment

• Melanin

Multiple Choice

Variation in skin color is a function of:

• Migration

• Biology

• Adaptability

Multiple Choice

From and to where where did the early ancestors of humans migrate nearly 50,000 years ago?

• From Africa to Europe and Asia

• From the region between the equator and the Tropic of Capricorn to Europe and Asia

• From the Tropic of Capricorn to Europe and Asia

Multiple Choice

What useful trait did the early ancestors living in the sun-saturated latitudes pass on to their offspring?

• More eumelanin

• More melanin

• More pigment

• All of the above

Multiple Choice

What disadvantage did our sun-adapted ancestors have when they moved to northern latitudes?

• They made too much eumelanin, so their bodies could not produce enough vitamin D after UV exposure

• They made too much eumelanin, so they could not get vitamin D from sun exposure

• They could not make enough melanin, so their bodies could not produce enough vitamin D after UV exposure

Open Ended

Have humans always had the variation in skin color that we see today? Explain your answer.

Open Ended

In what other places, besides central Africa, can people with a high eumelanin content be found living today?