Biology of Skin Color

What type of melanin results in permanently dark colored skin?

• Eumelanin

• Pheomelanin

The lower the intensity of UVB radiation ...

• the darker skin must be.

• the less vitamin D you can make.

• the lighter skin can be.

• the more melanin you need.

The more intense UVB radiation is,

• The darker skin must be.

• The less melanin you need.

• the lighter skin can be.

• the safer your DNA and folate production will be.

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Melanin

• is a natural sun screen

• protects DNA from UV damage

• prevents vitamin D production

• all are correct

Your skin color is determined by your

• Genetic inheritance 

• Environmental factors

• Culture

• None of the above

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What is the evolutionary benefit for dark skin near the equator?

• Skin cancer protection

• Folate protection

• It has no evolutionary relationship

• Easier vitamin D production

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The graph in Figure 2 summarizes the age at which people are diagnosed with melanoma, the most serious form of skin cancer. Why does protection from skin cancer not explain the strong selective pressure for dark skin in high UV ares.

• Because the median age is 63.

• Because most people get skin cancer at a young age.

• Because most people get skin color at an old age.

• Because many people get skin color at an older age after they have already had children and probably passed the gene onto them.

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Indigenous (native) people of which country would be expected to have the darkest skin color?

• Southwestern Canada

• Northwestern Brazil

• Southwestern China

• Western Australia

Which population would be most at risk for having a folate deficiency?

• People with less melanin living near the equator

• People with less melanin living near the poles

• People with more melanin living near the equator

• People with more melanin living near the poles

Which population would be most at risk for developing rickets, a skeletal disorder that is caused by a lack of vitamin D, calcium, or phosphate?

• People with less melanin living near the equator

• People with less melanin living near the poles

• People with more melanin living near the equator

• People with more melanin living near the poles