They worked out how coral shields itself from the harmful ultraviolet rays in sunshine and hope to use the information to produce a ‘sunscreen in a pill’.
A single pill could provide weeks of protection for the skin and eyes, cutting the odds of cancer, doing away with the need for creams and sunglasses and keeping at bay wrinkles and other signs of ageing exacerbated by the sun.
The pill could be tested on people in five years and be widely and cheaply available in a decade, say the King’s College London scientists.
Areas to think about:
- Would you take such a pill?
- What sort of information would you want to have before deciding?
- Can you think of any other medical/healthcare inventions based on substances found in nature?
Discussion
No comments yet.