When ultraviolet sunlight hits our skin, it affects each of us differently. Depending on skin color, it'll take only minutes of exposure to turn one person beetroot-pink, while another requires hours to experience the slightest change. What's to account for that difference, and how did our skin come to take on so many different hues to begin with? Angela Koine Flynn describes the science of skin color.

Angela Koine Flynn: The science of skin color

The science of skin color

Migration from sun-soaked latitudes prompted skin color adaptation, balancing UV protection with vital vitamin D production.

Melanin, our skin's natural sunscreen, evolved as a dynamic shield against UV radiation, adapting to geographical migrations.

Skin color adapts evolutionarily, balancing UV protection and Vitamin D production, reflecting centuries of human migration and adaptation.