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| Sunscreen Pill In The Works |
A group of British researchers are studying how coral -- the kind that makes up Australia's Great Barrier Reef -- protects itself from the sun's rays in the hopes of developing a pill that can do the same for humans.
"What we have found is that the algae living within the coral makes a compound that we think is transported to the coral, which then modifies it into a sunscreen for the benefit of both the coral and the algae," said Paul Long, a senior lecturer in pharmaceutical science at King's College London. "Not only does this protect them both from UV damage, but we have seen that fish that feed on the coral also benefit from this sunscreen protection, so it is clearly passed up the food chain."
Long leads a three-year research project, financed by the British government, focused on sun-shielding compounds in Acropora microphthalma coral.
If the research progresses as hoped, the first sunscreen pill could become a reality in five years. The product can provide full sun protection for both the skin and eyes that could last for weeks at a time.
Another application of the research could lead to sun-tolerant crops that boost world food supplies.
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