High Levels of Solar Radiation
1. Solar Radiation is radiant energy from the sun, when there is too much of it, it can become a problem for many reasons. Too Much UV (Ultraviolet Radiation) can be very dangerous because it is something that can cause Skin Cancer. Melanin is a natural sunscreen to our skin that absorbs UV because it is not good for our skin, But when there is too much UV present our skin cells can lead to a mutation which would lead to Skin Cancer.
2.
Short Term Adaptation
I don't think that for this case of high levels of solar radiation there is short term adaptation because our skin does not like the sun nor is the sun good for it so there I don't think there is a way to adapt.
Facultative Adaptation
Facultative adaptation would have to be melanin, which is a substance produced by cells called melanocytes. Melanin protects us from overexposure to uv radiation. The production of melanin varies from each individual for example men and women. Men tend to get tan easily as for women it takes them more. It occurs in all humans except albinos because they carry a mutation that prevents them from producing any melanin which explains why they are so pale. European descents only produce a small amount of melanin and when the sun exposure increases their melanin remains at the small amount and doesn't produce any more.
Developmental Adaption
The levels of melanin are changes in the DNA and people from different areas or continents are different skin tones due to levels of melanin. Both dark and light complexions have melanin. There are two types produced pheomelanin and eumelanin.
Cultural Adaptation
This is something easier that we can solve ourselves, in order to adapt I would use sunscreen, stay indoors or even use an umbrella to protect myself from high levels of solar radiation. I know some people even wear long sleeves or clothing to cover themselves so they do not expose too much.
3. I think that studying human variation can be very good because it teaches you why we are all made differently and look differently. Some don't understand why each race has different traits for example different skin color different hair types but I think these thing take a huge part on this because there are reasons behind each of these traits.
4. I would use race to understand environmental adaptations again, because it can show you why we each are made differently and the different traits each race has and why we have them. They each have a purpose for example how darker skin tones are there because it is to avoid sun burns etc. Understanding human variation without the use of race would probably be that we are all human beings who aren't really all that different but because we all live in different areas with different conditions we as humans have adapted to the environment over time.
Good post! Good explanation of your stress and you did well with your discussion of each adaptation. No, there isn't a short term adaptation to solar radiation, which is why it is such a potentially dangerous stress.
ReplyDeleteFor your final discussion, why do we need to find something useful in race when we can use the adaptive approach? What advantages would an approach using race have over using the environment to understand why humans are different? Does race have any advantages? Race is a social construct, not a biological one. Each system of race is unique to each culture and as such is subject to the bias of that culture. So how can we used this as a means of studying biological adaptations? Whose system of race do we use?
I suggest that the environmental approach doesn't deny how human are different. What would be the use in that, given that we have obvious phenotypic differences? But it strives to understand these differences in an objective way that doesn't allow cultural bias color the answers to the questions of why humans vary. It uses only objective biological information as the basis for this inquiry. That is why the adaptive environmental approach gives us useful information and why race can't do that.
Hello there! Good post! I like how your subject on solar radiation was used throughout the entire post for each subject. I agree that you are right about there really being no short term adaptation to solar radiation, it really is something in which we have to make ourselves adapt to. I tend to stay indoors when UV rays are higher, i tend to burn easily so this is my personal way of combating it.
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