BLACK skin could be better than white skin at protecting against disease,
according to an Australian researcher. This enhanced immunity could explain why
dark skin evolved in humans and animals living in tropical climes.
No one knows why darker skin prevailed in some areas and lighter skin in
others. A popular theory is that the extra melanin in darker skin protects
against cancer and sunburn from ultraviolet radiation. But some parts of the
body which are hardly ever exposed to sunlight, such as genitalia, throats and
nasal passages, are packed with melanin cells. And animals such as gorillas have
dark…
