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Name: erin
Location: N/A
Country: N/A
Date: N/A
Question:
People of different countries have very distinctive physical characteristics and I was wondering if this had to do with the region of the world they're living in, if they had to adapt and evolve to their climate and environment? Do smaller eyes help some people, or darker skin? Thanks for your help!


Replies:
The more melanin (pigment) in the skin, the better protection against UV radiation from the sun. People whose ancestors come from equatorial areas tend to have more melanin in their skin and therefore are darker. Some scientists think that lighter skin evolved to allow people who lived in the climates closer to the poles the ability to capture more sunlight to make Vitamin D.

Van Hoeck


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