Tag Archives: sunscreen

Is it necessary to wear sunscreen year-round, even in the winter months?

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UV levels decrease as you get closer to the polar regions during the winter, but does that mean you need to use less SPF?

John Bower/Alamy

This article is part of a special issue that explores important questions about skin care. Check out the entire series here.

Even if you live far from the equator, you're often told to apply sun protection factor (SPF) lotion year-round to prevent premature skin aging and wrinkles. But is this backed by solid science?

just 13.5 percent According to one study, one in every U.S. adult uses SPF cream as part of their daily routine. This is obviously a problem in the summer when the sun is at its brightest. Although we may not show any signs of burns, UV rays can penetrate deeper layers of the skin and cause damage. This not only causes wrinkles, but can also lead to skin cancer. People who wear sunscreen are at much lower risk.

Photoaging is a cumulative effect that accumulates over decades

However, the further north or south you are in latitude, the weaker these rays become in winter, so you need to balance the benefits of SPF with the cost. Brian DiffieProfessor Emeritus of Photobiology at Newcastle University in the UK points out. Using SPF in winter can cause vitamin D deficiencyfor example. SPF can also have an environmental cost, with some studies showing that SPF can end up in the ocean and its constituent chemicals can be absorbed by corals and other marine life, potentially harming them. Shown.

Diffie using past climate records The calculation method is…

Source: www.newscientist.com

Using sunscreen particles to spray rice during heatwaves enhances growth

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Sunrise over rice terraces in Bali, Indonesia

Aliaksandr Mazurkevich / Alamy

Zinc nanoparticles, a common sunscreen ingredient, could help protect rice from heat-related stress, an increasingly common problem under climate change.

Zinc is known to play an important role in plant metabolism. Minerals in the form of salts are often added to the soil as fertilizer or sprayed on the leaves, but this is not very efficient. Another approach is to deliver zinc as particles smaller than 100 nanometers, which can pass through microscopic pores in leaves and accumulate within the plant.

Researchers have been studying such nanoparticles as a way to deliver more nutrients to plants and maintain crop yields while reducing the environmental damage caused by excessive fertilizer use. now Hu Hong Researchers from China's Nankai University tested how zinc oxide nanoparticles affected crop performance under heat wave conditions.

They grew flowering rice in a greenhouse under normal conditions and a simulated heat wave in which temperatures exceeded 37 degrees Celsius for six consecutive days. Some plants were sprayed with nanoparticles, while others were not treated at all.

When harvested, the average grain yield of plants treated with zinc nanoparticles was 22.1% higher than non-sprayed plants, and the rice also contained higher levels of nutrients. Zinc was also beneficial under heat wave conditions. In fact, in these cases, the difference in yield between treated and untreated plants was even greater.

Based on detailed measurements of nutrients in leaves, the researchers found that zinc boosts yields by fortifying enzymes involved in photosynthesis and antioxidants that protect plants from harmful molecules known as reactive oxygen species. concluded.

“Nanoscale micronutrients have great potential to increase climate resilience of crops through a number of unique mechanisms related to reactive oxygen species,” he says. jason white At the Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station.

The researchers also found that rice plants treated with zinc nanoparticles maintained a greater diversity of microorganisms living on the leaves (called the phyllosphere), which may contribute to improved growth. I also discovered that.

Tests of zinc oxide nanoparticles on plants such as pumpkin and alfalfa have also shown increased yields. But Hu says more research is needed to verify that this could benefit other crops, such as wheat.

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Source: www.newscientist.com

Using sunscreen particles on rice during heatwaves boosts growth

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Sunrise over rice terraces in Bali, Indonesia

Aliaksandr Mazurkevich / Alamy

Zinc nanoparticles, a common sunscreen ingredient, could help protect rice from heat-related stress, an increasingly common problem under climate change.

Zinc is known to play an important role in plant metabolism. Minerals in the form of salts are often added to the soil as fertilizer or sprayed on the leaves, but this is not very efficient. Another approach is to deliver zinc as particles smaller than 100 nanometers, which can pass through microscopic pores in leaves and accumulate within the plant.

Researchers have been investigating such nanoparticle carriers as a way to provide more nutrients to plants and help maintain crop yields while reducing environmental damage from excessive fertilizer use. Ta. now Hu Hong Researchers from China’s Nankai University tested how these zinc oxide nanoparticles affected crop performance under heat wave conditions.

They grew flowering rice in a greenhouse under normal conditions and a simulated heat wave in which temperatures exceeded 37 degrees Celsius for six consecutive days. Some plants were sprayed with nanoparticles, while others were not treated at all.

When harvested, the average grain yield of plants treated with zinc nanoparticles was 22.1% higher than non-sprayed plants, and the rice also contained higher levels of nutrients. Zinc was also beneficial under heat wave conditions. In fact, in these cases, the difference in yield between treated and untreated plants was even greater.

Based on detailed measurements of nutrients in leaves, the researchers found that zinc boosts yields by fortifying enzymes involved in photosynthesis and antioxidants that protect plants from harmful molecules known as reactive oxygen species. It was concluded that it increased.

“Nanoscale micronutrients have great potential to increase climate resilience of crops through a number of unique mechanisms related to reactive oxygen species,” he says. jason white At the Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station.

The researchers also found that rice treated with zinc nanoparticles retained a greater diversity of microorganisms living in the leaves, called the phyllosphere, which may contribute to improved growth. I discovered it.

Tests of zinc oxide nanoparticles on other crops such as pumpkin and alfalfa have also shown increased yields. But Hu says more research is needed to verify that this could benefit other crops.

topic:

Source: www.newscientist.com