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The science of skin color - Angela Koine Flynn

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TEDEd Animation

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When ultraviolet sunlight hits our skin, it affects each of us differently. Depending on skin color, it’ll take only minutes of exposure to turn one person beetroot-pink, while another requires hours to experience the slightest change. What’s to account for that difference, and how did our skin come to take on so many different hues to begin with? Angela Koine Flynn describes the science of skin color.

What useful trait did the early ancestors living in the sun-saturated latitudes pass on to their offspring?

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TED-Ed Animations feature the words and ideas of educators brought to life by professional animators. Are you an educator or animator interested in creating a TED-Ed Animation? Nominate yourself here »

Meet The Creators

  • Educator Angela Koine Flynn
  • Script Editor Emma Bryce
  • Director Tomás Pichardo-Espaillat
  • Animator Tomás Pichardo-Espaillat
  • Composer Cem Misirlioglu
  • Narrator Susan Zimmerman

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