The Daily News – March 10, 2025

On today’s daily news, here’s something that’s on a lot of people’s minds now, and that’s, does getting sunburnt mean you’ve done irreparable damage to your skin? And how does a new discovery suggest we might be able to take some liberties with the sun? For years now, we’ve believed that sunburns painful redness was due to DNA damage from UV ray. And interestingly, recent research from the University of Copenhagen reveals a surprising little twist in there. It’s actually damaged to RNA and not DNA that triggers the acute effects of sunburn. The researchers use genetically modified mice, missing a key protein. This protein usually kicks into gear when RNA translation goes completely haywire. And this sets off the immune response. That, of course, causes sunburn. Without that key protein, the mice didn’t even burn, not a single burn. They stayed blissfully un lobster like even under UV exposure. However, the underlying damage to the cells was still occurring. It just wasn’t triggering the usual visible symptoms of sunburn. So does this mean we can be carefree with the sun? Then? Well just chill out for a second, because while the study shifts our understanding from DNA to RNA damage in triggering sunburn, it doesn’t change the fact that UV exposure does in fact harm skin cells and sunburn, even without immediate redness, can lead to long-term skin damage and unfortunately increase the risk of skin cancer. So all in all, this discovery does enhance our grasp of the body’s initial response to UV radiation, and it potentially paves the way for improved sunburn treatments. But it doesn’t grant us a free pass to bask in the sun unprotected. We still need to do our part to avoid the harmful effects of UV radiation. So what’s the takeaway point? Well, when we understand how the sun really affects our skin, then we’ll know how to enjoy the sun safely. Let us know how it goes for you in the comments. And if you found this information helpful, don’t forget to like, subscribe, and hit that notification bell. Thank you so much for joining us on the Daily News.