The Gene Theme: a student commentary on issues in genetics

By Haleigh Lugg  *Viewer discretion, this blog contains an image of a back* My grandpa is 83 years old, born and raised in North Carolina.  As a teen, he regularly worked in the fields, cultivating everything from tobacco, cotton, and even corn.  He was a young man that worked under the beating sun from sun up to sun down without so much as one drop of sunscreen.   Because who needs sunscreen as a hard working farm boy? Like every one who ends up growing up, he moved away to New Jersey.  When living up North, it is clear that access to a dermatologist is easier in relation to in the south where there is a lack of accessibility (Ezzedine et al, 2008).  As he grew up, he started to understand that having regular dermatology check-ups is an important task considering he had a multitude of moles on his back. ( Seriously, you would think that the Lord splattered mole paint all down his back!) He's never had any skin related issues but that is because he alw...

PROTECT YOUR CHILDREN FROM UV!!!! By: Michelle Chalmers        One day during the high summer days, a family of four went to the beach, where it was hot, nice, and sunny and the water was just right. The parents of this family were just relaxing and letting their children play in the sun and water. This fun activity and trip to the beach would happen multiple times in the children's lifetime and even when the children grew up and moved out of their parents’ house. Well, the oldest child was given the news that they had skin cancer, and the doctor was asking questions on if the child had worn any sunscreen throughout their life. The child of course said no, which lets the doctor know that the skin cancer occurred because of the lack of sunscreen.  The doctor then looks at the child and lets them know that the lack of sunscreen is the cause of this skin cancer. The child then asks what needs to be done and what treatments are needed, and the doctor goes into detai...

By: Desiree Walker  Have you ever sat down and wondered, “hmmm should I be wearing sunscreen all the time?”. Has someone ever told you that you don't have to wear sunscreen because you're a darker complexion? Well guess what, this is the blog for you! Over time, there have been rumors going around that just because someone has a darker complexion, they don’t have to wear sunscreen. Whoever came up with that idea was WRONG. The idea of wearing sunscreen seems to not be embedded in people’s heads. Coming from a biracial family, I have heard both sides of the sunscreen debate, should darker complected people wear sunscreen too? The answer to that is, of course they should! Just because someone’s skin is darker, does NOT mean that they are protected from the sun, they can still get skin cancer.  You may be wondering “am I considered a darker complexion?”. When I think of a darker complexion, I think of anyone that has an olive complexion or darker, also anyone with reddish underto...

  Everytime we are looking at the sun we see this gigantic white and yellow circle. In those couple of seconds a lot happened, for example the sun release such amount of energy that the whole humanity did not spend in the entire history. Now imagine, heat light, fire, explosion all in one, but wait all of these contain energy. Radiation is energy that comes from a source and travels through space at the speed of light . This energy has an electric field and a magnetic field associated with it, and has wave-like properties. Therefore with all of that energy we have multiple wavelength, giving birth to different variation of radiation. One of these reaches the violet in the spectrum, aka ultraviolet rays, or UV rays. We would like to introduce what this guys are, and how they interact to our body, showing yes the risks that we encounter but the benefits and how to protect ourselves. It’s sunny, is hot, you are with your friends, the sand is burning under your feet you jump from a sha...

  Published online 2023 March 24 Patient to Survivor: Looking for Signs of Skin Cancer in People of Color Jordyn Matlock The Earth Shattering Discovery Typically, people say that you are in your prime at the height of perfect health and a desirable age. Imagine being in the most crucial, energetic, and productive time in your life,  enjoying the journey and still waiting for the best to come. While you probably look back on all of life’s accomplishments, you often wonder how you reached them. Were you all work and no play? Or did you spend most of your memories outside going through everyday life under the sun or during annual vacations, unaware of how your health could change in an unimaginable way. You think to yourself, I have the career, but something else is still missing . Well, that was the unfortunate case for an ordinary couple named Daisy and David.  Daisy, a 22 year old college student who happens to be a person of color and someone who wanted to find love ...