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Unique Features of Human Skin

The skin is the major interface between the human body and its environment. It supports diverse and complex functions from protection to vitamin photosynthesis, thermoregulation, and communication. Although the structure and function of human skin have been well characterized, the evolution of human skin remains inadequately understood. Great strides have been realized in the study of the evolution of skin pigmentation, but the evolution of functional nakedness, humans' prodigious ability to sweat, and the origins of the human breast (the body's largest modified sweat gland) are still largely matters of conjecture. The skin's microbiome is emerging as one of most important factors in maintaining barrier functions, but much remains to be discovered about its diversity and roles in health and disease. How can the many gaps in our knowledge of the evolution of human skin be closed? This symposium will bring together scientists representing evolutionary biology, genetics, dermatology, anthropology, and physiology to share their knowledge and questions about human skin in an explicitly evolutionary framework. (from carta.anthropogeny.org)

The Genetics of Skin Pigmentation. Mark Shriver of Pennsylvania State University explains in this talk how evolutionary approaches to understanding which genes affect pigmentation can provide important insights into both normal development and pathophysiology. Likewise, genetic and genomic investigations can help illuminate where and when the genes that affect contemporary skin color levels changed and, ultimately, which evolutionary forces shaped the wide range of skin colors we see today.

2. The Genetics of Skin Pigmentation


Go to the Series Home or watch other lectures:

1. Skin, a Window Into the Evolution of the Human Super-Organism
2. The Genetics of Skin Pigmentation
3. The Skin and Ultraviolet Radiation: Effects on DNA and Carcinogenesis
4. Human Skin: Sweating, Thermoregulation, and Water Balance
5. Ecology and Evolution of the Skin Microbiome
6. Of Lice and Men: The Molecular Evolution of Human Lice
7. Subcutaneous Fat in Humans
8. Evolution of Hair Follicles, Mammary Glands, and Sweat Glands in Humans and Other Mammals
9. Naked, Colorful Skin and Its Role in Human Social Interactions