Adventure Ausrama Blog

Calls from New Zealand to cover up one's hand by wearing gloves when driving a car is silly to say the least. This may be something to think about if one is a delivery van or a truck driver but ordinary people don't drive enough to warrant it. They say the belief that glass provides protection from ultraviolet radiation is a myth. Sunscreen maker "Oasis Beauty" has suggested putting sunscreen on hands before driving. This is sound advice, coming from a producer of sunscreen. The International Agency for Research on Cancer says drivers should wear gloves, long sleeved shirts and sun glasses. Unless one is a professional driver this is a bit much. Car producers state that laminated windscreens do block UV radiation: 80 percent of UV-a. It is side windows that are dangerous, though 37 percent of UV-a and 97 percent of UV-b are blocked. From these data obviously the New Zealand Cancer Society and Oasis Beauty are wrong and car glass does offer protection. Furthermo

Australia has the highest skin cancer rate in the world. This is because the population of this country is composed mainly of fair-skinned northern Europeans and Australia is very hot in summer. Despite advertising campaigns citing the dangers of sun bathing men still go around with no shirts and women bake in their back gardens or at the beach. If only people could take a pill to stop skin cancer. Tests on a coral indicate that a tablet to prevent eye and skin damage from exposure to the sun may be within reach. The coral contains natural UV blockers. Though the coral is on the Australian Great Barrier reef, research is being done by the British government. Paul Long of King's College London is taking samples from Acropora microphthalma coral on night dives. Walter Dunlap of the Australian Institute for Marine Science noticed the attribute in 1986. While the coral contains the UV protector, a base chemical is created by algae living nearby. The coral absorbs this