Tree sunscreen withstands Antarctic summer

Chilean scientists discover a natural sunscreen extracted from two types of Antarctic flowers.

Researchers at the University of Santiago, Chile have the ability to prepare products to protect people and crops from solar radiation from two types of trees that are subject to extreme summer in Antarctica, Reuters on July 27 reported. .

Only two types of flowering plants are found in the icy Antarctic.

Scientists discovered in two types of plants: Colobanthus quitensis and Deschampsia antarctica, which have molecules that act as sunlight filters, allowing plants to withstand high radiation levels. In the summer, the amount of solar radiation reaches the surface of the Antarctic larger than the equator for 24 hours.

In addition to making sunscreens, these molecules can also be used to develop products that protect crops that are vulnerable to solar radiation in the context of climate change."It may be used in the not too distant future , " said Dr. Gustavo Zuniga leading the project.

Only two types of flowering plants are found in the icy Antarctic. Previously, they only grew around the continent's more moderate margins, but climate change and melting ice are expanding the area of ​​these two plants.

Two types of plants grown in Antarctica can be used as anti-solar radiation products.(Video: Reuters).