Melatonin protects against damage from UV, but heat is a totally different animal. I have no idea if skin color makes a noticeable difference in heat absorption to a significant degree, but it makes sense that it would - it DEFINITELY makes a difference in objects that aren’t skin.
Then again, maybe absorbing at the skin allows it to disperse at the skin - back into the environment. Vs that energy shooting right through white skin and dispersing as heat deeper into the tissue, where the body retains it.
Maybe both are at play, making the final measure of heat about the same, despite having different routes.
Physics and biology at the same time hurts my noggin.
Melatonin protects against damage from UV, but heat is a totally different animal. I have no idea if skin color makes a noticeable difference in heat absorption to a significant degree, but it makes sense that it would - it DEFINITELY makes a difference in objects that aren’t skin.
Then again, maybe absorbing at the skin allows it to disperse at the skin - back into the environment. Vs that energy shooting right through white skin and dispersing as heat deeper into the tissue, where the body retains it.
Maybe both are at play, making the final measure of heat about the same, despite having different routes.
Physics and biology at the same time hurts my noggin.