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Reference Terms
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Sunscreen

Sunscreen (also known as sunblock) is a lotion, spray or other topical product that helps protect the skin from the sun's ultraviolet (UV) radiation, and which reduces sunburn and other skin damage, ultimately leading to a lower risk of skin cancer.

The best sunscreens protect against both UVB (ultraviolet radiation with wavelength between 290 and 320 nanometres), which can cause sunburn, and UVA (between 320 and 400 nanometres), which damages the skin with more long-term effects, such as premature skin aging. Most sunscreens work by containing either an organic chemical compound that absorbs ultraviolet light (such as oxybenzone) or an opaque material that reflects light (such as titanium dioxide, zinc oxide), or a combination of both. Typically, absorptive materials are referred to as chemical blocks, whereas opaque materials are mineral or physical blocks.

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Health & Medicine News

July 3, 2026

Scientists at UCLA discovered a surprising reason aging muscles heal more slowly. In older muscle stem cells, a protein called NDRG1 builds up and acts like a brake, slowing the cells’ ability to jump into repair mode after injury. But there’s a ...
Scientists have discovered that a common type of stroke may have a very different cause than doctors once thought. Instead of fatty plaque clogging arteries, the strongest link was found with enlarged and damaged blood vessels deep within the brain. ...
A protein called “Mitch” may hold the key to a new generation of obesity treatments. Researchers found that disabling it in human cells boosts fat burning, increases energy use, and makes it ...
A new spray-on powder developed by KAIST can stop life-threatening bleeding in about one second by instantly forming a strong gel over a wound. It works on deep and irregular injuries where conventional hemostatic products often struggle and remains ...
Scientists at the University of Oxford have created a calculator that predicts a person's individual risk of serious muscle disorders from statin medications. Their analysis found that more than 98% ...
A massive national study found that nearly half of Americans with kidney failure who are referred for a transplant never even begin the evaluation process, and only 19% make it onto the transplant waitlist. Researchers discovered that factors such ...
A surprising discovery is overturning a long-held assumption about how the brain’s movement center works. Researchers found that two key cerebellar cell types—thought to be tightly linked—often ...
Could something as simple as vitamin C help support a healthier aging brain? In a study of more than 2,000 older adults in Japan, researchers found that people with lower vitamin C levels in their blood also tended to have less gray matter and ...
Scientists have solved a long-standing mystery by discovering the missing genetic ingredient that helps melanoma cells become effectively immortal. The breakthrough could open the door to new treatments aimed at disrupting one of cancer's most ...
Researchers have uncovered an unexpected antiviral defense system in sea anemones that works very differently from the one humans use. The discovery suggests evolution developed multiple ways to combat viruses, challenging long-held ideas about how ...
A Colorado research team has created experimental osteoarthritis treatments that appear to regenerate damaged joints rather than just relieve pain. In animal studies, a single injection restored arthritic joints to a healthy state within weeks, ...
A common brain protein may be giving Alzheimer’s disease an unexpected way to spread, carrying toxic Tau proteins from damaged neurons into healthy ones. By blocking these harmful protein packages before they reach new cells, researchers believe ...

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