Sunscreen of the future is ‘made of DNA’

FOR those sick of reapplying sunscreen in the summer there may soon be a better solution.

Scientists have discovered sunblock made from DNA that acts as a second skin to protect from dangerous UV rays.

Sunscreen wears off as time passes, catching people unawares or forcing them to slather it on again. But this new solution gets better at deflecting harmful UV light the longer you wear it, according to the US researchers who tested it.

It is DNA which gets damaged when people are sunburned – so researchers tried adding an extra layer on the skin to absorb the rays instead.

Co-author of the study Dr Guy German, of Binghamton University, said: ‘Ultraviolet light can actually damage DNA, and that’s not good for the skin.

‘We thought, let’s flip it. What happens instead if we actually used DNA as a sacrificial layer, so instead of damaging DNA within the skin, we damage a layer on top of the skin.’

As well as getting better at absorbing UV light over time, the study, published in the journal Scientific Reports, found that the solution also acted as a moisturiser.

However, the sunblock won’t appeal to everybody because of its ingredients. The mixture tested by researchers used DNA from salmon sperm combined with alcohol and water.