Question

Discuss, "in details, " the beneficial effects and applications of UV light In reference to question #8, discuss the epigenetic regulation and control of gene expression through protein-protein interactions.

Answer 1

Small amount of Ultraviolet radiation from the sun penetrates the earth's atmosphere which has many beneficial effects like:

1.Vitamin D production: UV light from sun is required by our skin for the synthesis of vitamin D. Vitamin D is essential for healthy bones as it is required for calcium absorption from food.

2.Mood enhancer: studies suggest that UV light stimulates pineal gland in brain to produce tryptamine.Tryptamine is a chemical that enhances mood.

Applications of UV light:

1.Used in treating Psoriasis: Psoriasis is an inflammatory skin disease.Earlier broadband UVB phototherapy has been used in treating this skin disease.In recent days, narrowband UVB or monochromatic UVB are used.

2.In treating Vitiligo: Vitiligo is a depigmentation disorder of skin.Narrowband UVB and laser are used in treating this.Melanocytes are destroyed and also immunosuppressive action of UVB light adds to its clearance.

3.Localised Scleroderma: phototherapy with UVA-1 is used for treating localised Scleroderma or morphea by reducing the number of Langerhans cells and mast cells.

4.Fibromyalgia: in patients with fibromyalgia, exposure to UV rays relieves pain.

5.Neonatal jaundice: fluorescent lamps use UV light to treat neonatal jaundice.

6.Sterilisation: UV lamps are used to sterilize laboratories, tools,etc.They are also used in food processing industry for sterilizing food.

7.Spectrophotometry : UV rays are used to study chemical structure of substances and in Spectrophotometry to identify the presence of fluorescence in a given sample.

8.UV light is used in the fine resolution photolithography and thus in the field of electronics.

9.Genetics: UV light is used in genetics as certain proteins absorb UV rays and emit different wavelength..