• Question: Why do some people have freckles?

    Asked by nessy123 to Adam, Joanna, Louise S, Louise W, Marcus on 19 Nov 2012.
    • Photo: Louise Walkin

      Louise Walkin answered on 19 Nov 2012:

      Freckles are merely spots of melanin that help to reflect the sun’s UV rays which are harmful to us. Genetics actually plays a big role in whether we have freckles or not. If you mum or dad are freckly, chances are you will be too! They are more common in people or hair fair skin and fair hair. Freckles get darker in the sun as the melanin is affected by sunlight. Some people only get freckles when they go out in the sun, and they get that instead of a tan. 🙂

    • Photo: Adam Paige

      Adam Paige answered on 19 Nov 2012:

      It is strange how some people get spots of skin pigment like this and others do not. It shows the complex genetics controlling skin pigments.

      And did you know that pigments are not only important for skin colour, but these pigment cells and the proteins that make the pigment also play a role in hearing? There are a number of animals that can sometimes have problems with their skin pigments (piebaldism where there are patches of skin with a different colour to the rest), and many of these are also deaf. This can occur in animals like dogs and mice.

    • Photo: Louise Stanley

      Louise Stanley answered on 19 Nov 2012:

      If you have a mole don’t forget to get it check out if you see a change in its appearance such as growth, itchy or bleeding (see below) as whilst the vast majority of moles are harmless they do have the potential to become cancerous. Just so you are safe 🙂

      Signs to look out for:

      Asymmetry. One half of the mole does not match the other half.
      Border. The border or edges of the mole are ragged, blurred, or irregular.
      Color. The color of the mole is not the same throughout or has shades of tan, brown, black, blue, white, or red.
      Diameter. The diameter of a mole is larger than the eraser of a pencil.
      Evolution. The mole is changing in size, shape, or color.

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