Researchers are working to develop an anti-UV pill which changes skin cells so that they make their own natural “sunscreen,” in order to prevent wide spectrum UV damage. These things take time though – researchers expect to start testing the drug within the next two years and have hopes of releasing it to the market within five years.

It may please some of you to hear that the active ingredient in the pill isn’t a new ingredient which has been created in a lab. It’s actually a common compound which coral creates to shield themselves from long periods of underwater light exposure.

When other animals eat coral they also start making their own UV protectant, however this isn’t an option for us. Human digestive enzymes destroy the compound , rendering it useless. The team wants to protect the compound so that it can be ingested without being destroyed.