BMJ  2003;327:1228 (22 November), doi:10.1136/bmj.327.7425.1228

Letter

More on preventing skin cancer

Author's reply

The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below.

EDITOR—Procopio alleges that I wrote that people with black skin have been chosen to live in Australia because they are protected against skin cancer. I wrote that black people were chosen by natural selection to live in Australia but did not say why.

Fifteen months after I had begun my systematic inquiry I read for amusement Malthus's essay on population.1 Being well prepared to appreciate the struggle for existence which everywhere goes on, from the long continued observation of the habits of animals and plants, I was struck at once that under these circumstances favourable variations would tend to be preserved and unfavourable ones to be destroyed.

Aboriginal Australians have succeeded in the struggle for existence for at least 60 000 years because they were able to hunt and gather. Aborigines would not have survived if their skins had not been black in Australia's intense sunlight. Procopio seems . . . [Full text of this article]

John N Burry, retired dermatologist

PO Box 7177, Hutt Street Post Office. Adelaide, 5000 SA, Australia burlep@ozemail.com.au


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Rapid Responses:

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Your editing is faulty
John N Burry
bmj.com, 21 Nov 2003 [Full text]
Even more on preventing skin cancer
marco procopio
bmj.com, 23 Nov 2003 [Full text]
Re: Even more on preventing skin cancer
John N Burry
bmj.com, 11 Feb 2004 [Full text]
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