1.

What is the purpose of the paragraph

below? (*refers to the intention notes
discussed in previous week)

“While the dangers of tanning may be well known,

it seems not enough of us are following advice to
stay out of the sun. As Dr Gernot Walko, a skin
cancer expert at Queen Mary University of
London, explains, even the levelling-off of skin
cancer rates in Australia may have less to do with
people changing their behaviour than with the
population itself changing.”

Purpose:

“On the other hand, statistics on tanning beds

show that their use has decreased, probably
partly reflecting tighter restrictions on their use

R
introduced in the late 2000s. In the five years to
2012, theprotection
´ data proportionlaws”.
of adults using
The UK sunbeds was
government disputes ecent reports suggest skin cancer rates
18this
perclaim,
cent, on average. This figure dropped to
however. are rising. The harmful effects of the UV
10 per cent over the next five years, while over radiation in sunlight, and emitted by tanning
the
WHYsame
IS ITperiod, the proportion of adolescents
CONTROVERSIAL? beds, are well established – UV damages
using
Theresunbeds dropped
are two mainfrom 22 to 7The
reasons. per cent.”
first is the the DNA in skin cells, leading to errors as
argument that we should have the right to privacy. these cells replicate and grow.
Purpose:
If cameras scan our faces and read our biometric data But we’ve been warned for decades about the dangers
without our consent, then some argue that our rights of spending too much time in the sun or on sunbeds.
are being
2. Find infringed.in the article that
one example So why is the message not sinking in?
Proponents of LFR say that as the images are deleted While recent news has focused on the UK, Dr Zoë
shows cause-effect. (*Example can be in
immediately after being scanned, the benefits it offers Venables, dermatology clinical lead at the National
a single sentence or more than one)
are worth the minor loss of privacy. Disease Registration Service, confirms that the increase
But when the images used to train the AIs might in diagnoses is more widespread than that.
have been scraped from the internet – including your “Across the UK and globally, skin cancer incidence
social media – then it’s harder to argue that data is increasing in fair-skinned populations,” she says.
protection rights are being maintained. Data published this year shows that, in the UK, over
3. FindTheone example
other in the
important article
reason for that
the controversy is 224,000 people were diagnosed with skin cancer in
shows problem-solution. (*Example have
that LFR and similar technologies can previously 2019, an increase of more than a quarter compared to
been found to be inaccurate and
be in a single sentence or more than biased. 2013, when there fewer than 178,000 new diagnoses.
one) Often the neural network trained to distinguish These numbers include both melanoma, which affects
faces has been given biased data – typically the neural the pigment-containing cells involved in tanning, as
networks are trained on more male white faces than well as other, more treatable types of cancer affecting
other races and genders. other cells in the outer layer (epidermis) of the skin.
Researchers have shown that while the accuracy It’s worth noting that non-melanoma skin cancers,
4. Find one evidence
of detecting of author’s
white males opinion the biased
is impressive, although less deadly, affect far more people and
in this text. means that the AI is much less accurate
training therefore still cause large numbers of deaths.
when attempting to match female faces and faces of Globally, rates vary, but Eastern European countries
people of colour. are seeing some of the largest increases in melanoma.
Meanwhile, there’s some evidence to suggest that in
HOW COULD IT BE USED LESS INTRUSIVELY? Australia, which has traditionally had the worst rates,
As LFR technology continues to develop, its accuracy skin cancer cases are starting to plateau, with recent
will improve. This may mean that concerns of bias declines seen in under 40s.
may one day disappear. But police training should But rates are expected to continue rising everywhere,
make it clear that a face matching performed by LFR with the International Agency for Research on Cancer
will never be as accurate as simpler technologies, predicting an increase from 1.5 million new skin
such as ANPR (automatic numberplate recognition). cancer cases in 2020 to 2.7 million in 2040.
Also, to build trust, the use of LFR should be clearly However, as Venables points out, it’s difficult to
displayed, and members of the public given the right predict the future. For example, we don’t yet know
to say they do not wish for it to be switched on if it what effect the increasing temperatures due to climate
violates their perceived privacy. change will have. It’s thought the rise in skin cancer
ALAMY, GETTY IMAGES

rates that we’re seeing now is related to changes in

by DR PETER BENTLEY behaviour that started in the late 20th century.
Peter is a computer scientist and author who is based “Cheaper access to foreign travel from the 1980s and
at University College London. His latest book 10 Short our ageing population are likely to be contributing to
Lessons in Artificial Intelligence is out now. increasing skin cancer incidence,” she says.

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 ANALYSIS RE ALIT Y CHECK

“While the dangers of tanning may be well known,

it seems not enough of us are following
the advice to stay out of the sun”

While the dangers of tanning may be well known, it ABOVE The more On the other hand, statistics on tanning beds show
seems not enough of us are following advice to stay out skin you expose that their use has decreased, probably partly reflecting
of the sun. As Dr Gernot Walko, a skin cancer expert to sunlight the tighter restrictions on their use introduced in the late
at Queen Mary University of London, explains, even more your risk of 2000s. In the five years to 2012, the proportion of adults
the levelling-off of skin cancer rates in Australia may developing skin using sunbeds was 18 per cent, on average. This figure
cancer increases
have less to do with people changing their behaviour dropped to 10 per cent over the next five years, while
than with the population itself changing. over the same period, the proportion of adolescents
“Australia, historically, had a European population, using sunbeds dropped from 22 to 7 per cent.
with lots and lots of people matching the high-risk However, as skin cancer is the result of a lifetime of
criteria of having fair skin, red hair, freckles and so UV exposure, we won’t know for a while how these
on,” he says. “Some scientists would argue that this decreases will affect diagnoses. Numerous studies
is probably changing due to immigration.” have linked sunbed use to skin cancer, with those ´

35
 E
arlier this year the Met Office warned that hay
ABOVE The cells of a skin cancer tumour (in purple) seen fever could get worse due to climate change.
under a microscope And it’s not just a hypothetical problem we
may face in the future. In a recent paper,
researchers dug into pollen trends over the
´ who use sunbeds more regularly, for longer periods, last 26 years across the UK, focussing on grass, birch
or at a younger age, facing a higher risk. and oak pollen, to investigate how changing weather
So what can we do to lessen the risk? Advice on patterns are already affecting hay fever season.
tanning and sunbeds may be well publicised, but it While the work showed that climate change is
bears repeating. As the NHS notes, “there is no safe or certainly having an effect, the exact changes depend
healthy way to get a tan” – all sun damage contributes on which kind of pollen you’re affected by. The season
to skin cancer risk. for birch pollen (the second most important type when
Walko adds that by middle age, most of us will have it comes to hay fever, after grass pollen), is increasing
accumulated some of the mutations known to cause in severity – meaning the total amount of pollen seen
skin cancer, but scientists aren’t sure what protects during the season is higher.
some people and not others from developing it. Oak pollen season is also starting earlier and lasting
We can look at public health messaging and longer. But there’s some good news regarding grass
conclude that we just need to cover up. But it’s not pollen: while the first day with high grass pollen
that straightforward – changing behaviour means levels seems to be getting earlier, the season doesn’t
changing attitudes. appear to be getting worse.
It also means we need to stop idealising and The data in the study only goes as far as 2020, but
glamorising tanned bodies. Take Love Island, says Dr Beverly Adams-Groom, lead author of the paper
Walko: “If we see good-looking people tanning and and senior palynologist at the University of Worcester,
running around in swimsuits, it doesn’t necessarily says those trends appear to be continuing.
help with that societal image that we need to have a “The birch pollen season this year and in 2021 were
tan to look good.” among the very worst that we’ve ever seen,” she says.
Meanwhile, dispelling some of the myths that keep Pollen is a fine powder made by plants as part of
people running back to the sunbeds couldn’t hurt. their reproductive cycle and hay fever is an allergic
A 2022 study, for instance, drew attention to a couple reaction to proteins found on the pollen when it gets
of ill-conceived notions. into our eyes, nose and throat.
One, for example, is that artificial tanning can help In the UK there are three main hay fever seasons
with acne. But it’s actually red and blue light (containing caused, respectively, by tree pollen, which starts in
no UV radiation) that are sometimes incorporated into March and lasts until mid-May; grass pollen, which
acne treatments. Another is that sunbeds prepare the typically lasts from mid-May to July; and weed pollen,
skin for sun exposure on holiday. which runs from the end of June until September.
Governments could also do more. In 2010, the When it comes to climate change, higher levels
SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY, GETTY IMAGES

UK took the step of banning sunbeds for under 18s, of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere and warmer
but across the US and Europe, regulations and age temperatures should, in theory, stimulate plant growth,
restrictions differ. In some US states, it’s a matter of meaning plants can grow faster, flower earlier and
parental consent rather than an outright ban. Australia, make more pollen.
by comparison, has outlawed sunbeds entirely. A European team of researchers has shown that
grass pollen season in countries including the UK
could get much worse if we don’t significantly rein
b y H A Y L E Y B E N N E T T (@gingerbreadlady) in the amount of carbon dioxide we’re releasing into
Hayley Bennett is a science writer based in Bristol, UK. the atmosphere. They predict that the amount of grass

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