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(Larissa Bright) Six years ago my research led me to
the Australian Institute of Marine Science
and the research scientists shared with me a natural phenomenon
relating to the Australian corals on the Great Barrier Reef.
Over millions of years through a process of adaptation
and evolution the Australian corals
have developed their own natural sunscreen.
I analysed over 20-years of research data
from the Institute and then I took it to the CSIRO.
I had discussions with the CSIRO
as to how we could bring this natural sunscreen
into development for human use
and how we could provide a sustainable supply of this sunscreen
without harming or affecting our natural environment.
We’re excited, because what we’ve been able to do
over two years of intensive scientific research and development
with the CSIRO is to duplicate the actions of the Australian corals.
For the first time we’ve been able to
create a molecule that gives you both UVA and UVB coverage.
(Dr York) So, what we’ve done, building on AIMS research,
is to take this molecule, which was derived from
the corals and engineer some structural changes
which allow us to keep the sun screening mechanism of the corals
but with increased ability
and increased coverage of the UV spectrum.
(Larissa Bright) For the consumer what this mean is in a sunscreen lotion
you will no longer have to mix three or four different chemical filters
to create a broad spectrum coverage for yourself.
My hope is to bring this natural innovation from Australia,
from our remarkable World Heritage Great Barrier Reef,
a true coral sunscreen that’s been developed
over millions of years in nature to the rest of the world.
We can see this as being a new paradigm in the sun screening industry
and hopefully our sunscreens will be sold globally
within the next five years.