FDA approves a well-known sunscreen ingredient—finally

Science Friday

The FDA recently approved a sunscreen ingredient called bemotrizinol, or BEMT, that’s been used in Europe and Asia for years. This is the first new sunscreen ingredient approved in the United States in over two decades. Meanwhile, skin cancer has become the most common cancer in the U.S. 

Flora discusses the chemistry of sunblock with a sunscreen chemist AJ Addae, and the regulatory process that led to this approval with health journalist Michael Scaturro. 

Guests:

Michael Scaturro is a health journalist based in New York City. 

AJ Addae is a chemistry PhD student at UCLA and founder of SULA Labs.

Other episodes you may enjoy: 

Transcripts for each episode are available within 1-3 days at sciencefriday.com.

Subscribe to this podcast. Follow our show on Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, and Bluesky @scifri and sign up for our newsletters. Got a science question that’s keeping you up at night? Call us: 877-472-4374


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More description

The FDA recently approved a sunscreen ingredient called bemotrizinol, or BEMT, that’s been used in Europe and Asia for years. This is the first new sunscreen ingredient approved in the United States in over two decades. Meanwhile, skin cancer has become the most common cancer in the U.S. 

Flora discusses the chemistry of sunblock with a sunscreen chemist AJ Addae, and the regulatory process that led to this approval with health journalist Michael Scaturro. 

Guests:

Michael Scaturro is a health journalist based in New York City. 

AJ Addae is a chemistry PhD student at UCLA and founder of SULA Labs.

Other episodes you may enjoy: 

Transcripts for each episode are available within 1-3 days at sciencefriday.com.

Subscribe to this podcast. Follow our show on Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, and Bluesky @scifri and sign up for our newsletters. Got a science question that’s keeping you up at night? Call us: 877-472-4374


Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

2026-06-22 12 min
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