For years, scientists have been in awe of how strong our skin is, and the way in which it can not only move with our bodies, but also withstand cuts and wounds. Although this made skin a fascinating subject, until recently, scientists still did not know exactly what it was that made it so durable. However, OROGOLD discovered that scientists have now discovered and identified the specific mechanical properties that give our skin its toughness.

The secret lies with collagen, tiny strands of protein that are bundled together into long fibers, These fibers twist through the dermis, the thickest of the three layers of skin. When something pulls on the skin, the fibers of collagen rotate towards the point of stress, straightening up as the tension increases, similar to the way in which a telephone cord stretches and straightens when it is pulled. If the tension increases even further, the large fibers break up into smaller strands, sliding apart and spreading around their energy, helping to prevent the tension from being concentrated in one area.

The first skin strength studies were carried out on rabbit skins, where scientists cut notches in the skin and pulled on it. Unlike paper or rubber, which would tear under the pressure, the skin was extremely difficult to tear. The reason for this is due to evolution, which helped skin to become tough in order to protect the body from possible fatal consequences if the skin ever did tear. Unlike other studies that have been carried out in the past, that look at the ways in which skin behaves, this one was particularly successful because it not only looked at the behavior, but used sophisticated analysis tools to discover exactly why this behavior occurs.

In order to learn more about the strength of human skin, scientists plan to begin studying the resistance in pig skin, which has similar properties to our own. The results will help many different research fields, with many engineers and biologists looking to nature to help them to develop stronger man-made materials. The research could also help synthetic skin to look and function more like real skin, although much more work is needed to be done first before scientists are able to truly copy human skin. Although they have now discovered what makes skin so strong, they would still need to do more research into the ways in which our skin controls humidity, temperature, and protects the body from UV rays. There are also many less obvious applications for the mechanical properties of skin, such as using them to create flexible electronics.

Although it may not seem it, applying the understanding of the structure of our skin to man-made materials is not as easy as inventing a new electronic chip or device, as natural materials interact on many different levels, and this can take decades to truly understand. However, this new knowledge gives hope for the future when it comes to using nature’s blueprint to improve the quality of synthetic skin and to make man-made materials much stronger.