Revolting Experiment Reveals How Collagen
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4/2/2015 Experiments reveal how collagen straightens and stretches when pulled | Daily Mail Online Feedback Like 2.5m Follow @MailOnline Thursday, Apr 2nd 2015 2PM 74°F 5PM 69°F 5-Day Forecast Home U.K. News Sports U.S. Showbiz Australia Femail Health Science Money Video Travel Columnists Latest Headlines Science Pictures Login Up to 150 killed in Nuclear deal Two Queens Apple's first Hooray! You CAN 'Let's hope I don't Could implants give al-Shabaab Easter agreed: Obama women arrested in experiment with a eat fast food after get punched': Girl humans week massacre: says 'historic' ISIS bomb plot: Pair watch was an exercise: Burgers attempts to kiss superpowers? Brain Why your skin is so tough: Revolting Site Web Enter your search experiment reveals how collagen straightens and stretches when pulled Researchers at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory used real skin samples to study microscopic changes that resist tears when pulled apart They found collagen fibres in dermis change structure when under strain The fibres go from being a disorganised tangle to straighten and stretch Scientists hope their findings can help develop new tear-resistant materials By RICHARD GRAY FOR MAILONLINE PUBLISHED: 06:10 EST, 1 April 2015 | UPDATED: 08:11 EST, 1 April 2015 21 5 Like Follow shares View comments Daily Mail @dailymailtech http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-3021302/Why-skin-tough-Revolting-experiments-reveal-collagen-straightens-stretches-pulled.html 1/26 4/2/2015 Experiments reveal how collagen straightens and stretches when pulled | Daily Mail Online It is probably the most unpleasant experiment you will read about today: what happens when your Follow +1 skin starts to tear. Daily Mail Daily Mail Researchers have uncovered the reason why skin is so difficult to tear even when put under extreme pressures, by cutting samples of real skin and attempting to pull them apart. Today's headlines Most Read They found that rather than simply tearing, mammalian skin actually has sophisticated stress The kamikaze mission that could save resistance properties that prevent holes and cuts from expanding. Earth: Lander to be sent crashing into an asteroid at 14,000mph to see... Seen a ghost? Then you may have inhaled toxic mould: Poor air quality in old buildings may lead to haunting... Why your skin is so tough: Revolting experiment reveals how collagen straightens and stretches when pulled The werewolf of the plant world: Conifer cousin waits for full moon to produce nectar to seduce pollinating... 'War camel' is unearthed in Austrian cellar: Scientists reveal the beast was used by Ottoman Empire in the... Do babies understand PHYSICS? Infants The researchers cut real skin samples and then attempted to rip them by pulling them apart (shown above) are surprised by magic tricks because they understand its basic... Using X-ray beams they were able to directly observe the microscopic changes that take place in skin The implant that could give you to help it resist tearing during their stomach churning experiments. SUPERPOWERS: Brain hack lets rats feel geomagnetic signals - and it may help... SHARE THIS RELATED ARTICLES Apple's first experiment with a watch was an iPhone with a velcro strap: Firm reveals how ARTICLE the project... The perfect SHAVE Bugs breakthrough paves revealed: Scientist way for 'super deodorant': Are 4G speeds getting SLOWER? explains what you... Bacteria... Networks are half as fast promised - and will get worse as more people use... Neanderthals suffered The eye drops that give Close shave for Rosetta: Probe briefly loses from psoriasis too: DNA you NIGHT VISION: Liquid contact with Earth during swoop down to study suggests... solution... investigate comet 67P 21 shares Was the first musical instrument just a chewed bone? Neanderthal ‘flutes’ were They discovered that the curly fibers of collagen that make up dermis of the skin straighten and made by hyenas, study claims stretch in response to a tear to share the load and prevent further damage. Why DO humans have such large penises? Difference in size between men and great The findings help to explain why the thin layer of HOW TO GET THE PERFECT SHAVE cells that cover our bodies is able to provide apes may be a way of keeping... such an effective barrier to the outside world. Scientists at Gillette have spent nine years Mice recognise fear in their friends' faces: Rodents may use expressions to warn Scientists behind the research also hope their studying how to get the perfect shave. others of danger or ask for... findings could eventually lead to stronger new Their work has shown why washing the skin is materials that do not easily tear that could be so vital and why you should never, ever tap Did woolly mammoths die out because of OSTEOPOROSIS? Bone analysis reveals used in aircraft, for example. your razor on the sink, and also settles the beasts were riddled with disease Professor Robert Ritchie, a materials scientist at debate about whether you should go with, or against the grain Facebook launches Riff: App lets you the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory in create video montages with friends and Berkeley, California, who was one of the co- Here are their main findings: strangers authors of the research, said: 'Our study is the http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-3021302/Why-skin-tough-Revolting-experiments-reveal-collagen-straightens-stretches-pulled.html 2/26 4/2/2015 Experiments reveal how collagen straightens and stretches when pulled | Daily Mail Online first to model and directly observe in real time Before the shave, hydrate the hair by MORE HEADLINES the micro-scale behavior of the collagen fibrils washing the skin with a gentle associated with the skin’s remarkable tear cleanser: This softens the hair and resistance. significantly reduces the force needed to cut it. DON'T MISS 'Collagen fibrils and fibers rotate, straighten, Apply plenty of shave gel: This provides a Great British Bake Off stretch and slide to carry load and reduce the protective anti-friction layer and improves razor favourite Ruby Tandoh stresses at the tip of any tear in the skin. glide for a smoother, more comfortable shave. comes out on Twitter... 'The movement of the collagen acts to effectively Shave with a multi-blade razor using light and jokes she's finally diminish stress concentrations associated with strokes: Gillette said the razor should do the putting those Paul any hole, notch or tear.' work, not the person shaving. Hollywood rumours to bed To conduct the experiment the researchers used Change direction: Begin by shaving with the the skin taken from dead rabbits, carefully grain of the hair before switching and going Meet our little prince! removed the hair and placed it in equipment against this grain. Kourtney Kardashian designed to pull the skin apart. shares first picture of Make sure blades are not old or dull: The son Reign Aston on They then cut a small notch or hole in the skin lifespan of razors can vary depending on how Instagram three months and watched how it changed shape as the skin often they are used and how hard. As a after birth was stretched in a way intended to cause the general rule if the razor begins to drag or Has kept him 'secret' tear to increase. doesn't cut as closely as before, replace the blades. 'I can't do this However, rather than getting bigger as the skin anymore!': Desperate tore, the notches simply yawned open. Use aftershave: This can be any product Khloe breaks down containing moisturiser to rehydrate and comfort The researchers, whose work is published in the while pleading with the skin. journal Nature Communications, then used brother Rob to accept the x-ray beams produced by the Advanced Many aftershaves contain alcohol that acts as help on Keeping Up With Light Source at the Lawrence Berkeley National an astringent to sterilise the skin and provide a The Kardashians Laboratory, to study the structural changes that barrier against infection. 'No one would touch took place in the skin. me with a barge pole They found the collagen in the dermis, the thickest of the three main layers that make up skin, because I was on Big changed its alignment at the edge of the tear. Brother': 2006 winner Pete Bennett is now The collagen, which is normally in a disordered tangle, straightened and began to slide against each homeless after battling other to absorb the stress and provide extra strength. addiction to ketamine Juice it like Beckham! David picks up some healthy treats after another intense SoulCycle workout Becks made sure his tattoos were on show Nine reasons why Kelly Clarkson is the best mentor on American Idol SPONSORED The researchers found the collagen in the skin dermis changes from being a disordered tangle (shown left) to line up in straight parallel rows (shown right) when skin is damaged to provide strength and tear resistance One big happy family! Peter Andre shares Dr Marc Meyers, a materials scientist at the University of California San Diego who also took part in sweet snap of fiancee Emily MacDonagh http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-3021302/Why-skin-tough-Revolting-experiments-reveal-collagen-straightens-stretches-pulled.html 3/26 4/2/2015 Experiments reveal how collagen straightens and stretches when pulled | Daily Mail Online the research, said: 'Straightening and stretching allow the uptake of strain without much stress larking around with his increase, and sliding allows more energy dissipation during inelastic deformation. children on ski holiday Cute kids 'This reorganization of the fibrils is responsible for blunting the stress at the tips of tears and notches.' Research on skin's mechanical properties dates back nearly 200 years, when physicians began examining stab wounds.