Does human skin decompose when soaking in water for long?

When bathing or soaking in water for a long time, your skin shows signs of wrinkling. Will they decompose?

Australian scientists have gone to find answers and found that human skin is only wrinkled, not decomposing when soaked in water.

In the study published in The Royal Society Interface, Dr. Myfanwy Evans of the Australian National University (ANU) and colleagues explained that, while in the bath for a while, the outer skin of the body relaxes. out. This causes the skin to wrinkle and fingerprints to become larger.

The team modeled structures like outer skin on computers and identified special characteristics on the skin that help explain why the skin still sticks together when soaked in water.

Ms. Evans said: ' We draw this conclusion from the point of view entirely according to geometric theory. We want to explain some of the phenomena observed on the skin. Our model explains why the skin maintains a solid structure even though it can expand in the water. This is an unexplainable phenomenon before , '

Dr. Evans said that the outer skin is made up of fibers made up of spiral-shaped keratin (horny substance) interlocked in a three-dimensional structure.

The researchers found that some keratin-like structures cause a sponge-like, impermeable skin layer to be released under water. Spiral fibers can also stretch, causing the substance to expand and increase the volume of water it can contain. However, the important point is that when the structural material expands, all connections between the fibers remain.

According to the assessment, the connections between the fibers are the factors that make up the stability of the skin structure. During the expansion process, all internal connections of the fibers are maintained. Therefore, the constituent component still maintains a tightly bound state.

That is the special characteristic of the skin when soaking in the bath if the time soak for not too long.However, after 24 hours of soaking in continuous water, the skin can be irreversibly damaged.

Skin is the main perceiving organ in communication with the outside world of humans. Scientists say up to 250 types of bacteria reside on human skin, among them beneficial bacteria for the body.

Dr. Evans and colleagues hope that this new discovery will help scientists create materials that look like real leather.