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Artificial Skin
06 June 2014

Artificial Skin

Our skin forms a barrier between our body and the external environment, keeping water in, and germs and toxins out. Until recently, artificial skins hadn’t been able to recreate this kind of functional barricade, which limited their usefulness. Now, researchers have found a way to grow an artificial version of the skin’s outermost layer – the epidermis – from stem cells. This lab-grown epidermis has the same barrier properties as natural human skin, meaning that it can be used to study diseases that affect this protective layer, improving our understanding of how these diseases affect the skin and how we can treat them. Because the new stem cell epidermis can be grown in large quantities, it could also be used to test drugs and cosmetics. This would not only reduce our reliance on animal testing, but would also reduce costs.

Written by Cathleen O'Grady

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BPoD stands for Biomedical Picture of the Day. Managed by the MRC Laboratory of Medical Sciences until Jul 2023, it is now run independently by a dedicated team of scientists and writers. The website aims to engage everyone, young and old, in the wonders of biology, and its influence on medicine. The ever-growing archive of more than 4000 research images documents over a decade of progress. Explore the collection and see what you discover. Images are kindly provided for inclusion on this website through the generosity of scientists across the globe.

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