Compared to the bony plates of an armadillo or the hard scales of a pangolin or even the
tough, leathery skin of an Indian elephant, the thin layer of delicate epidermis that
makes up our outermost covering may seem like pretty wimpy protection from the outside world.
Except, all we have to do is take a closer look at a our silky-smooth skin to see that
it actually IS a small patch of scaly armor.
Those scales are made out of the same hard protein, called keratin, as the scales of
pangolins and other animals.
Of course, ours are a lot thinner, and therefore more fragile, but that isn't normally a problem,
because we don't regularly need to survive this.
Our scales also don't have to be super durable because our body produces a brand new layer,
composed of tens of millions of individual scales, every day.
The giant, never-ending task of producing this armor is carried out by an equally giant
and never-ending army of skin cells in the underlying epidermis.
Every second, some 500 new cells split off from stem cells at the base of the epidermis
and join this army, gradually migrating to the surface of your skin as younger cells
form beneath and push them upwards.
The journey to the top is one of ultimate sacrifice: In order to form a protective barrier
between you and the world, each cell is programmed to systematically destroy itself as it nears
the skin's surface, using enzymes to dismantle its vital parts and essentially converting
into a hard, flat shield.
In the process, it attaches itself to surrounding cells via whisker-like projections and releases
packets of soft fat to fill the spaces between cells.
The outermost layer of your skin consists of about 15 sheets of this scaly mesh -- as
thick as a piece of plastic wrap.
Your flexible body armor forms a waterproof and surprisingly effective barrier against
penetration by bacteria, fungi, viruses, and other unfriendly interlopers, while the acidic
nature of the fats prevents similar nasty microbes from setting up shop on your skin's
surface.
Of course, while our skin does a great job of protecting us from microscopic threats,
it is our brain, not our skin, that does the job of a pangolin's scales - helping us avoid
getting eaten by lions.