Cuts and wounds in the skin heal in much the same way as a zip being fastened , new microscopic images have revealed . Biologists have studied the healing process at a molecular level using electron microscopes to examine skin as it repairs itself . They found skin cells appear to attach to each other using tiny tubes that then pull them together so they interlock like a zip . This image on the left taken of skin cells healing a wound using an electron microscope show how cells on opposing sides ( coloured green and brown ) interlock together in a similar way to a zipper used on clothes . The image on the right shows how the would looks on the surface at this stage in the healing process . The researchers hope their findings could help in the development of new treatments for wounds that could speed up this process . Dr Mikhail Eltsov , one of the scientists behind the study at Goethe University Frankfurt , Germany , said : 'When we look at it from a distance , it appears as if skin cells simply fuse to each other , but if we zoom in , it becomes clear that membranes , molecular machines , and other cellular components are involved . 'Our electron microscope allows us to distinguish the molecular components in the cell that act like small machines to fuse the skin . 'In order to visualize this orchestra of healing , a very high-resolution picture of the process is needed . 'For this purpose we have recorded an enormous amount of data that surpasses all previous studies of this kind . ' Dr Eltsov and his colleagues used cells from fruit fly embryos to study the healing processes that take place in skin . The study , which is published in the journal Nature Cell Biology , found that the skin cells on either side of the wound begin by 'sniffing ' each other out to find their opposing partners . They then develop adhesive like structure made of microscopic tubes , called microtubules , that pulls them closer together . These attachments work a like velcro and pulls the skin cells towards the opening . Once the cells meet , they use these microtubules as a scaffolding to interlock together like a zip . Professor Achilleas Frangakis , a microscopy expert at Goethe University Frankfurt who led the study , said : 'What was also amazing was the tremendous plasticity of the membranes in this process which managed to close the skin opening in a very short space of time . 'When five to ten cells have found their respective neighbors , the skin already appears normal . ' Skin taken from the dead could soon be used to treat wounds in the living . Researchers have found that skin taken from cadavers that is stripped of its cells is effective in healing acute wounds , such as burns , as well as painful ulcers . They believe the new treatment could be used to treat wounds that do not easily heal by themselves , which cost the US alone more than $ 25 billion ( £17 billion ) a year . The scientists stripped out the skin ’ s inner layer – the dermis – which contains blood vessels , nerve endings , hair follicles and sweat glands , to leave behind its matrix of proteins . The team discovered that ‘ decellulised ’ skin provides a scaffold that the recipients own cells can populate and can effectively treat acute wounds , such as burns . Clothing zips , like the one above , hold fast by using interlocking segments and this is how skin closes a wound .
Biologists at Goethe University Frankfurt , Germany , studied skin healing in fruit fly embryos using an electron microscope to watch what happened . Skin cells use microscopic tubes to pull towards each other and interlock . Researchers hope it may help develop new treatments to speed up healing .