• Question: What are your nails made out of?

    Asked by icedancer to Gioia, Iain, Jo, Leo, Mariam on 19 Jun 2010 in Categories: .
    • Photo: Joanna Watson

      Joanna Watson answered on 18 Jun 2010:

      Nails are made of a protein called keratin. It’s the same thing that most hooves and horns on animals are made of too.

    • Photo: Mariam Orme

      Mariam Orme answered on 18 Jun 2010:

      Nails are mostly made up of a really protein called keratin. Hair and animals’ hooves are made of the same thing.

    • Photo: Leo Garcia

      Leo Garcia answered on 19 Jun 2010:

      Nails are made out of a tough protein called keratin – which is the same stuff that is in hair, hooves and horns! (not that you have either hooves or horns… do you?)

    • Photo: Iain Moal

      Iain Moal answered on 19 Jun 2010:

      Your nails are made of a substance called keratin, which is a protein. Something else that is made of kertain is the rhino horn. In traditional chinese medicine, ground up rhino horn is believed to make people fertile. Even today, some people kill them to get the horn and sell at a very high price to those who believe that it can help them have children. Its a terrible shame, because rhinos are endangered, and because we know that rhino horn doesn’t work: They might as well eat their fingernails, because its the same stuff!

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