Always hear it being used to preserve things, but why?
In: Chemistry
Your body is like a fresh fruit. If you leave it out, it starts to rot because bacteria and other stuff start breaking it down. Formaldehyde works like a special shield for the cells of the fruit (your body cells in this case), stopping the bacteria from attacking it.
It does this by sticking to the proteins and other parts of the fruit (or whatever you’re preserving), cross-linking all the cells and making them much, **much** harder for bacteria to attack and digest.
So, when you use formaldehyde, you’re basically giving the sample a protective “glue” that slows down decay and preserves, as much as possible, the structure of your specimen.
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