Urea is a chemical compound that animals' bodies produce when breaking down proteins. When you eat foods like meat, eggs, or beans, your body uses the protein to build muscles and do other important work. But this process creates waste products, including urea, which your kidneys filter out of your blood and send to your bladder as part of urine.

Scientists discovered they could make urea artificially in 1828, which was a huge breakthrough. Before then, people thought only living things could create the chemicals found in life. This discovery helped launch the field of organic chemistry and showed that life's chemistry followed understandable rules, not magic.

Today, factories produce millions of tons of urea every year. Farmers use it as fertilizer because it's packed with nitrogen, which plants need to grow. When you see a lush, green lawn or a thriving cornfield, there's a good chance urea fertilizer helped it grow. Urea also appears in some skin creams and lotions because it helps moisturize dry skin, and it's used to make certain plastics and other industrial products.