"Human breasts sit at an elevated temperature, protecting a newborn from hypothermia. What's more, the size and shape of the breast allows for broad contact surface - enhancing the heat transfer from mother to child. This could improve a newborn's chances of survival and provide an evolutionarily grounded explanation for the development of external breasts in humans."
"The distinct size and shape of breasts in women is a uniquely human trait. However, until now, the reason for their development has remained a mystery. Although there is considerable variation in the breast tissue volume, the prominent shape and size of female breasts is a special trait from an evolutionary perspective."
"The results revealed that the breastfeeding women had higher temperatures in their breasts than the non-nursing women and men. What's more, breastfeeding women had a 'distinct resilience' against cooling environments."
Human females possess permanently enlarged breast tissue, a unique trait among mammals. Most animals have mammary glands but lack permanent external breast tissue. Researchers from the University of Oulu conducted a study revealing that breasts evolved primarily for thermoregulation of newborns. The elevated temperature of breasts and their size and shape create optimal conditions for heat transfer from mother to infant, reducing hypothermia risk. Thermal imaging experiments with 27 participants across different temperatures demonstrated that breastfeeding women maintained higher breast temperatures and showed greater resilience to cooling environments compared to non-nursing women and men. This thermoregulatory function provides an evolutionary explanation for why humans developed this distinctive anatomical feature.
Read at Mail Online
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