Ever wondered why you have nipples on your chest, as this is definitely one of lives imponderables?
The guys at BrainStuff have looked at this question and came up with a scientific answer to this mind boggling question.
In women, the purpose of nipples is obvious (not what you’re thinking) as it is to deliver infant milk that is produced in the female mammary glands during lactation, but what is the purpose of nipples on men if you can’t breastfeed your infants?
Men develop nipples (breast tissue) and sometimes more than just two nipples , but it serves no biological function. It all boils down to ‘’female blueprint’’ which is the reason breast tissue develops in human embryos regardless of its sex.
The embryo follows this blueprint from the first few weeks of embryonic development.
In the third of fourth weeks after conception, all human embryos then develop milk lines which is called parallel mammary ridges; which runs from the top of your chest to your lower abdomen.
And more science…
Not until the seventh week or so do the genes in the embryo’s sex chromosome start to kick in; female (XY) and male (XX).
These are the chromosomes that lead to the formation of sexual dimorphism or in layman’s terms- the physical traits that differentiate biological males to females.
“In other words, once the male embryo produces testosterone, the hormone is able to influence the other sex-specific traits in the body.”
Yet, this does not interfere with the already developing milk lines, as they recede naturally as the foetus grows and that is how you are left with nipples.
A study done in 1999, published in the Nature journal found that male rodents are born nippleless during birth as they have a particular protein that stops the process just a few days after the tissue starts its formation.
Either mice are much more advanced, evolution-wise or it’s evolutionary advantageous for human embryos to develop breast tissue, even if they end up not using it.
Some men say that: “ Its weird as it serves no purpose but it would be equally weird not to have any, it’s like a finishing touch; the cherry on top.”
What is your take on those ‘mipples’(man” + “nipple”) of yours?
Sources: Medical Daily, BrainStuff
Alice Paulse
