Why Do Men Have Nipples?


	Why Do Men Have Nipples?

wildcat

1-2-2007 7:48 AM

1573 views

tags:

science, research, biology, evolution, nipples, gender

wildcat says:

remember, we all start as females..

1 Comment |

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1-3-2007 10:24 AM

rmowery

Funny, my 3-year old asked me this the other day. I am not sure he will comprehend the answer - but least there is an answer.

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<div style="margin: 12px 0px; font-family: arial; color: #333333; background: #ffffff; border: solid 4px #e5e5e5; width: 100%; clear: left;"><div class="CM_CTB_Content_Wrap" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;background-color: #ffffff;"><div style="border-bottom: solid 1px #dcdcdc; white-space: nowrap; margin-bottom: 8px; background-color: #eeeeee ;background-image: url(http://www.clipmarks.com/images/source-bg.gif); background-repeat: repeat-x; height: 24px; line-height: 24px; vertical-align: middle; padding-bottom: 4px; color: #666666; font-size: 10px;" ><a href="http://clipmarks.com/clip-to-blog/" title="see clips that are hot right now"><img src="http://content.clipmarks.com/blog_embed/b75a8a38-2f69-4870-9afe-6cc861b4046a/05FB273B-8607-4694-8C96-087CAB5DE7E5/" alt="" width="19" height="19" border="0" style="vertical-align: middle; margin: 0px 4px; display: inline; border: none; float:none;" /></a>clipped from <a title="http://www.livescience.com/mysteries/061127_men_nipples.html" href="http://www.livescience.com/mysteries/061127_men_nipples.html" style="font-size: 11px;">www.livescience.com</a></div><blockquote style="text-align: left; padding: 0px 8px; margin: 4px 0px 8px 0px; background: transparent; border: none;" cite="http://www.livescience.com/mysteries/061127_men_nipples.html"><H1>Why Do Men Have Nipples?</H1></blockquote><div style="height: 2px; font-size: 2px; background: #dcdcdc; border-bottom: solid 1px #f5f5f5; margin: 2px 4px;"></div><blockquote style="text-align: left; padding: 0px 8px; margin: 4px 0px 8px 0px; background: transparent; border: none;" cite="http://www.livescience.com/mysteries/061127_men_nipples.html"><P class="style1">Brace yourselves for a low blow, tough guy. Nipples remind us that gender is anything but clear-cut, especially <EM>in utero</EM>. Whatever your sex, everyone starts off as a woman <A href="http://www.livescience.com/humanbiology/060224_gay_genes.html">in the womb</A>. </P></blockquote><div style="height: 2px; font-size: 2px; background: #dcdcdc; border-bottom: solid 1px #f5f5f5; margin: 2px 4px;"></div><blockquote style="text-align: left; padding: 0px 8px; margin: 4px 0px 8px 0px; background: transparent; border: none;" cite="http://www.livescience.com/mysteries/061127_men_nipples.html"><P class="style1"><IMG width="250" hspace="6" height="169" align="right" src="http://www.livescience.com/images/061127_man_chest_hf.jpg" />For the first several weeks a developing embryo follows a "female blueprint," from reproductive organs to nipples. Only after about 60 days does the hormone <A href="http://www.livescience.com/humanbiology/060814_testosterone_death.html">testosterone</A> kick in (for those of us with a Y chromosome), changing the genetic activity of cells in the genitals and brain. But by then those mammary papillae aren't going anywhere. </P></blockquote><div style="height: 2px; font-size: 2px; background: #dcdcdc; border-bottom: solid 1px #f5f5f5; margin: 2px 4px;"></div><blockquote style="text-align: left; padding: 0px 8px; margin: 4px 0px 8px 0px; background: transparent; border: none;" cite="http://www.livescience.com/mysteries/061127_men_nipples.html"><P class="style1">So the real question is: why do male nipples come equipped with nerves and blood vessels? In many male mammals nipple formation is stunted by hormones, but not in humans. Did prehistoric men nurse their young? The lack of evidence suggests not. More likely, full-grown nipples—being harmless—don't get weeded out by <A href="http://www.livescience.com/evolution/">natural selection</A>. </P></blockquote></div><div style="margin: 0px 6px 6px 4px;"><table style="font-size: 11px;border-spacing: 0px;padding: 0px;" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%"><tr><td style="background:transparent;border-width:0px;padding:0px;">&nbsp;</td><td align="right" style="background:transparent;border-width:0px;padding:0px;width:107px" width="107"><a href="http://clipmarks.com/share/05FB273B-8607-4694-8C96-087CAB5DE7E5/blog/" title="blog or email this clip"><img src="http://content9.clipmarks.com/images/c2b-foot.png" border="0" alt="blog it" width="107" height="17" style="border-width:0px;padding:0px;margin:0px;" /></a></td></tr></table></div></div>