Summary:
When fingers and toes get wet after a while they become wrinkled. It was recently discovered that these wrinkles have a purpose. They help humans pick up wet objects. This came about when human would gather things from streams and other wet areas. It is much harder to pick up wet objects with unwrinkled hands. The humans with this trait would get more food most likely making them more fit. These humans would therefore produce more offspring and so forth natural selection would take place. There is not a definite idea as to why fingers and toes don't stay wrinkled but one hypothesis is “Our initial thoughts are that this could diminish the sensitivity in our fingertips or could increase the risk of damage through catching on objects."
Relevance:
This article connects to natural selection and evolution which are both topics we have studied in class.
http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=why-do-our-fingers-and-toes-wrinkle-during-a-bath
Author: Becky Summers and Nature Magezine
Published on January 9, 2013
Are wrinkles a derived character in the sense that only humans recieve them when their hands get wet? Or do other organisms genetically similar to humans (ex: gorillas)get wrinkled skin when exposed to water?
ReplyDeleteThe Macaques also get wrinkled skin when exposed to water, but other organisms have yet to be checked.
DeleteDO you know if there are any humans that do not have this characteristic when they go in water?
ReplyDeleteIt seems that this happens to all humans.
Delete