WHY DO HUMAN FINGERS BECOME WRINKLED WHEN THEY ARE IN THE WATER
Have you ever questioned the cause of your finger wrinkling after swimming?
The wrinkling phenomena can occur in a bath, the ocean, or even a swimming
pool, according to science.
It's interesting to note that this odd characteristic has an evolutionary
basis. Numerous scientific elements are involved in the process, including
the effect on our neurological system and unconscious bodily functions like
blood flow.
Neurologists Einar Wilder-Smith and Adeline Chow investigated the enigma in
2003 at the National University Hospital in Singapore. When scientists
evaluated the blood flow in participants' hands while submerging them in
water, they found that when the fingertips began to wrinkle, the blood flow
to the fingers significantly decreased.
In a 2020 research at the Science Museum in London with 500 participants,
neuroscientist and psychologist Nick Davis of Manchester Metropolitan
University examined the benefits of wrinkled fingertips in more detail.
According to the study, those with dry, wrinkle-free hands needed to grab
objects with greater power than people with hands that were wrinkled. By
increasing the friction between the fingers and the item, wrinkled fingers
improved grip and allowed for a firm grasp with less effort. As a result,
people are able to maintain their grip for a longer amount of time and have
less muscular fatigue.
Tom Smulders, an evolutionary neurologist at Newcastle University, backed
up these conclusions by speculating that having wrinkled fingers would have
been advantageous for tasks like underwater object manipulation or wet-land
mobility.
We now know the scientific basis for wrinkled fingertips, but why does it
occur in the first place? According to some academics, this adaption may
have been advantageous for our ancestors. Fingers with wrinkles may have had
better traction when grasping branches or walking on damp terrain, which
would have been useful in archaic settings. The wrinkling response may also
have helped early people capture or forage for food, such as shellfish.
A interesting reminder of our ancient history and the adaptive features
that have been passed down through the generations may be seen in the way
that our wrinkled fingertips react to water.
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