Prompt Cast
The Mystery of Men's Nipples Explained
TLDR Men have nipples because of the shared development of mammary tissue in utero, and while they are not associated with male or female characteristics, men can lactate in certain situations. Additionally, third nipples are more common in males and on the left side.
Timestamped Summary
00:00
Men have nipples because the 23rd chromosome determines gender and most of the chromosomes are the same for men and women.
03:43
Men have nipples because both men and women develop mammary tissue in utero, but in male mice, a protein destroys the tissue before they are born.
07:35
Men have nipples because they develop before sexual traits and are not associated with male or female characteristics, and the reason men still have nipples is because they are vital to female reproductive success.
11:19
Men have nipples because girls have nipples and men can lactate because women can lactate, and in fact, both little boys and little girls can lactate as babies, which is called witches milk, and even adult men can spontaneously lactate if they lack enough testosterone and have high estrogen levels.
15:01
Men can lactate as a physiological response and biological phenomenon, such as in the case of a man in Sri Lanka who breastfed his daughters after his wife died, or in situations of starvation where the pituitary gland produces higher levels of hormones, including prolactin, resulting in lactation.
18:49
Men in the Aka tribe have interchangeable gender roles and can breastfeed, which raises the question of why men don't breastfeed in monogamous cultures, but it's possible that in the future, as our cultures become more monogamous, men and women may both breastfeed.
22:12
Third nipples, or additional nipples, are more common in males and on the left side, with one in 40 newborns having an extra nipple that often looks like a birthmark or has a tooth growing in it.
25:52
The hosts discuss the availability of their show on iTunes and read a listener's email about polycystic ovarian syndrome and its effects on women's health.
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