Lesions close up quicker if you’re a chimpanzee than a person
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Research has shown that human wounds take significantly longer to heal compared to other mammals, such as chimpanzees, who are closely related to us. This phenomenon has sparked curiosity among scientists, who believe it may be linked to the evolutionary loss of body hair in humans.
Recent studies conducted by Akiko Matsumoto-Oda and her team at the University of the Ryukyus in Japan compared the healing rates of various primate species, including velvet monkeys, Sykes’ monkeys, olive baboons, and chimpanzees. They found that all non-human primates healed at a rate of approximately 0.61 millimetres per day when subjected to similar wounds.
Interestingly, when the researchers examined wound healing in humans by studying patients who had skin tumors removed, they discovered that the healing rate was much slower at only 0.25 millimetres per day. This sluggish healing process in humans is not observed in most mammals, as evidenced by studies on mice and rats, which showed similar healing rates to non-human primates.
Matsumoto-Oda suggests that the delayed wound healing in humans may have evolved after the split from our common ancestor with chimpanzees. One possible explanation for this difference is the reduction in body hair in humans, as higher hair density has been associated with faster healing due to increased stem cell numbers.
Despite this evolutionary disadvantage, humans have developed social support mechanisms such as food sharing, nursing, and medicine, which may have helped offset the drawbacks of slow wound healing. The intricate relationship between evolution, environment, and healing processes continues to be a topic of interest for researchers.
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