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When you first cradle your newborn, they may appear delicate and entirely dependent. Surprisingly, however, infants possess an astonishing resilience and innate abilities that defy their fragile appearance. These tiny humans can perform feats that might seem unimaginable to adults. Such discoveries were made through groundbreaking—and often unconventional—scientific studies, though replicating these experiments at home is strongly discouraged.
10. Infants Have a Natural Ability to Swim
One day, a team of scientists had the idea to immerse the faces of 36 newborns in cold water to observe their reactions. Contrary to any grim expectations, the experiment revealed something extraordinary—the infants naturally held their breath underwater. Not only did they survive, but they also emerged from the water laughing and cheerful.
Beyond breath-holding, babies exhibit even more remarkable abilities. In a separate study, parents were asked to place their infants in water on their stomachs. The babies instinctively began kicking and moving their legs in a paddling motion, effectively keeping themselves buoyant.
These experiments demonstrated that newborns possess an innate diving and swimming reflex. However, researchers noted that this ability fades by the age of six months—a finding likely uncovered through a less successful follow-up experiment.
9. Children Have the Ability to Regrow Their Fingertips
If your child loses part of a limb, there’s no need to panic immediately. Dr. Christopher Allan explains, “Children have the ability to regenerate a significant portion of a fingertip after amputation, provided it’s left undisturbed.”
Dr. Allan made this discovery while treating an eight-year-old patient who had severed the tip of her middle finger in a bicycle accident. Unsure of how to reattach it, he advised the family, “Just place the tip back and let nature take its course.”
A few weeks later, the girl returned, having disregarded Dr. Allan’s suggestion. Remarkably, her fingertip had regenerated on its own. Subsequent studies confirmed that this phenomenon isn’t rare—children can regrow fingertips as long as the injury doesn’t extend beyond the nail.
8. Newborns Possess Grip Strength Comparable to Monkeys
When a newborn grasps their parent’s finger, it’s a heartwarming and transformative moment. Most parents don’t even consider testing how high they can lift the baby before the grip loosens.
Scientists, however, have explored this curiosity. They discovered that if you place your index finger in a baby’s palm while they’re lying down, the infant will grip with such force that you can lift them into the air, and they’ll remain suspended without falling.
Despite this, attempting this at home isn’t advisable. Researchers found that babies might unexpectedly let go mid-air—a risk uncovered by scientists who assumed relying on a newborn’s grip strength would be safe and without consequences.
7. Children’s Fingerprints Fade at an Astonishing Rate
Fingerprinting technology has revolutionized crime-solving, often unraveling criminal schemes through prints left at crime scenes. However, this could be avoided if criminals enlisted toddler accomplices, as children’s fingerprints don’t linger.
In an experiment, children up to 17 years old shook vials of alcohol using their thumbs and forefingers. When tested, their fingerprints disappeared quickly, unlike adults’ prints. Researchers attribute this to the higher levels of fatty acids in children’s fingertips, making their prints less durable.
6. Children Can Consume Sugar Without Limits
Sugar affects children differently than adults. A child’s body craves sugar, which can have numerous benefits. For instance, it even acts as a natural painkiller for kids.
Children are naturally inclined to enjoy sugar, and their tolerance for it seems boundless. While adults might find anything sweeter than a can of Coca-Cola overwhelming, kids have no such threshold.
In a study, children were given sugar-water mixtures and asked to indicate when the drink became “too sweet.” By the experiment’s conclusion, the youngest participants were consuming glasses so saturated with sugar that it no longer dissolved—yet they still requested more sweetness.
5. Newborns Have the Ability to Crawl—Especially Toward a Breast
Typically, babies begin crawling between 7 to 10 months of age. However, this delay is often due to a lack of motivation. If given the right incentive, infants can start crawling almost immediately after birth.
In a study conducted right after birth, newborns were dried, placed on their mother’s chest, and not fed to observe their behavior. Initially, the babies remained still. After about 15 minutes, they began instinctively sucking at the air. By the end of the experiment, the infants had crawled toward their mother’s nipple and started feeding.
This shows that babies can indeed crawl early on—all it takes is leaving them unattended for roughly an hour to let their instincts take over.
4. Newborns Trigger a Drug-Like Response in Mothers
If you’ve ever observed a mother cradling her newborn, you’ve witnessed a level of joy and serenity unmatched in her life. This profound emotional state is no accident—it’s the result of the baby influencing her brain chemistry.
From the moment a woman becomes pregnant, her body begins producing oxytocin. This chemical is released during our most joyful moments, such as falling in love or experiencing intimacy, flooding us with a sense of peace and contentment.
Mothers experience a rush of oxytocin during breastfeeding and skin-to-skin contact with their infants, creating a euphoric sensation. If a mother feels low, simply holding her baby close can trigger this chemical response, instantly lifting her spirits.
3. Newborns Have the Ability to Regenerate Heart Tissue
A study on mice revealed something astonishing about newborns: up to 15 percent of a baby’s heart can be surgically removed, and it will regenerate fully, functioning as if nothing happened.
Researchers experimented on mice less than a week old, removing portions of their hearts—apparently a government-funded endeavor. Remarkably, the mice regenerated the lost heart tissue within three weeks, and the healed hearts performed just as well as untouched ones.
Scientists theorize that this regenerative ability applies to all mammals, including humans. However, this remains unproven, as no one has yet received funding to surgically remove parts of a newborn baby’s heart—despite the many unusual experiments conducted on children.
2. Infants Can Understand Dog Language
While your baby may not grasp every word you say, they can surprisingly comprehend another language fluently—your dog’s. Research involving six-month-old infants revealed that babies can interpret a dog’s barks, even if they’ve never encountered a dog before.
In the study, babies were played recordings of aggressive and friendly dog barks while being shown images of happy and angry dogs. The infants consistently looked at the happy dog when hearing a friendly bark and at the angry dog when hearing an aggressive bark, demonstrating an innate ability to discern the tone of the barks.
Despite their ability to match barks to images, the babies didn’t necessarily know how to respond. Even when the barks sounded angry, the infants laughed and smiled throughout the experiment. This suggests you shouldn’t rely on your baby’s instincts for self-preservation.
1. Newborns Can Consume Unlimited Food Without Gaining Weight
Parents need not stress over their baby’s weight. Infants are equipped with “brown fat,” a unique type of fat that burns calories at an astonishing rate. This brown fat constitutes approximately 5 percent of a newborn’s total body weight.
This brown fat serves a critical purpose: it protects babies from cold temperatures. When exposed to chilly conditions, the brown fat generates heat and rapidly burns calories. In fact, just 85 grams (3 oz) of activated brown fat can torch 400–500 calories daily.
If you’re envious of babies’ metabolic advantages, you’re not alone. Some researchers are so fascinated by infants’ calorie-burning abilities that they’re exploring ways to replicate this mechanism in adults. For now, however, this remarkable trait remains exclusive to babies.
+Further Reading
You might assume that the subject of babies lacks intriguing depth . . . but you’d be mistaken! Here are just a few of the many captivating baby-related articles we believe will pique your interest:
10 Stories of Bizarre Births 10 Ways Babies Are Smarter Than You Thought 10 Family Dramas Sparked By Babies Switched At Birth 10 Miraculous Stories Of Stillborn Babies Coming To Life 10 Things You Didn’t Know Babies Could Do 10 Amazing Babies Who Dodged Death
