Regardless of how we look at it, the human body seems to us devoid of many of the useful capabilities that other animals have. We cannot fly, we have no mechanisms to live underwater, and we are not particularly strong, but we have a large brain. This may give us an edge over other, less intelligent creatures, but we really don't have any special physical superpowers.
However, with the development of science, we gradually learn that humans can still do many of the things that we usually associate with such abilities, and this has to do with our complex and highly developed brains.
10. Bioluminescence
One of the most interesting mutations we know of is the ability to produce light. In scientific circles, this phenomenon is called bioluminescence, and anyone who has visited the seaside at night at the right time can tell you how amazing it looks. Many ocean creatures have been found to possess this ability, as well as certain mammals.
However, according to recent research, humans also produce their own kind of light. Previously, we did not know about this, because this light is in a range invisible to our eyes. During the experiment, scientists connected five volunteers to special equipment and monitored their light emission for 20 minutes every three hours.
To their surprise, they found that the human body constantly emits a glow that we did not know about before, and this radiation has nothing to do with our heat. The glow around the head is brightest and has been found to be dimmer at night. It is not yet very clear what this is connected with, but scientists are sure that it has to do with our metabolism.
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9. Determination of temperature by ear
Our ability to distinguish hot from cold needs no comment. We know that our skin has everything it needs to be able to detect different temperatures. Combined with the same ability of our mouth and other organs, all this should protect us from accidental burns and related injuries. However, it all has to do with touch.
What about other feelings? Could we, in theory, hear heat and cold? Yes, it is - this is evidenced by a study conducted by a record company.
The researchers asked people to simply listen to how water was poured into a glass, and then say whether it was hot or cold water. Surprisingly, 96 percent of the subjects gave the correct answers, although it is not at all clear how they did it.
Some suggest that this may be due to the different densities of cold and hot water, and our body over time learns to detect this by ear. But the mechanism for the development of this ability still remains a mystery.
8. Ability to determine sexual orientation by eye
The mythical ability of Heydar is a popular topic of conversation at drunken college parties and among psychologists. The debate is about whether people have the ability to determine the sexual orientation of another person "by eye". That is, it was believed that this ability exists, but previously no serious research on this topic has been carried out.
Recent research has firmly and convincingly proved that we have this ability and that it is innate. We do this, first of all, according to the structure of the face.
In one study, subjects were shown photographs of 45 gay men and 45 traditional people. All the participants - yes, exactly all - were able to accurately guess which of the faces shown to them belonged to gays, even if the photos were shown in passing, for only 50 milliseconds.
The experiment concerned exclusively male faces. However, another study found that we can even better determine the sexual orientation of women from photographs.
7. Superhuman strength
Regardless of who you talk to about it, everyone knows the limits of a person's physical strength. While we're smart enough to create cool things like spaceships or YouTube, humans have never been physically strong. Of course, we can lift a couple of heavy stones if the situation calls for it, but we can hardly lift, say, a car - right?
Oddly enough, but we can. This is not just another urban myth. People manage to lift cars and other seemingly unmanageable things in a moment of danger, for example, when something threatens their children - and at the same time, they would never be able to repeat this feat in their lives. Ordinary people do what the Guinness World Records take years of training to do. So how is this possible?
Unfortunately, we still don't know what mechanisms come into play when superhuman strength is activated, because these situations cannot be replicated in a laboratory setting. But there are so many such cases officially recorded that it is impossible to deny that every person has such abilities.
6. The ability to see a single photon
The limits of the human eye are not precisely known. Although we know that he is able to perceive the surrounding picture much better than most creatures with vision, we do not know the exact limit of these possibilities.
One of the biggest questions scientists are concerned about is how many photons the human eye can recognize. It seems like a strange question, but it is very difficult to answer.
In the course of previous research, scientists have never been able to establish this precisely. However, researchers recently discovered that even a single photon of light can be seen by the human eye.
Researchers say this paves the way for crazier experiments. For example, how does this apply to the unexplained phenomenon called "quantum entanglement"? If the experiments continue, we will soon find out.
5. Feel the molecule by touch
Usually, we pay little attention to such a feeling as touch - mainly because we do not expect the same grandiose discoveries here that may be associated with our vision or hearing. Although we know that we can detect many things by touch, we are rarely told how much this feeling can be developed.
To determine the real limits of our sensitivity, scientists have tested whether humans can distinguish silicon wafers with a difference in thickness of only one layer of molecules. At the same time, they were so smooth that it was impossible to talk about the difference between them.
Researchers were surprised to find that all 15 respondents gave the correct answers 71 percent of the time. Scientists considered this result so impressive that now they plan to use this knowledge in the manufacture of prostheses, which means that soon prostheses may be more sensitive than real hands.
4. Anticipating a smile
Throughout the world, smiling is an essential part of human conversation. At the same time, it is one of the biggest mysteries, since we do not fully understand its meaning and purpose.
For example, a smile is not always the answer to something funny, but sometimes it can say better about emotions than any words. We've always wondered what makes it such a powerful non-verbal cue in our daily interactions and how well we are at distinguishing a real smile from a fake one.
Research has shown that we can also predict the appearance of a smile. Researchers have found that we have the ability to recognize a smile that occurs, but only when it is genuine.
3. Smell like a dog
Although our sense of smell allows us to distinguish between pleasant and unpleasant smells, we never thought that it was particularly sensitive. It is generally believed that dogs and other mammals have a much better sense of smell than humans. We even think that odor sensitivity refers to superpowers, like in the Wolverine movies.
According to a neurologist who has spent 14 years studying the human olfactory system, our sense of smell is as powerful as that of any other mammal, and certainly no less powerful than that of the Wolverine. Rumors that the human sense of smell is weak was sparked by a 1979 study that said humans have fewer organs to sense odors than other mammals, such as rats or dogs.
The results obtained by the neuroscientist prove that in fact, our sense of smell is much more powerful. He found that the number of receptors for capturing odor in humans is much greater than previously thought, and it is the same as in those animals that we usually consider to have a good sense of smell.
2. Determination at the glance of women in the stage of ovulation
The ability to visually identify a woman in the stage of readiness for conception seems both useful and a little scary. But there is much that is unclear. For a long time, scientists have tried to identify some external signs of this. Then they realized that knowledge of these signs is of no use to us, the human brain is quite capable of fixing them on its own.
In one study, women were able to recognize other women at the stage of ovulation - perhaps that helps them determine from which side to expect an attempt on their partners. This seems to be justified in terms of evolution.
In another study, scientists found that men tend to view women as more attractive during ovulation - indicating that this ability is innate in most men. Surprisingly, married and devoted husbands do not have this ability, perhaps even evolution strongly recommends not to cheat on their wives.
1. Sensitivity to personal smell
We usually evaluate a person during a conversation based on the tone of the conversation or some gesture. We do this subconsciously, without even thinking about it. Most of our experiences are based on visual and audio cues, and we usually forget about our other senses. This is why the researchers were surprised to find that in our day-to-day life, we have a good deal of personality.
In a study conducted at the University of Wroclaw, scientists found that we can predict various personality traits, such as extraversion, nervousness, or dominance, from a person's scent. The accuracy was the same as when evaluating visual cues, especially when it was applied to people of the opposite sex.
Researchers don't fully understand how this works. However, this study was the first of many now being conducted to understand what personality traits our smells can convey. There is hope that there will be many more discoveries.