The human body is an extraordinary thing – and now, one video is proving just that, while simultaneously giving people nightmares. Childbirth is often regarded as one of nature's most incredible events, but have you ever questioned how a baby's face develops while in the womb? Neither have we. But thanks to the BBC, people are divided about how "beautiful" the process actually is. The simulation shows how the baby's face starts with the philtrum, the area between the bottom of your nose and upper lip. During the episode of Inside the Human Body: Creation, Michael Mosley points out: "Down the centuries, biologists have wondered why every face has this particular feature. What we now know is it is the place where the puzzle that is the human face finally all comes together." The footage then recreates a baby's facial development via an animation, which begins with two holes at the top of the head. It appears as though the features then start to merge, though this is the baby's nostrils. (Fast-forward 32 seconds in to the below video to watch:) Face Development in the Womb - Inside the Human Body: Creation - BBC One www.youtube.com "We've taken data from scans of a developing embryo so we're able to show you for the very first time how our faces don't just grow, but fit together like a puzzle," Mosley continues. "The three main sections of the puzzle meet in the middle of your top lip, creating the groove that is your philtrum." He continues: "This whole amazing process, the bits coming together to produce a recognisable human face, happens in the womb between two and three months. "If it doesn't happen then, it never will." The snippet understandably garnered a mixed response, with one viewer writing: "That was so creepy yet amazing..." Another joked: "Makes me feel better that Brad Pitt and Tom Cruise once looked like space aliens." And a third quipped: "Thank you for the enlightening information and the skin-curdling nightmares." Sign up for our free Indy100 weekly newsletter Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.
The human body is an extraordinary thing – and now, one video is proving just that, while simultaneously giving people nightmares.
Childbirth is often regarded as one of nature's most incredible events, but have you ever questioned how a baby's face develops while in the womb?
Neither have we. But thanks to the BBC, people are divided about how "beautiful" the process actually is.
The simulation shows how the baby's face starts with the philtrum, the area between the bottom of your nose and upper lip.
During the episode of Inside the Human Body: Creation, Michael Mosley points out: "Down the centuries, biologists have wondered why every face has this particular feature. What we now know is it is the place where the puzzle that is the human face finally all comes together."
The footage then recreates a baby's facial development via an animation, which begins with two holes at the top of the head.
It appears as though the features then start to merge, though this is the baby's nostrils.
(Fast-forward 32 seconds in to the below video to watch:)
Face Development in the Womb - Inside the Human Body: Creation - BBC One www.youtube.com
"We've taken data from scans of a developing embryo so we're able to show you for the very first time how our faces don't just grow, but fit together like a puzzle," Mosley continues.
"The three main sections of the puzzle meet in the middle of your top lip, creating the groove that is your philtrum."
He continues: "This whole amazing process, the bits coming together to produce a recognisable human face, happens in the womb between two and three months.
"If it doesn't happen then, it never will."
The snippet understandably garnered a mixed response, with one viewer writing: "That was so creepy yet amazing..."
Another joked: "Makes me feel better that Brad Pitt and Tom Cruise once looked like space aliens."
And a third quipped: "Thank you for the enlightening information and the skin-curdling nightmares."
Sign up for our free Indy100 weekly newsletter
Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.
