New studies show that human skin wounds take almost three times longer to heal compared with other primates. This study, published in the Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, indicates that humans experience a wound-healing rate of approximately 0.25 millimeters per day, while other primates, including olive baboons, Sykes’ monkeys, and vervet monkeys, heal at an impressive rate of 0.62 millimeters per day.
The study involved a collaborative effort among a diverse team of evolutionary scientists, dermatologists, and wildlife specialists from Japan, Kenya, and France. Under Akiko Matsumoto-Oda, the study’s goal was to quantify and compare wound-healing rates across different primate species and rodents. Conducting these experiments on monkeys, the team worked with researchers at a field station of the Smithsonian in Kenya. Though the animals were anesthetized, they caused significant injury to the animal’s skin.
Collectively, these results uncovered major inter-species differences in wound healing. In particular, the study reported that the constrictive healing rate for humans was about 50% that of other primates. For this reason, humans may take longer to bounce back, given our evolutionary history. Potentially, the cost of losing fur was worth it for the benefits of possessing hairless skin.
This study provides novel understanding into biological pathways in healing wounds. It leads to some really interesting questions about why humans have slower recovery rates and what the evolutionary significance of that is. The research highlights the importance of examining wound healing across different species to gain insights into human health and potential treatments for slow-healing wounds.
The study’s DOI is 10.1098/rspb.2025.0233. We encourage you to explore it yourself and learn more about the methodology and findings—take a look!
