the.com/lactation
The one biological process that turned mammals into milk-based startups.
means The process by which mammary glands produce and release milk to feed offspring.
from From Latin 'lactare' meaning 'to suckle,' itself rooted in 'lac' (milk) — the same root that gives us 'lactic,' 'lacteal,' and even 'latte,' which is just milk wearing a coffee shop apron.
- origin
- oxytocin triggers it, not demand alone
- energy cost
- burns roughly 500 extra calories a day
- timing quirk
- can happen in males under rare hormonal conditions
- evolutionary age
- predates placentas by tens of millions of years