 Lead author Anne-Claire Fabre, a scientific associate at the Natural History Museum in London, said: 'There is very little evidence about why we, and other animals, pick our nose. 'Nearly all the papers that you can find were written as jokes. 'Of the serious studies, there are a few in the field of psychology, but for biology there's hardly anything. 'One study shows that picking your nose can spread bacteria such as Staphylococcus, while another shows that people who eat their own snot have fewer dental cavities.' The aye-aye belongs to a category of species known as strepsirrhine primates and is native to Madagascar. Also known as the world's largest nocturnal primate, this lemur has rodent-like teeth and a specialised long and thin middle finger. The aye-aye's fingers make up about 65% of the){kind=link}
The disgusting act may be frowned on by human beings, but one type of primate has specialised fingers for doing exactly that
Scientists have discovered why people pick their nose and eat the snot.
The disgusting act may be frowned on by human beings, but one type of primate has specialised fingers for doing exactly that.
Scientists found picking your nose can spread bacteria such as Staphylococcus. Another study showed people who eat their own snot have fewer dental cavities.
The long-fingered lemur uses its lengthy digits to stick up its nostrils before it licks its finger clean.