The human body can run, jump, bend, break, repair and energize. Science has shown us how special our bodies are. And though men and women are extremely different, it’s the differences that make us compatible.

We know the basic functions of the body, but some of these things that women’s bodies can do are incredible:

Generally, women have a better memory

Maybe there’s a reason your husband keeps forgetting to pick up that gallon of milk at the store. In a research experiment testing memory of future events, results showed that after going through memory tests, women were better at remembering to do something. They were better at linking the task to an event instead of linking it to a specific time in the future.

Many studies also showed females were often better than men at remembering people’s faces. The Michigan Quarterly Review reviewed various studies on male and female memory and suggested women may be better with memories because they tend to be more emotional, so their memories are more emotional in turn. However, the review also states that perhaps neither gender is better at memory, but each gender differs in how and what they remember.

Women smell better than men

I don’t mean a woman smells like strawberries and vanilla. Women smell – with their noses – better than men. And it’s not just pregnant women who have a superior capacity to smell. New research may have more of an explanation as to why women have such a strong sense of smell, though complete answers are still unclear. Some researchers have even suggested women can smell body odor and other smells so distinctly because it’s part of their process of choosing a mate.

Women can outlive men

Women are generally expected to live five years longer than men. Studies have traced the top causes of death and the reasons why women may live longer. Health.com lists some of those reasons: women aren’t daredevils or risky with their health; female fetuses are generally stronger in the uterus; and women visit the doctor more in their twenties, thirties, and forties, whereas men don’t go more often than women until their fifties, sixties, and seventies. Women’s visits are more preventive and men’s are more responsive to sickness and disease.

Women listen with both sides of their brain

More than a decade ago, research emerged showing how differently men and women hear. While listening to someone read aloud, men used only the left side of their brains, while women used both sides. This doesn’t necessarily mean women are better listeners, but it does show women use more of their brains when doing so. The LA Times article also says that “girls usually speak sooner than boys, learn to read more easily and have fewer learning disorders, several experts suggest.”

Women can stay in tune with their bodies through their period

A woman’s hormones can do more than change her moods and body shape. Estrogen can make a woman more aware of her body, specifically the dry sockets in her mouth. Her period cycle can also keep her in tune with her schedule, moods and body changes. Many women who live together find that their periods begin to regulate and occur around the same time. Women can make food (without using a kitchen)

Women produce milk and can feed their children without any forks or spoons. The hormones estrogen and progesterone assist in jump starting the production of milk. A woman’s body can not only feed and energize the baby she also created, she actually passes immune system instructions to her newborn baby so that the baby’s immune system literally knows things hers does about fighting illness. How cool is that?

There’s a new supplement called Immune-IQ, that uses similar biological functions to supplement and strengthen your immune system. Immune-IQ comes from Cell-IQ, a company promoting “wellness from within.”

One mother noticed the changes in her own body when breastfeeding her baby. She recognized a drastic difference in color, all because her child had a cold and her body was responding with the right kind of milk. Her immune system was teaching her baby’s immune system how to fight back against the cold, and the photo she posted is incredible.

She explained, “…This doctor discusses that when a baby nurses, it creates a vacuum in which the infant’s saliva sneaks into the mother’s nipple. There, it is believed that mammary gland receptors interpret the “baby spit backwash” for bacteria and viruses and, if they detect something amiss (i.e., the baby is sick or fighting off an infection), Mom’s body will actually change the milk’s immunological composition, tailoring it to the baby’s particular pathogens by producing customized antibodies.

Women have that sixth sense

There may not be any hard facts about a woman’s sixth sense, but we have a name for it: intuition. Yes, men can have this gut feeling too, but when we call it “mother’s intuition,” we give this skill to the women. There’s something strangely accurate (most of the time) when a mother can recognize something’s not quite right.

Dr. Judith Orloff, an assistant clinical professor of psychiatry, told WebMD, “The reality is, girls are praised for being sensitive while boys are urged to be more linear in their thinking rather than listening to their feelings.”

Women’s bodies won’t be as hairy as men’s

Men and women have hair on their bodies, but women have less of the hormone androgen, which produces facial hair. Women’s faces and bodies can be naturally soft as well. This may just seem like a simple fact of nature, but a woman’s body can miraculously stay womanly and beardless. Women have more water than men (tear ducts)

According to Fox News Health, “women are biologically wired to shed more tears than men.” Maybe males are taught to hold back their tears, and maybe women are highly emotional, but science also points to the truth that women have a difference in their tear ducts that allows for more water to fall. And once again, it’s the hormones that make all the difference. Women have way more prolactin in their bloodstream. This hormone helps in lactation and tear production.

Move over Superman; Wonder Woman is here.

Women give birth

This one is obvious, but no one knows exactly how this feels until they live it. And that means only women will ever truly experience carrying another human being within their body and actually feel its creative process. It’s mind-boggling to think about a seven-pound (or larger!) baby squeezing through such a narrow passageway. Women (with some important help) literally create human life, nurture it and allow it to enter this world. What a beautiful -and painful – experience.

Women, love your bodies, because they truly are miraculous. Men, it’s great that you may be physically stronger, but appreciate the women in your life for the things they can do.

Male or female, our bodies do incredible things to help us in our lives.