As scientists learn more about human nature, they've made some remarkable discoveries about skills and traits that we may be born with.

A new study published last month in the journal Royal Society Open Science suggests that the ability to teach -- whether we're showing a young niece how to tie her shoes or instructing an entire geometry class -- is a vital and ingrained aspect of human nature.

The research contradicts previously held theories that teaching as we understand it -- as the passing of detailed, instructional knowledge from one person to another -- is a modern invention, according to Dr. Barry Hewlett, a professor of anthropology at Washington State University-Vancouver and lead author of the study.

"It is pervasive in the lives of so many in the world today, it is important to know if it is an invention of the modern world or is part of human nature," Hewlett, who has been analyzing examples of teaching in the hunter-gatherer communities of the Aka people in central Africa, told The Huffington Post.

He noted that, of course, culture can play a big role in our teaching abilities. "Very few human behaviors are the result of only human nature (biology) or only culture," Hewlett said. "They are the result of interactions between them."

Natural teaching abilities aren't the only skill that scientists believe may be universal. Scroll down to learn five ways that you're more skilled than you probably thought.

1. Safety Skills

Scientists have long known that our bodies have amazing natural reflexes that help keep us safe in dangerous situations, from jumping when someone startles us to jerking our hands back when we touch hot surfaces.

Something even more extraordinary happens when infants are submerged in water. It's called the mammalian diving reflex , and it involves an immediate decrease in heart rate that helps babies hold their breath underwater.

A 2002 study of 36 infants found that all of them experienced this reflex while diving in water. The infants were of various ages up to one year old and on average their heart rates decreased by 25 percent , according to the study, published in the journal Acta Paediatrica. The researchers noted that there is a decline of this reflex as we age -- and this certainly doesn't mean that babies can swim safely on their own .

2. Facial Expression Skills

You should be proud of your big, beautiful smile. Certain emotional expressions we make, from our grins when we're happy to our furrowed brows when we're mad, may be hardwired.

That's according to a 2009 study published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology , which showed that athletes who had been blind all their lives and those who could see both made the same facial expressions when they won or lost a tournament during the 2004 Summer Olympics and Paralympic Games. The findings suggest that our various facial expressions are not something we learn from watching others.

"The statistical correlation between the facial expressions of sighted and blind individuals was almost perfect," study author Dr. David Matsumoto, a psychology professor at San Francisco State University, said in a statement . "This suggests something genetically resident within us is the source of facial expressions of emotion."