Tag Archive for 'Human'

In human skulls, division of the nasioiniac arc (from nasion to inion, NI) by bregma into a shorter frontal arc (from nasion to bregma, NB) and longer parietooccipital arc (from bregma to inion BI), creates a geometrical relationship in which the ratio of the nasioiniac arc over the bregma-inion arc (NI/BI) coincides with the ratio of the bregma-inion arc over the nasion-bregma arc (BI/NB), both 1.6. The subdivision of the nasioiniac arc by bregma into two unequal arcs emulates the geometrical division of a line into the Golden ratio. Image credit: Tamargo & Pindrik, doi: 10.1097/SCS.0000000000005610.

Human Skull Dimensions Follow Golden Ratio: Study

Oct 7, 2019 by News Staff

The Golden ratio principle is present in the architecture and evolution of the human skull, suggests a new study by researchers from the Johns Hopkins...

Cores from Phase D (48,000-34,000 years ago) and Phase C (13,000-12,000 years ago) of Fa-Hien Lena Cave, Sri Lanka: bipolar core (4, 5, 6), bipolar orthogonal core (1, 2, 7, 8), unidirectional abrupt core (3). Image credit: Wedage et al, doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0222606.

45,000-Year-Old Tiny Stone Tools Found in Sri Lanka

Oct 4, 2019 by News Staff

An international team of archaeologists has found a collection of microliths — small, retouched, often-backed stone tools — at the cave site...

Dorsal view of the left hand of a 10-week old human embryo. The dorsometacarpales are highlighted: these muscles are present in adults of many other limbed animals, while in humans they normally disappear or become fused with other muscles before birth. Image credit: Diogo et al, doi: 10.1242/dev.180349.

Human Embryos Have ‘Lizard-Like’ Limb Muscles: Study

Oct 2, 2019 by News Staff

A new study, published in the journal Development, has confirmed the transient presence of atavistic muscles — present in our ancestors, but normally...

Model of dynamic interactions between the skin immune system (SIS) and its microbial/chemical milieu in human facial skin: (A) infancy -- before the development of stabilized microbial communities, an early tolerogenic interaction between the maturing SIS and the microbiota is prevalent; (B) after this initial period, a homeostatic crosstalk evolves between the developed SIS and a childhood-type stable microbiota; (C) adolescence -- enhanced sebum secretion and shift in the microbiota composition (and probably other uncovered events, e.g., barrier breach) might contribute to a dynamic change in the communication between the SIS and the microbiota in the skin, leading to inflammatory interactions; cytokines associated with a homeostatic dialog may become highly increased in acne lesions (relative to non-lesions), promoting inflammation together with newly secreted proinflammatory mediators produced by keratinocytes, dendritic cells (DCs), and subsequently, infiltrating inflammatory T helper (Th)1 and Th17(23) (for IL-23) cells, neutrophils, and macrophages; these mediators initiate follicular hyperkeratinization, closure of the follicular infundibulum, comedone formation, and the development of acne papules, pustules, and nodules; the extent and time course of inflammation can vary across a wide spectrum among teenagers; (D) following the resolution of acne, in adult SGR skin, under steady-state, SIS and region-specific microbes carry on a homeostatic dialog with the microbiota again, mediated by the controlled production of innate immune-cell-derived factors, including complement components, AMPs, IL-1, TSLP, and IL-7; hair follicles may play a pivotal role in this crosstalk, supporting the residency and recruitment of LCs, Tregs, ILCs, as well as nonpathogenic Th17(β) cells to maintain homeostasis; upward arrows depict increases (expression, concentrations, and ratios). Propionibacterium acnes (Propionibacteriaceae) = Cutibacterium acnes. Other relevant bacterial genera are noted in the schematic. Abbreviations: AMP - antimicrobial peptide, IL – interleukin, ILC - innate lymphoid cell, LC - Langerhans cell, mDC - myeloid dendritic cell, RORγt - RAR-related orphan receptor γt, SGR - sebaceous gland rich, SIS - skin immune system, TGF - transforming growth factor, Th - T helper, Treg - regulatory T cell, TSLP - thymic stromal lymphopoietin. Image credit: Szegedi et al, doi: 10.1016/j.it.2019.08.006.

Adolescent Acne Vulgaris is Naturally Developing, Transient Inflammatory State, Researchers Say

Oct 1, 2019 by News Staff

Acne vulgaris, which occurs in 44-95% of teenagers of varying ethnicities, represents a natural, transient inflammatory interaction of adolescent facial...

Denisova Cave in the Altai Mountains of southern Siberia. Image credit: Alex Demin / CC BY-SA 4.0.

New Research Sheds Light on Everyday Life in Denisova Cave

Sep 27, 2019 by News Staff

At least three hominins (Denisovans, Neanderthals, and early Homo sapiens) and large cave-dwelling carnivores (hyena, wolves, and even bears) used Denisova...

Bronze Age baby bottles. Image credit: Enver-Hirsch, Wien Museum.

Archaeologists Find Prehistoric ‘Baby Bottles’ in Europe

Sep 25, 2019 by News Staff

Archaeologists have found traces of ruminant milk on pottery recovered from Neolithic sites in Europe. Bronze Age baby bottles. Image credit: Enver-Hirsch,...

Pet cats show a similar capacity for the formation of secure and insecure attachments towards human caregivers previously demonstrated in children and dogs. Image credit: Pexels.

Pet Cats Really Bond with Their Owners, Says New Study

Sep 24, 2019 by News Staff

Domestic cats (Felis silvestris catus) form attachments with their owners that are similar to the bonds formed by children and dogs with their caretakers,...

Sulfolobus sp.: each cell is outlined in red; the DNA is stained blue. Image credit: Stephen Bell, Indiana University.

Biologists Find Striking Similarities between Human and Archaeal Chromosomes

Sep 20, 2019 by News Staff

The similar clustering of DNA in the chromosomes of humans and Archaea is significant because certain genes activate or deactivate based upon how they’re...

Scientists Reconstruct Skeletal Anatomy of Denisovans

Sep 19, 2019 by News Staff

A team of researchers from Israel and Spain has produced reconstructions of Denisovans, an extinct sister group of Neanderthals, based on patterns of methylation...

Rudapithecus hungaricus was pretty ape-like and probably moved among branches like apes do now. However, it would have differed from modern great apes by having a more flexible lower back, which would mean when Rudapithecus hungaricus came down to the ground, it might have had the ability to stand upright more like humans do. Image credit: John Siddick.

Miocene Hominid Fossil Sheds New Light on Evolution of Human Bipedalism

Sep 18, 2019 by News Staff

Researchers have analyzed a pelvis of the 10 million-year-old fossil ape Rudapithecus hungaricus and found that human bipedalism might possibly have deeper...

Berger et al found in mice that almost immediately after the brain recognizes danger, it instructs the skeleton to flood the bloodstream with the bone-derived hormone osteocalcin, which is needed to turn on the fight or flight response. Image credit: Berger et al, doi: 10.1016/j.cmet.2019.08.012.

Bony Vertebrates Release Bone-Derived Hormone Osteocalcin in Response to Stress, Study Finds

Sep 17, 2019 by News Staff

A new study, published in the journal Cell Metabolism, shows that humans and other bony vertebrates need a hormone called osteocalcin to develop an acute...

Li et al provide the first evidence of the positive contribution of tea drinking to brain structure. Image credit: Larisa Myshun.

Drinking Tea Improves Brain Efficiency, New Study Shows

Sep 16, 2019 by News Staff

Habitual tea drinking has positive effects on brain organization and gives rise to greater efficiency in functional and structural connectivity, according...

Chestnut-crowned babblers (Pomatostomus ruficeps). Image credit: Niall Stopford.

Building Blocks of Bird Vocalizations Resemble Those of Human Languages, Study Finds

Sep 11, 2019 by News Staff

Human languages are comprised of meaningful words, which themselves are built from different combinations of meaningless sounds, or building blocks. A...

The language brain regions were more coordinated in left-handers between the two sides of the brain (in green and orange) and were also connected by the white matter tracts influenced by one genetic region related to handedness (in blue). Image credit: Gwenaëlle Douaud, University of Oxford.

Scientists Identify Four Genetic Regions Associated with Left-Handedness

Sep 11, 2019 by News Staff

A team of researchers from the University of Oxford has identified four regions of the human genome associated with left-handedness in the general population...

Coffee consumption is associated with low risk of symptomatic gallstone disease. Image credit: Nordestgaard et al, doi: 10.1111/joim.12970.

Higher Coffee Consumption May Protect against Gallstone Disease

Sep 10, 2019 by News Staff

Higher coffee intake may help reduce the risk of symptomatic gallstone disease, according to a University of Copenhagen-led study. Coffee consumption is...

An artist’s reconstruction of the gateway and drain at the ancient city of Harappa. Image credit: Chris Sloan.

Researchers Sequence Genome of Ancient Harappan Woman

Sep 9, 2019 by News Staff

A multinational team of scientists has sequenced the first genome of an individual from the Harappan Civilization. The genome, which belongs to a woman...

In a population-based study, young children with severe (at ages 5 and 16 years) and externalizing (at ages 5 and 10 years) behavioral problems were associated with elevated risk of reporting insomnia symptoms in middle adulthood. Image credit: B.A.

Study Reveals Link between Childhood Behavioral Problems and Insomnia Later in Life