Stay social, stay young: a bioanthropological outlook on the processes linking sociality and ageing.

In modern human societies, social interactions and pro-social behaviours are associated with better individual and collective health, reduced mortality, and increased longevity. Conversely, social isolation is a predictor of shorter lifespan. The biological processes through which sociality affects the ageing process, as well as healthspan and lifespan, are still poorly understood.

Genomic portrait and relatedness patterns of the Iron Age Log Coffin culture in northwestern Thailand.

The Iron Age of highland Pang Mapha, northwestern Thailand, is characterised by a mortuary practice known as Log Coffin culture. Dating between 2300 and 1000 years ago, large coffins carved from individual teak trees have been discovered in over 40 caves and rock shelters. While previous studies focussed on the cultural development of the Log Coffin-associated sites, the origins of the practice, connections with other wooden coffin-using groups in Southeast Asia, and social structure within the region remain understudied.

Epigenetic aging differences between Wichí and Criollos from Argentina: Insights from genomic history and ecology.

Background And Objectives: Epigenetic estimators based on DNA methylation levels have emerged as promising biomarkers of human aging. These estimators exhibit natural variations across human groups, but data about indigenous populations remain underrepresented in research. This study aims to investigate differences in epigenetic estimators between two distinct human populations, both residing in the Gran Chaco region of Argentina, the Native-American Wichí, and admixed Criollos who are descendants of intermarriages between Native Americans and the first European colonizers, using a population genetic approach.

Sr-Pb isotope differences in pre- and post-burial human bone, teeth, and hair keratin: implications for isotope forensics.

The isotopic signatures of human tissues can provide valuable information on geographic origin for medicolegal investigations involving unidentified persons. It is important to understand the impact of diagenetic processes on isotopic signatures, as alterations could result in incorrect estimation of geographic origin. This study examines alterations in isotope signatures of different tissues of five human body donors studied throughout decomposition at the Forensic Anthropology Research Facility (FARF), San Marcos, TX.

GDF15, an emerging key player in human aging.

Growth differentiation factor 15 (GDF15) is recently emerging not only as a stress-related mitokine, but also as a key player in the aging process, being one of the most up-regulated protein with age and associated with a variety of age-related diseases (ARDs). Many data indicate that GDF15 has protective roles in several tissues during different stress and aging, thus playing a beneficial role in apparent contrast with the observed association with many ARDs. A possible detrimental role for this protein is then hypothesized to emerge with age.

Dietary, Cultural, and Pathogens-Related Selective Pressures Shaped Differential Adaptive Evolution among Native Mexican Populations.

Native American genetic ancestry has been remarkably implicated with increased risk of diverse health issues in several Mexican populations, especially in relation to the dramatic changes in environmental, dietary, and cultural settings they have recently undergone. In particular, the effects of these ecological transitions and Westernization of lifestyles have been investigated so far predominantly on Mestizo individuals. Nevertheless, indigenous groups, rather than admixed Mexicans, have plausibly retained the highest proportions of genetic components shaped by natural selection in response to the ancient milieu experienced by Mexican ancestors during their pre-Columbian evolutionary history.

Late Pleistocene human paleoecology in the highland savanna ecosystem of mainland Southeast Asia.

The late Pleistocene settlement of highland settings in mainland Southeast Asia by Homo sapiens has challenged our species's ability to occupy mountainous landscapes that acted as physical barriers to the expansion into lower-latitude Sunda islands during sea-level lowstands. Tham Lod Rockshelter in highland Pang Mapha (northwestern Thailand), dated between 34,000 and 12,000 years ago, has yielded evidence of Hoabinhian lithic assemblages and natural resource use by hunter-gatherer societies. To understand the process of early settlements of highland areas, we measured stable carbon and oxygen isotope compositions of Tham Lod human and faunal tooth enamel.

DLX5/6 GABAergic Expression Affects Social Vocalization: Implications for Human Evolution.

DLX5 and DLX6 are two closely related transcription factors involved in brain development and in GABAergic differentiation. The DLX5/6 locus is regulated by FoxP2, a gene involved in language evolution and has been associated with neurodevelopmental disorders and mental retardation. Targeted inactivation of Dlx5/6 in mouse GABAergic neurons (Dlx5/6VgatCre mice) results in behavioral and metabolic phenotypes notably increasing lifespan by 33%.

Reprint of: The effects of decomposition and environment on antemortem H-Pb-Sr isotope compositions and degradation of human scalp hair: Actualistic taphonomic observations.

Multi-isotope analysis (e.g., Sr-Pb-O-H-C-N) of human scalp hair is routinely used in forensic investigations of human remains to constrain the geographic origin of unidentified bodies, and to investigate antemortem mobility patterns.

Haplotype data and forensic evaluation of 23 Y-STR and 12 X-STR loci in eight ethnic groups from Eritrea.

Eritrea is a multi-ethnic country of over 3 million of people consisting of different ethnic groups, having each its own language and cultural tradition. Due to the lack of population genetic data for markers of forensic interest, in this study, we analyzed the genetic polymorphisms of 23 Y-chromosome STR loci and of 12 X-chromosome STR loci in a sample of 255 unrelated individuals from 8 Eritrean ethnic groups, with the aim to generate a reference haplotype database for anthropological and forensic applications. X- and Y-chromosomes markers may indeed offer information especially in personal identification and kinship testing, when relying on the availability of large local population data to derive sufficiently accurate frequency estimates.

The effects of decomposition and environment on antemortem H-Pb-Sr isotope compositions and degradation of human scalp hair: Actualistic taphonomic observations.

Multi-isotope analysis (e.g., Sr-Pb-O-H-C-N) of human scalp hair is routinely used in forensic investigations of human remains to constrain the geographic origin of unidentified bodies, and to investigate antemortem mobility patterns.

New age-related hearing loss candidate genes in humans: an ongoing challenge.

Age-related hearing loss (ARHL) is the most frequent sensory disorder in the elderly, affecting approximately one-third of people aged more than 65 years. Despite a large number of people affected, ARHL is still an area of unmet clinical needs, and only a few ARHL susceptibility genes have been detected so far. In order to further investigate the genetics of ARHL, we analyzed a series of 46 ARHL candidate genes, selected according to previous Genome Wide Association Studies (GWAS) data, literature updates and animal models, in a large cohort of 464 Italian ARHL patients.

Algorithmic assemblages of care: imaginaries, epistemologies and repair work.

In the past decade, the figure of the algorithm has emerged as a matter of concern in discussions about the current state of the healthcare sector and what it may become. While analytical focus has mainly centred on 'algorithmic entities', the paper argues that we have to move our analytical focus towards 'algorithmic assemblages', if we are to understand how advanced algorithms will affect health care. Departing from this figure, the paper explores how an algorithmic system, designed to 'take on' the role of a physiotherapist in physical rehabilitation programmes in Denmark, was designed and made to work in practice.

The Genetic Variability of in Different Human Populations and Its Implications for Longevity.

Human longevity is a complex phenotype resulting from the combinations of context-dependent gene-environment interactions that require analysis as a dynamic process in a cohesive ecological and evolutionary framework. Genome-wide association (GWAS) and whole-genome sequencing (WGS) studies on centenarians pointed toward the inclusion of the apolipoprotein E () polymorphisms ε2 and ε4, as implicated in the attainment of extreme longevity, which refers to their effect in age-related Alzheimer's disease (AD) and cardiovascular disease (CVD). In this case, the available literature on and its involvement in longevity is described according to an anthropological and population genetics perspective.

A Combined Targeted and Whole Exome Sequencing Approach Identified Novel Candidate Genes Involved in Heritable Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension.

The pathogenesis of idiopathic and heritable forms of pulmonary arterial hypertension is still not completely understood, even though several causative genes have been proposed, so that a third of patients remains genetically unresolved. Here we applied a multistep approach to extend identification of the genetic bases of such a disease by searching for novel candidate genes/pathways. Twenty-eight patients belonging to 18 families were screened for BMPR2 mutations and BMPR2-negative samples were tested for 12 additional candidate genes by means of a specific massive parallel sequencing-based assay.

Evidence of Polygenic Adaptation to High Altitude from Tibetan and Sherpa Genomes.

Although Tibetans and Sherpa present several physiological adjustments evolved to cope with selective pressures imposed by the high-altitude environment, especially hypobaric hypoxia, few selective sweeps at a limited number of hypoxia related genes were confirmed by multiple genomic studies. Nevertheless, variants at these loci were found to be associated only with downregulation of the erythropoietic cascade, which represents an indirect aspect of the considered adaptive phenotype. Accordingly, the genetic basis of Tibetan/Sherpa adaptive traits remains to be fully elucidated, in part due to limitations of selection scans implemented so far and mostly relying on the hard sweep model.

Estimation of stature from sternum - Exploring the quadratic models.

Identification of the dead is significant in examination of unknown, decomposed and mutilated human remains. Establishing the biological profile is the central issue in such a scenario, and stature estimation remains one of the important criteria in this regard. The present study was undertaken to estimate stature from different parts of the sternum.