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People with Red Hair May Experience Slower Healing for Cuts and Scrapes.

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Our hair color seems to influence wound healing in unexpected ways

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Red-haired individuals might experience slower wound healing compared to those with blonde, brunette, or dark hair. Research conducted on mice indicated that genetic differences related to hair color may affect the speed at which wounds heal, insights that could lead to improved treatment strategies for various hair colors.

The genes responsible for our hair color play a significant role. The gene MC1R is critical as it produces a protein determining the balance of black-brown and red-yellow pigments within hair follicles.

Individuals with brown or black hair typically have an MC1R variant encoding the active version of this protein. In contrast, nearly all redheads possess a less active or entirely inactive variant due to MC1R mutations. The genetics of hair pigmentation is complex for blondes, too, as they can display either active or inactive protein forms.

This protein is also present in the skin and has an anti-inflammatory effect. This led Jenna Cash from the University of Edinburgh to explore its influence on wound healing. The healing process requires an initial inflammatory response to clear out pathogens and dead cells from the injury site; however, if this response is too intense or prolonged, it can hinder proper healing.

To examine this, she and her team surgically created 4-millimeter wounds on the backs of black and red-haired mice, the latter having completely inactive MC1R protein.

After a week, red-haired mice exhibited an average scar contraction of 73%, while dark-haired mice showed a 93% contraction.

With these results in mind, the researchers hypothesized that an experimental topical agent, which enhances the activity of the active protein form (without impacting the inactive form), could aid in healing chronic wounds. This is particularly relevant for diabetics, in whom persistent high blood sugar can lead to excessive inflammation and delayed healing.

To test this hypothesis, the researchers inflicted wounds on black-haired mice and treated them with medication and bandages, while other black-haired mice with similar wounds received saline and bandages instead.

After one week, wounds of the treated mice had closed by an average of 63%, significantly larger than those of control group mice. “Patients would likely be pleased if their scars were visibly smaller, especially in a short timeframe,” noted Cash. Further analyses revealed the drug’s mechanism: it reduces the number of inflammatory immune cells.

This approach offers potential for treating humans, including redheads, as healing processes show remarkable similarities between mice and humans, most of whom have the MC1R protein functioning to some extent, Cash notes. However, patients with completely inactive forms may not see benefits.

Drugs targeting this protein are currently used for conditions like erythropoietic protoporphyria, making the researchers optimistic about the safety profile of this approach, according to Cash. Nonetheless, further studies are necessary to confirm this, as highlighted by Cas Bogey from Case Western Reserve University. Plans for human trials will commence shortly.

Future studies should also investigate the drug’s safety and efficacy on infected wounds, as Bogey pointed out. “The medication might interfere with the infection response or cause unintended side effects,” she cautioned.

This news may not be received well by some redheads. Prior studies indicate that red-haired individuals might also experience heightened sensitivity to pain. However, Cash reassures, “There’s no cause for alarm. We currently lack human data. Even if individuals with red hair heal somewhat more slowly, the difference may be negligible and hardly noticeable.”

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Source: www.newscientist.com

Human wounds heal significantly slower than those of other mammals.

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Upon witnessing wild baboons in Kenya, Matsumotoda Ogawa, an evolutionary biologist and primate researcher at the University of Lycys in Japan, observed firsthand the violence among these creatures, particularly among the males.

“The frequency of injuries was striking,” she remarked.

In contrast to her experiences with Nick and Kat, the healing abilities of baboons appeared almost superhuman.

In a study published in the Royal Society B, Dr. Matsumoto and her team examined healing rates in humans, chimpanzees, monkeys, and mice. They discovered that human wounds heal more than twice as slowly as those of other mammals. This slower recovery may stem from evolutionary trade-offs dating back to when we lost our fur for naked, sweat-producing skin that helps us regulate temperature.

Researchers aimed to study healing in a more chaotic environment beyond what wild baboons provide.

To assess human healing, they enlisted 24 patients recovering from skin tumor removals at Lycys University Hospital. For chimpanzee data, considered one of our closest animal cousins, the researchers studied five captive chimpanzees at the Kumamoto Reserve of the Kyoto University Wildlife Research Center, where animals previously used in drug studies reside. Injuries in chimpanzees, akin to those of wild baboons, primarily resulted from conflicts among the animals.

Other primate subjects were housed at the Kenya Primate Research Institute. The researchers anesthetized the monkeys, induced surgical wounds, and monitored their recovery. “As an outdoor researcher, I believe invasive procedures should be minimized,” emphasized Dr. Matsumoto Oda, noting that the wounds from wild baboons are often similar in size to those inflicted surgically but deeper.

Finally, to compare distantly related mammals with humans and primates, the team anesthetized and surgically wounded mice and rats.

Drawing from her field observations, Dr. Matsumoto-Oda expected humans to exhibit slower healing than other species, noting that the 24 participants regenerated their skin at an average rate of about a quarter millimeter per day.

What astonished Dr. Matsumoto-Oda even further was the uniformity of healing rates among the animal subjects, including chimpanzees. There were no significant differences in the rapid regeneration of skin across the different primates, averaging about 0.62 mm of new skin daily, unlike humans, who were clear outliers.

Elaine Fuchs, a stem cell biologist at Rockefeller University who focuses on skin growth and repair and was not involved in the new research, expressed that the findings aligned with her expectations. This is largely because skin healing is influenced by hair.

Every hair grows from a follicle containing stem cells. Typically, these stem cells produce more hair. However, when necessary, they can facilitate new skin growth. “When the epidermis sustains damage, such as from scratches and scuffs, it’s the hair follicle stem cells that perform the repairs,” Dr. Fuchs explained.

Furry animals are covered in follicles, enabling quicker wound closure in mice and monkeys. In contrast, “human skin has a much lower density of hair follicles,” Dr. Fuchs noted. Our ancestors lost many of these follicles, replacing them with sweat glands. Although sweat glands also contain stem cells, they are significantly less effective at wound repair, according to Dr. Fuchs.

Why did we choose to evolve in this manner, sacrificing hair and its protective benefits? The glands responsible for producing watery, salty sweat that moistens our shirts on hot days are known as eccrine glands. Most furry mammals have them in limited areas, primarily on their feet. Conversely, early human ancestors were adaptations to sweating—modern humans possess millions of sweat glands, with a density ten times greater than that of chimpanzees.

“Many have enjoyed the benefits,” remarked Daniel Lieberman, an evolutionary biologist at Harvard University. Our extensive sweat glands and lack of fur enabled our ancestors to thrive in physically demanding, hot environments, aiding in cooling our larger brain functions, Dr. Lieberman stated.

The advantages of sacrificing hair for sweat appear to outweigh the downsides. Dr. Matsumoto-Oda and her colleagues theorize that social support among early humans may have helped those with injuries survive despite their slower healing process. (Or perhaps there were methods to treat wounds, akin to practices seen in orangutans and chimpanzees.)

“The drawback of evolution is that wound healing is slower,” Dr. Fuchs observed, yet humans have gained significant evolutionary advantages from losing their fur.

“If you wish, you can always wear a coat,” she added.

Source: www.nytimes.com

Advancements in childbirth make for slower walking and pelvic issues

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Pelvic width can affect the risk of birth complications and back pain

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According to the largest research of this kind, a person’s waist width appears to be the result of a complex trade-off between larger brain evolution and upright walking.

“If the brain is growing bigger and bigger over the same evolutionary time as the pelvis is narrowing, this of course leads to conflict.” Vagheesh Narasimhan At the University of Texas at Austin.

This idea, first proposed in the 1960s, is known as the obstetric dilemma. Recently, it has been suggested that the risk of pelvic floor conditions is also considered. The pelvic floor is the layer of muscle that keeps organs in place. If it becomes weak or tear, it can lead to incontinence and problems during childbirth.

“The obstetrics dilemma has been very heated and debated,” says Narasinghan. For example, there have been many previous studies that attempt to relate pelvic structures to walking speed and efficiency, but these studies usually involve a small number of people and produce conflicting results.

Now, Narasinghan and his colleagues are looking at 31,000 men and women using data from the UK biobank. The team measured various aspects of the pelvis based on the type of scan called dual energy x-ray absorption measurements and looked for correlations with genetic variation and aspects of people’s health, including the need for emergency Caisalians.

Results show that wider pelvis reduces the risk of birth complications, but slower walking and higher risk of pelvic floor-related conditions, leading to hip osteoarthritis. On the other hand, narrower pelvis can speed up walking, but increases the risk of birth complications, lower back pain and knee osteoarthritis.

Previously, it has been suggested that there is a link between narrow-back births and reducing the risk of prenatal births, but the team found no association between pelvic width and pregnancy length. “This is consistent with other studies showing that no human children are born. [relatively] Faser than other apes,” says Narasinghan.

The team observed a link between pelvic width at birth and baby’s head size. “Individuals who may give birth to a wider head child often have a wider pelvis,” says Narasinghan. “It happens because of natural selection, which is a continuous selection of this correlated individual.” According to a 2016 survey, this selection may have ended for the C section.

Another finding is that most people have slightly asymmetric pelvises that correlate with their dominant hand. Being left or right-handed usually determines which legs dominate. This affects walking and pelvic development, which can lead to slight asymmetry as we grow, says Narasinghan.

“This is an extraordinary contribution to fundamental aspects of human evolutionary biology.” Scott Simpson Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio. “By integrating anatomical, genetic, clinical and behavioral data, the authors provided important insights into this unique human adaptation.”

“It’s good to be able to take advantage of large datasets.” Nicole Webb At the University of Zurich in Switzerland, the chimpanzee birth canal was far larger than the people’s birth canal. Webb points out that all people in the dataset are older than 40 years old and are from the UK. “If this work is done in a young, diverse group, the results can be even more impressive,” she says.

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  • Human evolution/
  • pregnancy

Source: www.newscientist.com

Ancient fossils reveal slower growth rates in mammals compared to modern species from Jurassic period

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Cruxatodon kiltlingtonensisA small mammal from the Jurassic period

Maiya Carrara

During the Middle Jurassic, small mammals lived much longer than modern ones and received parental care for years rather than weeks, suggesting that at some point there was a major change in the growth rates of small mammals, although the exact cause is unknown.

The discovery is based on two fossil skeletons of extinct mouse-sized creatures. Cruxatodon kiltlingtonensis, It lived on the Isle of Skye in Scotland about 166 million years ago, and its fossils were unearthed decades apart, the first in the 1970s and the second in 2016.

The unusual discovery of two fossils of the same species, one adult and one juvenile, allowed the team to compare the specimens to study how the animals grew and developed. “That meant we could ask questions we never dreamed of with just one specimen,” he says. Elsa Panciroli At the National Museum of Scotland.

First, the scientists used X-ray images to count the growth rings on the specimens' teeth, which are similar to growth rings on tree trunks and can be used to estimate age. They found that the adult specimens were about 7 years old, and the juvenile specimens were between 7 months and 2 years old.

Panciroli said he expected the fossil to be much younger, since the pup still had its baby teeth. “This was quite surprising, as this animal is about the size of a squirrel or a shrew,” Panciroli said. “We would have expected its teeth to grow back within a few weeks or months, so we could see straight away that it must have been developing quite differently. [than modern species].”

This discovery K. Quiltrington Mice took up to two years to wean from their mothers, a big jump from the few weeks most small mammals require today. Analysis of the length and size of the fossil bones reveals that the animals “grew throughout their lives,” Panchiroli says. Today, small mammals like mice grow rapidly when they're young but then stop growing as adults.

It's unclear exactly when and why small mammals evolved this way, but Panchiroli said it could be linked to environmental changes or it could be the result of mammals having warmer blood and a faster metabolism.

Panciroli and her team return to Skye every year, and are optimistic that they will be able to better understand these changes: “Hopefully in the coming years we'll find more fossils and new ways to ask these questions,” she says.

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Source: www.newscientist.com

The Surprising Benefits of Running Slower for a Longer, Healthier Life – Here’s the Science behind It

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Slowing down isn’t typically a priority for runners. From elite athletes to casual runners, the focus is usually on speed, personal records, competition, and pushing limits.

However, the concept of slow running has gained popularity recently. It’s not just a trend promoted by social media influencers, but also endorsed by coaches, runners, and scientists.

What are the benefits of running slowly?

The idea is that running at a slower pace can actually yield faster results in terms of exercise benefits.

“For example, running slowly can lower your resting blood pressure and strengthen your heart,” says Professor Dan Gordon. “It still challenges the body but without the need for excessive stress to achieve cardiovascular improvements,” adds Jonathan Myers, an exercise physiologist at Anglia Ruskin University.

Running slowly is typically defined as a pace where you can comfortably hold a conversation. It’s an effort level of 4 or 5 on a scale of 1 to 10, with 10 being a sprint. This type of exercise, known as “Zone 2 exercise” in sports science, is considered to be a sweet spot for promoting longevity and overall health.

A study in Copenhagen found that light and moderate joggers had lower mortality rates than non-runners and intense runners. Vigorous joggers did not show significantly different mortality rates from non-runners.

Running slowly is beneficial for heart health, enhances metabolic functions, and improves mental well-being. It can prevent metabolic diseases, improve insulin sensitivity, and boost mitochondrial density in cells, leading to improved energy utilization.

Improved mental and physical health

Slow runners experience faster recovery, reduced risk of overtraining-related fatigue and injuries, and generally feel better overall.

“Slow running has a positive impact on mental health and social well-being,” says Gordon. “It allows for social interactions, which can motivate individuals to stay active and enjoy the process without pressure to perform.”

What we’re starting to realize is that you don’t need intense stress on your body to see cardiovascular benefits.

Gordon believes promoting slow running in groups can encourage more people to stay active consistently, as the social support can enhance motivation and enjoyment of the activity.

More Gains, Less Pain

Contrary to the belief that speed is essential for improvement, researchers suggest that slow running can yield significant results. Elite runners, for example, often perform majority of their training at a slow pace to build a strong aerobic base and enhance cardiovascular efficiency.

This concept of an “Aerobic Base” emphasizes the importance of improving cardiovascular capacity to enhance overall running performance. By running slowly, you can increase endurance, speed, and efficiency while reducing exertion.

In summary, slowing down not only improves longevity but also enhances running abilities in the long run.

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About our expert, Professor Dan Gordon

Dan Gordon is an Associate Professor at the Health and Technology Research Centre, Anglia Ruskin University, South East England. With over 20 years of experience in sports physiology, he specializes in endurance physiology assessment.

Source: www.sciencefocus.com