Search research articles

ABOUT JoVE

Overview Leadership Blog JoVE Help Center

AUTHORS

Publishing Process Editorial Board Scope & Policies Peer Review FAQ Submit

LIBRARIANS

Testimonials Subscriptions Access Resources Library Advisory Board FAQ

RESEARCH

JoVE Journal Methods Collections JoVE Encyclopedia of Experiments Archive

EDUCATION

JoVE Core JoVE Business JoVE Science Education JoVE Lab Manual Faculty Resource Center Faculty Site

Terms & Conditions of Use

Related Concept Videos

Facial Feedback Hypothesis

Facial Feedback Hypothesis

Charles Darwin proposed that facial expressions are an evolutionary adaptation for communication. He argued that these expressions are not influenced by culture but are universal across species. For example, a snarling expression with exposed teeth signals a threat in many animals, including humans. Darwin also suggested that displaying an emotion can intensify the feeling. Smiling, for example, could enhance one's sense of happiness. This idea laid the foundation for understanding the role of...

What is Natural Selection?

What is Natural Selection?

Natural selection is an evolutionary process in which individuals with survival-promoting traits reproduce at higher rates. These favorable traits become more common within a population or species. Naturally selected traits initially arise via random genetic mutations. In order for selection to occur, there must be variation within a population, the trait controlling the variation must be heritable, and there must be an evolutionary advantage for variation in the trait.The Theory of Natural...

Decreased Body Temperature

Decreased Body Temperature

A decreased body temperature can occur in patients with hypothermia and frostbite. Heat loss with extended cold exposure overpowers the body's ability to create heat, resulting in hypothermia. Core temperature readings help classify hypothermia. Mild hypothermia is temperatures between 32 °C (89.6 °F) and 35°C (95 °F) and is caused by impaired thermoregulation. Moderate hypothermia is temperatures between 28 C (82.4 °F) and 32 °C (89.6 °F) caused by sustained extreme cold exposure, and severe...

Responses to Heat and Cold Stress

Responses to Heat and Cold Stress

Every organism has an optimum temperature range within which healthy growth and physiological functioning can occur. At the ends of this range, there will be a minimum and maximum temperature that interrupt biological processes.

Prosopagnosia

Prosopagnosia

Prosopagnosia, also known as face blindness, is the inability to recognize faces. In severe cases, individuals with prosopagnosia may not recognize close family members, including parents and spouses, by their faces. For instance, someone with prosopagnosia might walk past their child in a crowd, only realizing their mistake upon noticing their child's distinctive backpack or favorite jacket. Prosopagnosia specifically impairs facial recognition, while the recognition of other objects or...

Thermoregulation

Thermoregulation

The human body has a sophisticated thermoregulation system that employs negative feedback mechanisms to maintain an optimal core temperature. When the core temperature drops, peripheral and central thermoreceptors send signals to the hypothalamus, activating the heat-promoting center. This center triggers several responses aimed at increasing the core temperature. First, vasoconstriction reduces the flow of warm blood from internal organs to the skin so that the heat is not lost from the skin,...

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by

Same author

Comparative primate analysis shows that humans are not unique in having a tight cephalopelvic fit at birth.

Nature ecology & evolution·2026

Same author

The Genomic Legacy of the Norman Conquest in Rural England.

bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology·2026

Same author

Variation in Pubic Symphysis Fusion Across Primates: Implications for Obstetric Adaptation.

American journal of biological anthropology·2025

Same author

Testing the reliability of the rearticulation of osteological primate pelves in comparative morphological studies.

Anatomical record (Hoboken, N.J. : 2007)·2023

Same author

Extreme glacial cooling likely led to hominin depopulation of Europe in the Early Pleistocene.

Science (New York, N.Y.)·2023

Same author

The Logical Basis for the use of Continuous Characters in Phylogenetic Systematics.

Cladistics : the international journal of the Willi Hennig Society·2021

Search research articles

Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jun 5, 2026

Liver Cold Storage and Transplantation in the Cold-Adaptive Daurian Ground Squirrels

Liver Cold Storage and Transplantation in the Cold-Adaptive Daurian Ground Squirrels

Published on: July 3, 2025

The Neanderthal face is not cold adapted.

Todd C Rae¹, Thomas Koppe, Chris B Stringer

¹Centre for Research in Evolutionary Anthropology, Department of Life Sciences, Roehampton University, Holybourne Avenue, London, United Kingdom. t.rae@roehampton.ac.uk

Journal of Human Evolution

|December 25, 2010

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

Neanderthal paranasal sinuses were not larger than those of modern humans after accounting for skull size. This challenges the cold adaptation theory for Neanderthal facial structure, suggesting alternative explanations are needed.

More Related Videos

Reconstructing Terrestrial Paleoclimate and Paleoecology with Fossil Leaves Using Digital Leaf Physiognomy and Leaf Mass Per Area

Reconstructing Terrestrial Paleoclimate and Paleoecology with Fossil Leaves Using Digital Leaf Physiognomy and Leaf Mass Per Area

Published on: October 25, 2024

Reverse Dissection and DiceCT Reveal Otherwise Hidden Data in the Evolution of the Primate Face

Reverse Dissection and DiceCT Reveal Otherwise Hidden Data in the Evolution of the Primate Face

Published on: January 7, 2019

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: Jun 5, 2026

Liver Cold Storage and Transplantation in the Cold-Adaptive Daurian Ground Squirrels

Liver Cold Storage and Transplantation in the Cold-Adaptive Daurian Ground Squirrels

Published on: July 3, 2025

Reconstructing Terrestrial Paleoclimate and Paleoecology with Fossil Leaves Using Digital Leaf Physiognomy and Leaf Mass Per Area

Reconstructing Terrestrial Paleoclimate and Paleoecology with Fossil Leaves Using Digital Leaf Physiognomy and Leaf Mass Per Area

Published on: October 25, 2024

Reverse Dissection and DiceCT Reveal Otherwise Hidden Data in the Evolution of the Primate Face

Reverse Dissection and DiceCT Reveal Otherwise Hidden Data in the Evolution of the Primate Face

Published on: January 7, 2019

Area of Science:

Paleoanthropology
Evolutionary biology
Bioarchaeology

Background:

Pleistocene hominin Homo neanderthalensis morphology, particularly large paranasal sinuses, has been attributed to cold adaptation.
This interpretation relies on assumptions about craniofacial pneumatization and Neanderthal sinus size.

Purpose of the Study:

To test the assumption that Neanderthals possessed relatively large paranasal sinuses.
To evaluate the relationship between craniofacial pneumatization and cold adaptation in Homo neanderthalensis.

Main Methods:

Analysis of two-dimensional (2D) X-ray data and three-dimensional (3D) computed tomography (CT) scans.
Regression analysis of sinus measurements against cranial size in Neanderthals and Homo sapiens.

Main Results:

Neanderthal craniofacial pneumatization is commensurate with cranial size and comparable to Homo sapiens.
Sinus volume in extreme cold may actually decrease, challenging the cold adaptation hypothesis.

Conclusions:

The distinctive Neanderthal facial form is unlikely a direct result of increased pneumatization or cold adaptation.
Alternative explanations for Neanderthal morphology are required.