How modern life is transforming human skeleton

[Still Waters]

From the emergence of a spiky growth at the back of some people’s skulls to the enigmatic finding that our elbows are getting narrower, our bones are changing in surprising ways.

Today it’s an established fact that our skeletons are surprisingly malleable. The pure white remains displayed in museums may seem solid and inert, but the bones beneath our flesh are very much alive – they’re actually pink with blood vessels – and they’re constantly being broken down and rebuilt. So although each person’s skeleton develops according to a rough template set out in their DNA, it is then tailored to accommodate the unique stresses of their life.

http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20190610-how-modern-life-is-transforming-the-human-skeleton

[aztek]

Press your fingers into the back of your skull, just above your neck. If you feel a small spike you may be among people whose body has responded to smartphone use by growing new layers of bone.  The phenomenon involves what is known as an  external occipital protuberance:  a growth which appears on the back of the head. David Shahar, a health scientist at the University of The Sunshine Coast, Australia, told BBC.com that in the last decade of his 20 year career he has noticed more patients have the protrusion which was once considered rare. 

Describing the phenomenon dubbed "text neck," Shahar told BBC.com that as we look down at devices like smartphones and tablets, our necks must work to keep our heads in place. Prolonged straining could lead the body to build new bone to increase the surface area holding up this mass. 

 

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/technology/humans-have-started-growing-spikes-in-the-back-of-their-skulls-because-we-use-smartphones-so-much/ar-AACTeeJ?li=BBnb7Kz

[XenoFish]

I've got this, but it's from once having poor posture...

[Stiff]

Mrs Stiff has this also. But it has nothing to do with either of the above.

[+OverSword]

I've forwarded the article to all the millennials in the office.

[Unusual Tournament]

Really folks? Its too soon to be the April fools day. 

[Buzz_Light_Year]

[David Thomson]

I have had this bone protrusion since I was a kid and that was long before cell phones were invented. Besides, I don't even use cell phones, today, I'm deaf.

[AllPossible]

It's just the new antenna to help us communicate globally.

[Duke Wellington]

18 hours ago, aztek said:

Press your fingers into the back of your skull, just above your neck. If you feel a small spike you may be among people whose body has responded to smartphone use by growing new layers of bone.  The phenomenon involves what is known as an  external occipital protuberance:  a growth which appears on the back of the head. David Shahar, a health scientist at the University of The Sunshine Coast, Australia, told BBC.com that in the last decade of his 20 year career he has noticed more patients have the protrusion which was once considered rare. 

Describing the phenomenon dubbed "text neck," Shahar told BBC.com that as we look down at devices like smartphones and tablets, our necks must work to keep our heads in place. Prolonged straining could lead the body to build new bone to increase the surface area holding up this mass. 

 

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/technology/humans-have-started-growing-spikes-in-the-back-of-their-skulls-because-we-use-smartphones-so-much/ar-AACTeeJ?li=BBnb7Kz

I have always had one of them long before the invention of the mobile phone.

I guess I have Neanderthal DNA (which is where it comes from in most people) lol.

[Seti42]

'Spike' is a bit misleading, it's more like a ridge.

[Unfortunately]

Woah, people are on their phones enough that evolution has noticed? 

No spike for me! Not sure if that's a good or bad thing. 

[Black Red Devil]

On 6/14/2019 at 12:56 AM, Still Waters said:

From the emergence of a spiky growth at the back of some people’s skulls to the enigmatic finding that our elbows are getting narrower, our bones are changing in surprising ways.

 

Yeah, tell me about it!

[+DanL]

It isn't about evolution. It is simply that if you use a muscle the bones that the muscle attaches to grow and are denser. People that read a lot of books and spend lots of time looking down will have a very similar growth. You can look at a skeleton and tell if they were left or right handed and in many cases identify certain trades that cause specific muscular and skelital adaptations.

[Big Jim]

Maybe certain people have this adaptive growth but until it is passed on we can't say humans are growing it.

[Duke Wellington]

4 minutes ago, Big Jim said:

Maybe certain people have this adaptive growth but until it is passed on we can't say humans are growing it.

Only females pass on transcription factors.

I dont think any research has been to uncover if this causes a transcription factor.

[godnodog]

This is weird, because I love to grab her by her poney tale hair