Bowhead whales are among the longest-lived mammals with an extreme lifespan of about 211 years. During the first 25 years of their lives, rib bones increase in mineral density and the medulla transitions from compact to trabecular bone. Molecular …
Osteoarthritis (OA) is the most prevalent joint degenerative disease leading to irreversible structural and functional changes in the joint and is a major cause of disability and reduced life expectancy in ageing population. Despite the high …
Cranial synchondroses are cartilaginous joints between basicranial bones or between basicranial bones and septal cartilage, and have been implicated as having a potential active role in determining craniofacial form. However, few studies have…
Objectives: Variation in primate masticatory form and function has been extensively researched through both morphological and experimental studies. As a result, symphyseal fusion in different primate clades has been linked to either the recruitment…
Understanding the interactions between neural and musculoskeletal systems is key to identifying mechanisms of functional failure. Mammalian swallowing is a complex, poorly understood motor process. Lesion of the recurrent laryngeal nerve, a sensory…
In mice, the caller's production of social vocalizations has been extensively studied but the effect of these vocalizations on the listener is less understood, with playback studies to date utilizing one vocalization category or listeners of one sex.…
Parkinson’s disease (PD) is the second most prevalent neurodegenerative disease worldwide behind Alzheimer’s disease. One prominent feature of PD is the marked loss of dopaminergic and motor dysfunction. Currently, there are no therapies to…
Lymphatic anomalies (LA) are rare conditions characterized by abnormal vascularization of lymphatic vessels (lymphangiogenesis). Gorham‐Stout Disease (GSD) is an aggressive type of LA which invades cortical bone and makes it “disappear”. There is…
The order Cetacea (dolphins, whales, and porpoises) evolved from terrestrial artiodactyls (even‐toed ungulates) around 50 million years ago. This transition from land to water occurred over an evolutionarily short period of less than 10 million years…
It has been hypothesized that the human sphenoid bone is uniquely truncated, which in turn contributes to a reduction of forward midfacial growth. If so, the perinatal fusion of the intrasphenoidal synchondrosis (ISS) in humans may contribute to…
Infant mammalian feeding is a complex process that requires the integration of different behaviors and over twenty‐five muscles controlled by multiple cranial nerves. Despite extensive characterization of muscle activity during a feeding sequence,…
Architectural characteristics of skeletal muscles are important determinants of whole muscle function. Fiber length (Lf) and physiologic cross‐sectional area (PCSA) are correlated with skeletal muscle excursion/contraction velocity and force,…
The basicranium of anthropoid primates is more flexed than in lemurs and lorises (strepsirrhines), which has implications for orientation of facial growth. Differential growth among cranial synchondroses is one suggested mechanism for variation in…
OBJECTIVE: Lysosomes are the major catabolic organelle of the cell and regulate the macromolecular and organelle turnover and programmed cell death. Here, we investigated the lysosome dysfunction in cartilage and its role in chondrocytes apoptosis…
Mitochondrial function is impaired in osteoarthritis (OA) but its impact on cartilage catabolism is not fully understood. Here, we investigated the molecular mechanism of mitochondrial dysfunction-induced activation of catabolic response in …
Mammalian infants must be able to integrate the acquisition, transport, and swallowing of food in order to effectively feed. Understanding how these processes are coordinated is critical, as they have differences in neural control and sensitivity…
PURPOSE: Transposable elements are known to remodel gene structure and provide a known source of genetic variation. Retrotransposon gag-like-3 (RTL3) is a mammalian retrotransposon-derived transcript (MART) whose function in the skeletal tissue is …
The medial nucleus of trapezoid body (MNTB) is a major source of inhibition in auditory brainstem circuitry. The MNTB projects well-timed inhibitory output to principal sound-localization nuclei in the superior olive (SOC) as well as other …
The ability of humans and animals to localize the source of a sound in a complex acoustic environment facilitates communication and survival. Two cues are used for sound localization at horizontal planes, interaural time and level differences (ITD …
The cetacean visual system is a product of selection pressures favoring underwater vision, yet relatively little is known about it across taxa. Previous studies report several mutations in the opsin genetic sequence in cetaceans, suggesting the …
Little is known about the functions of group II metabotropic glutamate receptors (mGluRs2/3) in the inferior colliculus (IC)-a midbrain structure that is a major integration region of the central auditory system. We investigated how these receptors…
Swallowing in mammals requires the precise coordination of multiple oropharyngeal structures, including the palatopharyngeal arch. During a typical swallow, the activity of the palatopharyngeus muscle produces pharyngeal shortening to assist in…
