A. Kachmar

At the Cavanilles Institute of Biodiversity and Evolutionary Biology of the University of Valencia, researchers have been studying the anatomy of the human head in a unique way, revealing the modularity of the musculoskeletal system and its evolutionary origins. The quantitative technique is called anatomical network analysis (AnNA) and using a computer it maps all sorts of meeting points and interactions between different anatomical components of the head.

The team discovered that the head is broken down into ten different modules, each of which seems to have evolved mostly independently of the other ones.

As [lead researcher Diego Rasskin Gutman] explains, each skull “generated a network model in which each bone was represented as the network node and each physical articulation (contact), as a connection. Thus, each skull was modelled as a 0-1 matrix with each connection being a 1. This matrix served to analyse the network attributes, which could in turn be compared to other generic network properties”.

By using AnNa, which enables the analysis of bones and muscles at the same time, new cranial functional dependences have been uncovered, because muscles —associated to movements— link separate bones. For example, as the researcher points out, the lower jaw / inner ear module shows dependences between bones associated with masticatory muscles and which would not associate otherwise (jaw to parietal, temporal and occipital) as well as inner ear bones.

Moreover, muscle modules “show left/right independence of orofacial muscles (mouth and face) from the upper face muscles. This allows greater flexibility in facial expression for we are able to move facial muscles on either side separately”, he explains.

Study in Scientific Reports: Anatomical networks reveal the musculoskeletal modularity of the human head

Press release: University of Valencia researchers first to describe the modular anatomical structure of the human head

The post New Knowledge About Human Head Revealed, Via Anatomical Network Analysis appeared first on Medgadget.

In a clear play to get Dropbox users over into their own cloud storage camp, Microsoft is offering an extra 100 GB of OneDrive storage for free for a year.

Read more...

Round one goes to the octopus, round two to the cat.

Read more...

Here’s a look at what’s been happening in Photoshop and pop culture this week.

• Uh oh… unretouched photos of Beyonce have leaked online. [Defamer]
• Adobe celebrates 25 years of Photoshop with 60 seconds of artistry. [The Verge]
• This is what Adobe Photoshop looked like 25 years ago. [Venture Beat]

• The 20 Most Awkward Celebrity Encounters Ever Captured On Camera. [Web Humor]
• David Lopera makes celebrities plus-sized with Photoshop. [Bustle]
• Through the Magic of Photoshop: Biden Bidening. [The Washington Post]
• You had me at “Roman soldier waving an animated fiery sword.” [Clients From Hell]

We’ll be back on Monday with more disasters. In the meantime, don’t forget to join us on Facebook, Twitter, and Google+.

The post Photoshop Round-Up: Links We Love appeared first on PSD : Photoshop Disasters .

tetraghost:

i wish birds brought ME presents

Yep!

Working only with layers of painted galvanized wire atop steel armature, UK artist Kendra Haste creates faithful reproductions of creatures large and small for both public installations and private collections around the world. A graduate of the from the Royal College of Art, Haste says she is fascinated by how such a seemingly ordinary medium, chicken wire, is capable of suggesting “the sense of movement and life, of contour and volume, the contrasts of weight and lightness, of solidity and transparency—values that I find in my natural subjects.” She continues about her work with animals:

What interests me most about studying animals is identifying the spirit and character of the individual creatures. I try to create a sense of the living, breathing subject in a static 3D form, attempting to convey the emotional essence without indulging in the sentimental or anthropomorphic.

In 2010, Historic Royal Palaces commissioned Haste to fabricate thirteen sculptures around the Tower of London that will remain on view through 2021. You can see much more in this online gallery, and as part of the Art and the Animal exhibition currently at the Ella Carothers Dunnegan Gallery of Art in Missouri. (thnx, Kat Powers!)

Posture can affect a lot of things, including our confidence and how other people feel about us. Teach yourself good posture by practicing these exercises from the Army Field Manual. Good posture is a habit that pays off over time.

The Army Field Manual features ten exercises that require you to move in a variety of different directions and ways. I found performing Exercise 1, which involves a lot of arm swinging, to be particularly relieving when I get out of my seat. Some of these exercises are pretty conspicuous and may be difficult to do in a suit or formal pants, but a lot of them can still be performed in the workplace.

These exercises are great to get you out of your seat. While you're in your seat, you can do yourself a favor by fixing your computer hunch and other posture problems.

WWII Workout Week: Posture Training | The Art of Manliness

Kool-Aid Cat

4gifs:

You are at a 9 and I need you at a 1. [video]

(photo via kael13)

Video: Red Pandas Having Fun in Fresh Snow at Cincinnati Zoo

gifsboom:

Video: Sunbathing Cats Moving with the Sun

DK's Donuts of Orange, a simple, walk-up donut stand in Orange, California, offers this donut that is anything but simple. 7 Deadly says that it would make cronut inventor "Dominique Ansel to kneel over and sob French tears." That would be a great shame, for it would be sad for Ansel to, like Howard Roark in The Fountainhead, withhold future works of his genius from the world to prevent them from being altered.

What does it taste like? Let the reviewers from 7 Deadly speak:

However, the first bite makes it clear that the cronut-gimmick is merely a vehicle for the punch-in-the-face flavors of the thick Sriracha glaze and generous amount of candied bacon sprinkled on top.

If you’re looking for something “delicate,” this is not the donut for you. This savory behemoth is a Sriracha-soaked, protein-packed meal that just happens to be on a cronut-like pastry. There’s a faint hint of sugar from the dough, but that quickly gets lost as the spicy, meaty heat overwhelms every square centimeter of your tongue.

Pixel Heroes: Byte & Magic is a retro role-playing video game by developer The Bitfather (and published by Headup Games) that uses elements from the roguelike genre–randomized world and so on–to provide an experience full of dangerous dungeons and exciting encounters. The trailer for the game–which is also lovingly retro–is particularly amusing.

Pixel Heroes: Byte & Magic is currently available on Steam.

“Listen! The end is nigh!! Hear my words and prepare! An ancient cult has set foot in our lands! They call themselves -The Sons of Dawn- and pray to some dark elder god. They have started recruiting people for their cause all over the country. I fear that they want to try to awaken something which should be left sleeping. Something dangerous and sinister! Something that might destroy us all. Spend your last of days wisely…”

images via Headup Games

via Polygon

Saiga Antelope | Source: Global Animal 
 
The wonderfully odd creature pictured above is the critically endangered saiga antelope, native to the Eurasian Steppe region. The saiga's unusual nose filters out dust generated by the movement of its herd and warms the air it inhales in the cold winters of its habitat. Hunting and loss of habitat has caused a severe decrease of the saiga population by as much as 95% in the last 15 years. 

The gharial, pictured below, is native to India and once inhabited most of its river systems. Now, with only an estimated 235 gharials left in the world, the species is listed as critically endangered by the IUCN. This 350-pound, 20-foot long reptile is threatened due to loss of habitat and overfishing by humans. 

See 28 other animal species that could become extinct in our lifetime here. 

Gharial | Source: Global Animal

Courtney shared this story from Super Opinionated.

---

The above sign can be seen at San Diego International Airport across from the Virgin America gates. Photo by Mario Inchiosa.

For the last two years, Evil Mad Scientist Laboratories has released a set of spectacularly witty Valentines Day cards for that special engineer in your life.

You can download the full set — including the 2013 cards — here, a 500 kB pdf document.

Read more.

L’artiste hongrois István Orosz imagine des illustrations anamorphiques incroyables. Il dessine et peint des images qui semblent n’avoir aucun sens jusqu’à ce que vous placiez un miroir cylindrique au sommet de l’oeuvre d’art. István utilise de des algorithmes qui lui permettent de concrétiser ses idées sur le papier.

(via togifs:video)

This is how it starts: you feel bad seeing the robot "dog" get kicked, and the next thing you know it's nipping at your heels, pushing you back to work in the salt mines. Instead of using the film and TV trope to illustrate how morally bankrupt a vil...