Royal Society Open Science

The use of human diversity classifications like race, ethnicity, ancestry, or migration background entails a range of scientific as well as social consequences, therefore, a careful application is vital. In this article, we present results from a systematic literature review and subsequent quantitative content analysis based on 546 papers focusing on classifications applied in life sciences studies at German research institutions. Our aim is to capture a snap-shot of current classification practices applied to categorize humans across various disciplines and fields in a specific national context that remains underexposed in this regard. The review substantiates a) the results from earlier studies that point to heterogeneity, inconsistency and vagueness of human classifications used in the life sciences, and b) underlines the presumed specificity of the German science context, where the term "race" is comparatively little used. Our findings stress the need for German researchers to partake in the ongoing international debate on the practice of human classification in the life sciences to advance the international and interdisciplinary transferability of scientific results and, first and foremost, to avoid unintended effects such as overgeneralization, racialization, and stigmatization.

Mandibular shape variability and effects of age and sex were explored in an adult human sample using dense landmarking and geometric morphometrics. We segmented 50 male and 50 female mandibular surfaces from CBCT images (age range: 18.9 to 73.7 years). Nine fixed landmarks and 496 sliding semilandmarks were digitized on the mandibular surface, and then slid by minimizing bending energy against the average shape. Principal component analysis extracted the main patterns of shape variation. Sexes were compared with permutation tests and allometry was assessed by regressing on the log of the centroid size. Almost 49 percent of shape variation was described by the first three principal components. Shape variation was related to width, height and length proportions, variation of the angle between ramus and corpus, height of the coronoid process and inclination of the symphysis. Significant sexual dimorphism was detected, both in size and shape. Males were larger than females, had a higher ramus, more pronounced gonial angle, larger inter-gonial width, and more distinct antegonial notch. Accuracy of sexing based on the first two principal components in form space was 91 percent. The degree of edentulism was weakly related to mandibular shape. Age effects were not significant.

Academic institutions privilege norms of continuous productivity and uninterrupted availability, creating conformity pressures that systematically disadvantage those who deviate from an implicit template of the ideal academic. This study explores how doctoral students and faculty in the health sciences perceive the reproduction of social homogeneity. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with nine participants at a German university hospital. Data were analysed using reflexive thematic analysis with extended idiographic engagement. Participants perceived homogeneity as reproduced through external exclusion, enacted by others through networks, normative expectations, or institutional arrangements, and self-exclusion, whereby individuals withdrew, reduced visibility, or reshaped identity in anticipation of exclusion ( anticipatory compliance). Across both processes, the tacit norm of the ideal academic organised access and belonging. Supportive supervision and visible role models were perceived as partial buffers but did not structurally alter underlying norms. Interpreted through the social identity threat framework, these findings are consistent with a self-reinforcing cycle: structural homogeneity may generate identity-threatening environments that activate concealment and withdrawal, concentrating homogeneity further. These findings suggest that achieving substantive inclusion requires challenging the structural conditions that naturalise presence, mobility, and availability as measures of academic success.

Large language models (LLMs) like ChatGPT often exhibit Type 1 thinking--fast, intuitive reasoning that relies on familiar patterns--which can be dangerously simplistic in complex medical or ethical scenarios requiring more deliberate analysis. In our recent explorations, we observed that LLMs frequently default to well-known answers, failing to recognize nuances or twists in presented situations. For instance, when faced with modified versions of the classic "Surgeons Dilemma" or medical ethics cases where typical dilemmas were resolved, LLMs still reverted to standard responses, overlooking critical details. Even models designed for enhanced analytical reasoning, such as ChatGPT-o1, did not consistently overcome these limitations. This suggests that despite advancements toward fostering Type 2 thinking, LLMs remain heavily influenced by familiar patterns ingrained during training. As LLMs are increasingly integrated into clinical practice, it is crucial to acknowledge and address these shortcomings to ensure reliable and contextually appropriate AI assistance in medical decision-making.

This study, for the first time, explores the integration of data science and machine learning for the classification and prediction of coronary artery calcium (CAC) scores, investigating both tooth loss and patient characteristics as key input features. By employing these advanced analytical techniques, we aim to enhance the accuracy of classifying CAC scores into tertiles and predicting their values. Our findings reveal that patient characteristics are particularly effective for tertile classification, while tooth loss provides more accurate predicted CAC scores. Moreover, the combination of patient characteristics and tooth loss demonstrates improved accuracy in identifying individuals at higher risk of cardiovascular issues related to CAC. This research contributes valuable insights into the relationship between oral health indicators, such as tooth loss, patient characteristics, and cardiovascular health, shedding light on their potential roles in predictive modeling and classification tasks for CAC scores.

Taxonomic identification of bone is one of the building blocks of zooarchaeological research into human foraging behaviour. However, it can prove difficult in regions, such as Australia, that have biodiverse taxa that are difficult to differentiate using bone morphology. One such case are the kangaroos and wallabies (macropods), one of the most speciose groups of marsupials whose remains are frequently recovered from Australian archaeological sites. Despite their clear importance to Indigenous economies, little research has been undertaken on how to reliably differentiate the postcranial remains of extant macropods. Here we address this gap by applying three-dimensional geometric morphometrics to describe how the astragalus and calcaneus differs between several large macropod genera. We describe taxonomically diagnostic anatomical attributes between genera and identify the size related (allometric) shape variation that could be mistaken for taxonomic differences. We then compare several machine learning models to demonstrate how these can be applied to geometric morphometric data to statistically classify unknown specimens from palaeozoological contexts with a high degree of accuracy. Our results show that non-linear methods of supervised machine learning outperform classical discriminant function analysis when used on our geometric morphometric data. Statistical classification of palaeozoological specimens has the potential to be a valuable tool, where differentiating skeletal remains of closely related taxa continues to prove challenging.

ConsultantThe UK has been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic and London in particular has experienced a large number of cases. The London Underground is a key part of the transport for London. The UK Government has implemented social distancing rules meaning that people should be 2 metres from each other. The current paper models the impact of the social distancing on the carrying capacity of 10 different underground and overground carriages. The model determines the optimal standing and seating capacity for the different carriages and identifies logistical approaches to the seating and standing arrangements.

Recent research has produced evidence for basic combinatorial abilities in the vocal systems of different animal species. Here, we investigate the structure of gesture sequences in Eastern chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes schweinfurthii) to detect whether gestural communication shows non-random combinations and how combinatorial rules influence predictability. Gesture, as compared to vocalization, offers greater flexibility in how signals are combined--for example overlapping in time -- and as the parsing of signals into sequences is dependent on researcher decisions, we employ a multiverse approach, considering four different definitions of what constitutes a sequence based on varying time thresholds. Our results indicate that sequences tend to be short (even with the most liberal time-window) and that transitions between some gesture types occur more frequently than expected by chance, with some transitions showing significant association across all time-windows. These transitions often involve repetition, suggesting persistence as a key aspect of chimpanzee gestural sequences. Information about previous gestures reduced uncertainty in predicting subsequent gestures. The order of gestures within sequences appears to be less critical than their cooccurrence, challenging assumptions based on the linear patterning derived from vocal communication. Our findings highlight the importance of methodological choices in sequence definition and suggest that chimpanzee gestural communication is characterised by a mix of predictability and flexibility, with implications for understanding the evolution of complex communication systems.

This study aimed to investigate morphological changes in the mandible of subjects in archaeological collections associated with the presence of bony exostoses at the mandibular angle, which are described in the literature as related to specific behaviours of the manducatory apparatus like parafunctional activities. The skeletal sample investigated comprised adult individuals from two archaeological series. Sixteen measurements of the mandible were selected to evaluate anatomic variation in the two populations. Mandibles from both series were pooled for statistical analysis into two groups according to the number of exostoses at the mandibular angles: group 1 (number of exostoses [≤]1) and group 2 (number of exostoses [≥] 2). Measurements could be made on eighty mandibles. A statistically significant difference was demonstrated between group 1 and group 2 for the following parameters: distance between mandibular angles, bicondylar width, ramus height, left condyle length, right and left coronoid process height. For each of these parameters, values were higher in group 2 than in group 1. This study presents an original methodology for studying anatomical variations of the mandible in the context of parafunctional activity, highlighting certain mandibular modifications. The impact of parafunctional behaviours such as bruxism on the mandible therefore has many anatomical expressions. The considerable variability of results found in the literature shows that more studies are needed to reach a consensus on the impact of parafunctional activities on the mandible.

Trilobites had biramous appendages with an inner endopodite (walking leg) and outer exopodite (gill) connected to the body through the protopodite (limb base). Whereas both endopodite and protopodite were involved in both locomotion and feeding, the exopodite has been subject to various functional interpretations including respiration, ventilation and swimming. Evidence from sites with exceptional fossil preservation indicate that trilobite exopodites show substantial variability in terms of the number and size of their articles, lamellae and setae, but the implications of this morphological diversity have never been investigated. Here, we created anatomically correct 3D models of exopodites in O. serratus and T. eatoni to calculate the SA of the lamellae and explore its relationship with body size. Our results indicate a large SA for O. serratus at 16,589 mm2 compared to the 2,159 mm2 for the much smaller T. eatoni. We also calculated lamellar SA for nine additional trilobite species with exceptionally well-preserved appendages based on lamellar measurements. The results indicate that lamellae SA of trilobites increased exponentially with overall body size. Trilobite data follows the same trendline of gill SA/biomass observed in extant species and thus supports the interpretation of their exopodites as respiratory structures despite substantial variation in morphology.

This article proposes (and demonstrates the effectiveness of) a new strategy for assessing the results of epidemic models which we designate reproduction. The strategy is to build an independent model that uses (as far as possible) only the published information about the model to be assessed. In the example presented here, the independent model also follows a different modelling approach (agent-based modelling) to the model being assessed (the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine compartmental model which has been influential in COVID lockdown policy). The argument runs that if the policy prescriptions of the two models match then this independently supports them (and reduces the chance that they are artefacts of assumptions, modelling approach or programming bugs). If, on the other hand, they do not match then either the model being assessed is not provided with sufficient information to be relied on or (perhaps) there is something wrong with it. In addition to justifying the approach, describing the two models and demonstrating the success of the approach, the article also discusses additional benefits of the reproduction strategy independent of whether match between policy prescriptions is actually achieved.

When an animal invests space, materials and energy in an eye to meet behavioural needs, the eyes optics and photoreceptor array compete for these resources to improve the eyes performance. To discover how this competition influences eye design, we introduce a new and superior measure of cost, specific volume in {micro}m3 sr-1, that depends on the dimensions of the eyes components, applies to both optics and photoreceptor array, accounts for space, materials and energy (including photoreceptors high metabolic rates), and links investments to an eyes performance via optical, physiological and geometrical constraints. Specific volume enables us to construct a performance surface across the morphospace of an eye of given type and total cost by modelling all of its configurations and determining each models information capacity. We model three eye types, neural superposition and fused-rhabdom apposition compound eyes and a simple (camera type) eye, across a 105-fold range of total cost. Performance surfaces are flat-topped, therefore the optimum configuration lies in a broad high-efficiency zone within which eyes adapted for specific tasks loose <5% of information. This robust region will increase adaptability by reducing loss of function. Comparing optimised models: simple eye information capacity increases as (total cost)0.8 and (total cost)0.55 in apposition eyesm and simple eyes are x10 to x100 more efficient than apposition eyes of the same total cost. In both eye types 30%-80% of total cost is invested in photoreceptor arrays, optimum photoreceptor length increases with total cost and is reduced by photoreceptor energy consumption. Simple eyes photoreceptors are much shorter than apposition eyes and their length more sensitive to energy consumption. We analyse published data that cover the same range of total specific volumes. The apposition eyes of fast-flying diurnal insects follow three trends predicted by our models: photoreceptor arrays are allocated 40% - 80% of total specific volume, spatial resolution and photoreceptor length increase with increasing specific volume, and apposition photoreceptors are much longer than simple. We conclude that photoreceptor costs are considerable and often exceed optical costs. Thus, competition between optics and photoreceptors for resources helps determine eye design, photoreceptor energy cost plays a major role in determining an eyes efficiency and design, and matching investments in optics and photoreceptors to improve efficiency is a design principle. Our new methodology can be developed to view the adaptive radiation of eyes through a cost-benefit lens.

BackgroundArtificial Intelligence (AI) is at the forefront of todays technological revolution, enhancing efficiency in many organisations and sectors. However, in some research environments, its adoption is tempered by the risks AI poses to data protection, ethics, and research integrity. For research funding organisations (RFOs), although there is interest in the application of AI to boost productivity, there is also uncertainty around AIs utility and its safe integration into organisational systems and processes. The scoping review explored: What does the evidence say about the current and emerging use of AI?; What are the potential benefits of AI for RFOs? and What are the considerations and risks of AI for RFOs? MethodsA scoping review was undertaken with no study, language, or field limits. Due to the rapidly evolving AI field, searches were limited to the last three years (2022-2024). Four databases were searched for academic and grey literature in February 2024 (including 13 funding and professional research organisation websites). A classification framework captured the utility and potential, and considerations and risks of AI for RFOs. Results122 eligible articles revealed that current and emerging AI solutions could potentially benefit RFOs by enhancing data processes, administration, research insights, operational management, and strategic decision-making. These solutions ranged from AI algorithms to data management platforms, frameworks, guidelines, and business models. However, several considerations and risks need to be addressed before RFOs can successfully integrate AI (e.g., improving data quality, regulating ethical use, data science training). ConclusionWhile RFOs could potentially benefit from a breadth of AI-driven solutions to improve operations, decision-making and data management, there is a need to assess organisational AI readiness. Although technological advances could be the solution there is a need to address AI accountability, governance and ethics, address societal impact, and the risks to the research funding landscape.

Whilst most humans are right-handed, handedness alone cannot explain the large variability observed in bimanual motor behaviour. Sport-specific motor behaviour provides a natural laboratory for laterality and motor-control research. It is known among floorball players, that Europeans more often play using a left-sided grip, whereas most Asian players are right-gripped, with no logical explanation. However, the exact grip-side distribution is unknown. The present study investigated the influence of environmental constraints on lateral motor behaviour by assessing geographic variabilities in floorball-specific grip preferences between European and Asian national team floorball players. A small-scale Big Data approach was utilised to collect data on lateral preferences for both field players and goalkeepers from the International Floorball Federation website. Data included 2,935 players representing 40 national teams from three different confederations (Europe, Asia-Oceania, and North America). More than two-thirds of European and North American players preferred a left-sided grip, whereas the same number of Asian-Oceanian players preferred a right-sided grip. To the best of our knowledge, these are the first findings of such large geographic variations in any lateralised motor behaviour. No biological factors are likely responsible for the difference in lateral-preference distribution. Environmental and task-specific constraints are discussed as possible explanations. O_TEXTBOXSummary Box Sport-specific laterality is generally believed to be correlated with general handedness. In floorball, the bimanual grip-preference distribution is the exact opposite for European versus Asian-Oceanian national team field players, whilst goalkeepers throwing-hand preference is similar across all confederations and, thus, aligned with general handedness. Lateral preferences in a sport may develop somewhat independently of athletes general handedness, possibly guided by external environmental factors. C_TEXTBOX

A number of models have posited that the concomitant evolution of large brains and increased body sizes in hominins was constrained by metabolic costs. In such studies, the impact of body temperature has not been sufficiently addressed despite the well-established fact that the rates of most physiological processes are manifestly temperature-dependent. Hence, the role of body temperature in modulating the number of neurons and body size is investigated in this work by means of a simple quantitative model. It is determined that modest deviations in the body temperature (i.e., by a few degrees Celsius) might bring about substantive changes in brain and body parameters. In particular, a higher body temperature might prove amenable to an increase in the number of neurons, a higher brain-to-body mass ratio and fewer hours expended on feeding activities, while the converse applies when the temperature is lowered. It is therefore argued that future studies must endeavour to explore and incorporate the effects of body temperature in metabolic theories of hominin evolution, while also accounting for other factors such as foraging efficiency, diet and fire control in tandem.

Well-preserved specimens of an undescribed species of arthrodiran placoderm, Groenlandaspis howittensis sp. nov. (Middle Devonian of Victoria, Australia), reveals previously unknown information on the dermal skeleton, body-shape and tooth arcade of the wide-spread genus Groenlandaspis. The new material includes, dual pineal plates, extrascapular plates, and cheek bones cheek bones showing the presence of cutaneous sensory organs. The anterior supragnathal, usually a paired element in arthrodires, is a fused medial bone in G. howittensis sp. nov. It is positioned anterior to the occlusion of the mouth between the lower jaw (infragnathals) and upper jaw (posterior supragnathals) bones, indicating a specialised feeding mechanism and broadening the known diversity of placoderm dental morphologies. G. howittensis sp. nov. differs from all other groenlandaspidids by a less pronounced posterior expansion of the nuchal plate; the shape of the posterior dorsolateral plate and the presence of a short accessory canal on the anterior dorsolateral plate. A new phylogenetic analysis positions Groenlandaspididae in a monophyly with the phlyctaeniid families Arctolepidae and Arctaspdidae, however, the specific intrarelationships of groenlandaspidids remain poorly resolved.

Transport tasks are simple tasks whose cost can be easily measured and that are thus well suited to test optimality hypotheses. Here we focus on a particular type of transport that occur when ants are clearing obstacles from their subterranean galleries. In the laboratory we studied how they extract an object from a gallery of various inclinations. We expected that if ants behave optimally, they should remove the object by the gallery extremity requiring the lower energetic effort. At the colony-level, we found that the obstacle was more often extracted by the lower end of the tube, even if this required a higher amount of mechanical work. At the individual level however, ants showed mechanically optimal pulling behaviours in 75% of cases. Our results suggest that individual ants take into account both the inclination of the gallery and the position of the obstacle in it to decide in which direction they pull. In addition, they seem to base their decision to release the obstacle on the relative effort they perceive while pulling. Using a simple simulation model, we argue that the suboptimal extraction bias observed at the colony-level can be explained by the sequential nature of the extraction task.

Contrary to previous beliefs, intentional gestural communication (IGC) is not exclusive to the hominoid lineage but is also present in other non-human primates. Here, we report the presence of IGC among free-ranging Hanuman langur troop in Dakshineswar, West Bengal, India. These langurs exhibit a food-requesting behaviour wherein they use several gestures to communicate with the humans nearby. Moreover, they can also assess the recipients mental state and persistently check if the signal (food request) has been received, waiting until they receive the desired food item. We have identified eight begging gestures used by langurs of all ages, except infants. The most common gesture is by holding cloth (BGc), but provocation-initiated begging (BGpi) and begging by embracing legs (BGe) efficiently direct these events to its success. The frequency of successful begging events is higher in the evening due to increased human interactions. Our findings suggest that ontogenetic ritualization might be at play here among these troop members as this gestural communication has been learned through imitation and reinforced by the reward of receiving food. Moreover, these successful begging events serve as an effective foraging strategy for urban-adapted langurs, allowing them to acquire high-calorie processed food items within a human-modified urban ecosystem.

NHS waiting lists currently sit at record lengths due to a combination of the immediate impact of the pandemic and, as well as, long-run pressures requiring investment on NHS resources. These factors have left managers and clinicians with increasingly complex decisions when scheduling elective operations. It is imperative that managers understand the basic dynamics, tradeoffs, and pressures when managing waiting lists. Queueing theory is a key part of operational research, extensively used throughout manufacturing, retail, information technology and other sectors. This article provides an exposition of the theory of queues within the context of the current NHS backlog. With this information a manager will be able understand the demand, queue size, waiting times, capacity requirements and trade-offs for different waiting lists. We describe the metrics and a reporting system developed to understand waiting list pressures in a large NHS trust. Our aim is to enable managers to better understand their waiting lists, to achieve targets and improve health outcomes.

Prior to lockdown the spread of COVID-19 in UK is found to be exponential, with an exponent =0.207. In case of COVID-19 this spreading behaviour is quantitatively better described with a mobility-driven SIR-SEIR model [2] rather than the homogenous mixing models Lockdown has dramatically slowed down the spread of COVID-19 in UK, and even more significantly, has changed the growth in the total number of infected from exponential to quadratic. This significant change is due to a transition from a mobility-driven epidemic spreading to a spatial epidemic which is dominated by slow growth of spatially isolated clusters of infected population. Our results strongly indicate that, to avoid a return to exponential growth of COVID-19 (also known as "second wave"), mobility restrictions should not be prematurely lifted. Instead mobility should be kept restricted while new measures, such as wearing of masks and contact tracing, get implemented in order to prevent health services becoming overwhelmed due to a resurgence of exponential growth.