<![CDATA[SOCIAL AND TEMPORAL DYNAMICS OF BONE LOSS - NEWS]]>Thu, 16 Jul 2026 06:17:22 -0700Weebly<![CDATA[paper accepted in journal of bone and mineral metabolism]]>Sun, 28 Jun 2026 23:17:39 GMThttps://www.bone-loss.com/news/paper-accepted-in-journal-of-bone-and-mineral-metabolismWe are very happy to receive acceptance news for our recent mansucript titled "Evaluating Haversian canal-to-osteon ratios for reconstructing bone remodelling activity: balancing precision and efficiency in data collection" in the Journal of Bone and Mineral Metabolism.

In this paper, led by our postdoc Karen Cooke, we test whether simple ratios between Haversian canal size and secondary osteon size can reliably reconstruct bone remodelling activity, and whether these measurements can be streamlined without losing interpretive power. We evaluate how much biological signal is retained when using efficient, lower‑effort histological measurements versus more labour‑intensive ones.

We look forward to sharing our paper once it's published!]]><![CDATA[congratulations tahlia stewart for passing phd with minor corrections!]]>Thu, 18 Jun 2026 22:37:41 GMThttps://www.bone-loss.com/news/congratulations-tahlia-stewart-for-passing-phd-with-minor-corrections
We are delighted to congratulate Tahlia Stewart on the successful completion of her PhD, passing with minor corrections. Her thesis, Variation in human rib and femur microanatomy with age and other factors: A study of ancient and modern humans, offers an important contribution to bioanthropology and skeletal biology.

Her research examined how microscopic features of the rib and femur change across the human lifespan and how these patterns differ between ancient and modern populations. By integrating histological analysis with broader contextual data, her work provides new insights into ageing processes, activity patterns, and population‑level variation in bone microstructure.

Well done, Tahlia!
]]><![CDATA[What Neanderthal Babies Can Teach Us About Modern Bone Health And Why It Matters for Osteoporosis Today]]>Thu, 18 Jun 2026 00:14:03 GMThttps://www.bone-loss.com/news/what-neanderthal-babies-can-teach-us-about-modern-bone-health-and-why-it-matters-for-osteoporosis-today
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Illustration comparing a Neanderthal (left) and a modern human (right). Credit- Alice Walczer Baldinazzo
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3D reconstruction of Neanderthal child’s tooth and arm bone. Credit - Justyna Miszkiewicz
Bone health begins long before we take our first steps. The foundations of bone strength, density, microstructure, and mineralisation, are laid during fetal development, shaping our lifelong risk of fractures and osteoporosis. Understanding how bones form in early life is therefore essential not only for evolutionary science but also for modern medicine.

Our new study published in Royal Society Open Science offers a rare and remarkable opportunity to explore those foundations deep in our evolutionary past. By analysing the remains of Neanderthal infants, we uncovered clues about how our ancient relatives grew in the womb, and what that can tell us about the biology of bone quality today.

A rare glimpse into Neanderthal infancy
We focus on three exceptionally rare Neanderthal immature remains from Sesselfelsgrotte in southeastern Germany, dating between 90,000 and 50,000 years ago. Infant fossils are almost never preserved, making this dataset one of the most valuable windows into early Neanderthal life. Using high‑resolution micro‑CT scanning, we reconstructed the internal microanatomy of fetal and newborn bones and two children's teeth. Our findings reveal:

  • Prenatal bone development in Neanderthals was strikingly similar to that of modern humans, including the same early bone tissues and growth patterns.
  • Long bones such as the femur and humerus were slightly more advanced than cranial bones, hinting at subtle differences in growth timing or biomechanics.
  • Two of the children showed dental mineralisation defects, signs of metabolic stress, possibly linked to vitamin D or calcium deficiency, that still affect bone health in modern populations.

Why this matters for understanding osteoporosis
Osteoporosis is often described as a disease of ageing, but its roots lie in early development. The microscopic architecture of bone formed in the womb influences how strong or fragile our skeleton remains decades later.

Our research highlights that:
  • Many aspects of bone development are deeply conserved across human evolution, suggesting that the biological foundations of bone strength are ancient and stable.
  • Early-life metabolic stress leaves permanent signatures in bone and teeth, reinforcing the importance of maternal health, nutrition, and environment.
  • Comparing Neanderthal and modern human development helps identify which skeletal traits are evolutionarily robust and which are vulnerable, which is key to understanding why osteoporosis risk varies among individuals today.

By looking to the past, we gain insight into the biological constraints and possibilities of our own bones.

In the news
Our study has attracted wide international coverage (June 2026), some examples below:
Read our full study here: https://royalsocietypublishing.org/rsos/article/13/6/260485/482134/Early-development-of-Neanderthals-revealed-through
]]><![CDATA[phd student phoebe meyrick awarded ashb grant]]>Fri, 15 May 2026 04:09:08 GMThttps://www.bone-loss.com/news/phd-student-phoebe-meyrick-awarded-ashb-grantPhD Student Phoebe Meyrick Awarded 2026 ASHB Studentship for Research on Social Inequality and ​Bone Histology

We are delighted to announce that Phoebe Meyrick, our PhD candidate, has been awarded a 2026 Studentship Grant from the Australasian Society for Human Biology (ASHB). This competitive $2,500 award recognises her innovative research investigating social inequality through bone histology, a project that integrates biological anthropology with questions of lived experience and structural disadvantage. The studentship will support research travel essential to her doctoral work and help cover the costs of specialised laboratory analyses. This achievement reflects both the significance of her research and her growing contribution to the field of human biology.

Congratulations Phoebe! 
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]]><![CDATA[paper accepted in royal society open science]]>Thu, 07 May 2026 02:35:43 GMThttps://www.bone-loss.com/news/paper-accepted-in-royal-society-open-scienceWe are pleased to announce that our paper on Neanderthal perinatal development has now been accepted for publication. Using high-resolution microcomputed tomography, the study reconstructs fetal bone growth and deciduous tooth development in three Neanderthal juveniles from Sesselfelsgrotte, Germany.

The findings show that Neanderthal prenatal skeletal growth was broadly similar to that of modern humans, while also revealing areas of advanced long bone development and evidence of abnormal dentine mineralisation that may indicate developmental stress or systemic disorder.

Together, the study provides new insights into the evolution of human bone growth, skeletal health, and early development in our closest extinct relatives, Homo neanderthalensis.

Out soon in Royal Society Open Science!]]><![CDATA[WCO in Prague]]>Thu, 23 Apr 2026 13:50:21 GMThttps://www.bone-loss.com/news/wco-in-pragueWe had a fantastic time in Prague for WCO, presenting our research and seeing the newest research into osteoporosis. Highlights included a keynote by Kirsten Bos, trends in the use of AI in the diagnosis of bone disease and disorders, bone microarchitecture and its impact on BMD, and new methods in the measurement of BMD.

It was an incredible opportunity to share our research into mortality and bone health in a low SES Medieval population on such a massive international stage, and speak to other ECRs presenting their own bone research. 
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After a conference that provided so much food for thought, in a city as absolutely stunning as Prague, it was difficult to come home again.
]]><![CDATA[Upcoming Conferences]]>Fri, 10 Apr 2026 04:18:58 GMThttps://www.bone-loss.com/news/april-09th-2026The team will be presenting multiple papers at in-person and online conferences all over the globe in the next few months.

First up is the World Congress on Osteoporosis, Osteoarthritis and Musculoskeletal Diseases in Prague (16-19th of April). Our paper is titled "Lower Bone Remodelling and Earlier Mortality in Females: A Historical Example" and was completed in collaboration with Dr Clare McFadden (UQ) and Patrick Mahoney (Uni Kent).

In June, Karen will be presenting a small side project she has been working on with Dr Stacey Ward (ANU) (see our earlier post "On the Road") at the online BeFrail webinar series. The presentation is entitled " Quantification of Periostitis through Confocal Laser Scanning Microscopy and Roughness Analysis". You can register for this talk and others in the BeFrail webinar series here.

And finally, multiple of our lab members have been accepted to present at the Congress of the International Federation of Associations of Anatomists in Melbourne over the 13-16th of August. Our presentations include:

Michelman L, Domett K, Anscomb H, Trollope A, Miszkiewicz J. A Bone to Teach: A novel application of the Oxford Histological Index and collagen birefringence qualitative analysis across three preparation stages of skeletal material from human donors. ​

Cooke KC, Miszkiewicz JJ. Systemic bone remodelling assessment and cancer (differential) diagnosis in ancient human remains. ​

Stewart TJ, Schotsmans EMJ, McFarlane G, Mahoney P, Miszkiewicz JJ.  Intra-skeletal variation in cortical bone microstructure: A comparative study of the rib and femur. 

Stewart TJ, Schotsmans EMJ, McFarlane G, Mahoney P, Miszkiewicz JJ. Assessing variation in bone histological parameters between serial human rib midshaft cross-sections. 

Miszkiewicz JJ.  Persistent challenges with age-at-death estimation using human cortical bone histology. 

Miszkiewicz JJ. Ethical stewardship of ancient bone histology collections. Invited talk for symposium by Aland C, Woods S: Praxis and practice: Stewardship of human tissue originating outside body donor programs. ]]><![CDATA[new paper in journal of anatomy]]>Mon, 30 Mar 2026 03:55:33 GMThttps://www.bone-loss.com/news/new-paper-in-journal-of-anatomyWe’re excited to share our new study published in the Journal of Anatomy, where we explored how microscopic structures of human bone scale with femoral cross-sectional size. Using midshaft femur microradiographs from 73 individuals in the Melbourne Femur Research Collection, we set out to test whether cortical thickness and biomechanical properties influence the size and density of secondary osteons produced during remodelling.

In our analysis, we measured cortical‑to‑total area (CA/TA), femoral rigidity (Imax/Imin), osteon area, the ratio of Haversian canal to osteon area (H.Ar/On.Ar), and osteon population density across the anterior, posterior, medial and lateral quadrants. We found strong negative correlations between CA/TA and H.Ar/On.Ar in the full sample, in males, and in a subgroup of sedentary but well‑nourished individuals. In these groups, thicker cortices were associated with less porous osteons, meaning smaller Haversian canals relative to surrounding lamellar bone. Notably, this pattern did not appear in females or in other age and lifestyle categories.

Our findings highlight that bone microstructure does not vary independently of bone size. We argue that allometric effects, particularly cortical thickness, should be incorporated into future assessments of bone remodelling and lifestyle reconstruction to avoid confounding histological interpretations.

Link to our paper: ​https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/joa.70143 
]]><![CDATA[media coverage of recent paper]]>Mon, 23 Mar 2026 22:34:50 GMThttps://www.bone-loss.com/news/march-23rd-2026A paper Justyna co-authord, led by Chloe Boucher, recently published in the International Journal of Osteoarchaeology, received international attention, with major outlets highlighting its significance for understanding disease, disability, and caregiving in early Philippine societies. 

Medium profiled the study as a window into disease and disability during the Metal Period, emphasising how the skeletal evidence reveals the lived experience of impairment in early Philippine communities. 

PhilStar Global News focused on the discovery as rare evidence of prehistoric caregiving, noting that the individual’s long-term survival with severe impairment suggests strong community support and social care practices 2,000 years ago. 

Archaeology Magazine highlighted the identification of scurvy in the remains, underscoring the study’s contribution to understanding micronutrient deficiency, health stress, and the interplay between diet and disability in ancient Luzon.

Link to paper:
Boucher C, Hussin D, Miszkiewicz JJ, Bolunia MJLA, De Leon AS, Peñalosa AL, Pagulayan PS, Soranio V, Oxenam M, Vlok M. 2026. Nutritional deficiency contributing to physical impairment of an individual in the Metal Period Philippines (~2000-1800BP). International Journal of Osteoarchaeology 

Links to the news sites:
What a 2,000-Year-Old Philippine Skeleton Reveals About Disease and Disability During the Metal Period Medium
What prehistoric bones bare about early Filipino caregiving PhilStar Global News
Scurvy detected on 2,000-year-old remains from the Philippines. Archaeology Magazine

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]]><![CDATA[research visit in september]]>Mon, 23 Mar 2026 22:28:07 GMThttps://www.bone-loss.com/news/research-visit-in-septemberWe are delighted that Mr Antony Joseph Cevallos Alava, PhD Candidate at the Universitat Rovira i Virgili (URV), has been awarded an ICON SGroup Intercontinental Academic Exchange Programme grant. As part of this award, Antony will join our lab for a short-term research stay in September. He will collaborate with Justyna on a project investigating bone loss in archaeological populations, drawing on our microscopy facilities. Antony will also contribute to our research training culture by delivering a bioarchaeological methods workshop - more soon!

Well done Antony!]]>