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The test results dispute a widely accepted theory. Some scientists believe the ape from Greece was the last common ancestor to both modern African apes and humans. They say the last common ancestor began life in Africa and then moved to Asia and Europe. Under this theory, the ancient ape returned to Africa where it developed into humans.
Millions of people break a hip at some time in their lives. In the United States alone, more than three hundred twenty thousand people suffer broken hips each year.
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One study included adults sixty-six years of age or older. Researchers collected nine years of information about eight thousand women. The researchers also studied five years of information about almost six thousand men. All those studied were tested for bone density. People who showed lower bone density suffered more high-trauma fractures.
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Chickens at a market in Bangkok. |
And I'm Barbara Klein. This week, we will tell how a deadly bird flu virus is able to infect people. We will also tell about two studies of broken hipbones. And, we report on the discovery of ancient ape remains in Africa.
The researchers used several methods to find Nakali's age. They compared the fossils with remains of ancient horse-like creatures called hipparions. The hipparions had already been found to be ten million to eleven million years old. Geologists on the team collected rocks from the Nakali area. The geologists used radiation to learn the ages of the rocks. The team then combined all the methods to estimate the ape's age. Mister Kunimatsu reported that Nakali lived about nine point eight to nine point nine million years ago.
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Miz Mackey's team found that women with osteoporosis were two times as likely to get each kind of fracture than other women. Men who had osteoporosis were three times as likely as other men.
Recently, other ape fossils from that period reportedly were found in eastern Africa. An aide to fossil researchers found an ape's canine tooth about two years ago in Ethiopia. Last year, this research group found eight more teeth from the same kind of animal in the same place. Gen Suwa of the University of Tokyo led the researchers. He says the creature may have been a direct ancestor of a gorilla. Or, he says it may have been an animal that developed teeth like a gorilla but died out over time.
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Researchers in the United States have found an important reason why a virus known to kill birds has not infected many people. They found that the bird flu virus only infects people when it connects with one kind of cell receptor.
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Scientists say this discovery should help them develop a more effective way to observe changes in the bird flu virus. They now know to look for viruses that can connect to the umbrella shaped receptors. The knowledge could also lead to a vaccine against the bird flu virus.
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Dawn Mackey led the study. She works at the Pacific Medical Center Research Institute in San Francisco, California. Some women in the study had a high-trauma hip fracture during the period they were observed. These women had about eight percent less bone density than women who did not suffer such breaks. Men with high-trauma fractures had about six percent less bone density than the other men.
Mister Kunimatsu's team named the ape Nakalipthecus nakayamai ?or just Nakali. The jawbone held three teeth. The researchers also found eleven other ape teeth.
The Journal of the American Medical Association reported on a separate study of hip fractures. Jane Cauley of the University of Pittsburgh led a team that studied thousands of older women. Her team formed a step-by-step process. The process measured a woman's threat for hip fractures over five years.
The jawbone fossils came from volcanic soil in Nakali, an area forty kilometers from the Rift Valley. In the past, other fossils were found there.
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The Journal of the American Medical Association recently published two studies about hip fractures. The studies may help doctors identify people's risks of broken bones during their later years.
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Mister Kunimatsu said the animal was about the size of a female gorilla or orangutan. He said the teeth showed the ape could have crushed hard food. The teeth are similar to those of another ancient ape that lived in what is now Greece.
This is SCIENCE IN THE NEWS in VOA Special English. I'm Bob Doughty.
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The victims seem to have become infected as a result of being with or near birds. Experts fear the h-five-h-one virus could change and develop the ability to pass from one person to another.
Researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology reported their discovery in the publication Nature Biotechnology.
