Is a Woman’s Preference for Chest Hair in Men Influenced by Parasite Threat?

Archives of Sexual Behavior
October 2013, Volume 42, Issue 7, pp 1181-1189
Cover Date 2013-10-01
DOI 10.1007/s10508-012-0007-7

Pavol Prokop (1,2), Markus J. Rantala (3), Muhammet Usak (4), Ibrahim Senay (5)

1. Department of Biology, Faculty of Education, Trnava University, Priemyselná 4, 918 43, Trnava, Slovakia
2. Institute of Zoology, Slovak Academy of Sciences, Bratislava, Slovakia
3. Department of Biology, University of Turku, Turku, Finland
4. Faculty of Education, Dumlupinar University, Kutahya, Turkey
5. Department of Psychological Counseling, Zirve University, Gaziantep, Turkey

Abstract

Humans (Homo sapiens) are unique primates due to a lack of a thermally insulating fur covering, typical of all other primates. Our primary goal was to examine the “ectoparasite avoidance mediated by mate choice hypothesis” suggesting that women prefer men lacking chest hair in order to avoid ectoparasite loads. We predicted that women living in areas with high prevalence of pathogens (n = 161) would be less likely to show a preference for a male with chest hair in comparison with women living in areas with low pathogen prevalence (n = 183). We found that overall preference for man chest hair was low, but there were no significant associations between perceived vulnerability to diseases or disgust sensitivity and preference of men who have had experimentally removed chest hair. Women who lived in an environment with a high parasite prevalence rate (Turkey) showed a similar preference for man chest hair as did women from an environment with low parasite prevalence (Slovakia). The participants biological fathers’ chest hair had no significant effect on their preference for men with chest hair. Women living in a high-parasite-prevalence environment reported a higher disgust score in the sexual domain and more recent experiences with illnesses, suggesting that parasites influence sensitivity to sexual disgust. These results provide no support for the ectoparasite avoidance hypothesis mediated by mate choice and suggest that shaved men bodies are preferred more by women.

http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10508-012-0007-7

Significant changes in the skin microbiome mediated by the sport of roller derby

PeerJ 1:e53
2013-03-12
http://dx.doi.org/10.7717/peerj.53

James F. Meadow [​1], Ashley C. Bateman [1], Keith M. Herkert [1,2], Timothy K. O’Connor [1,3], Jessica L. Green [1,4]

[1] Biology and the Built Environment Center, Institute of Ecology and Evolution, University of Oregon, Eugene, OR, USA
[2] Oregon Health & Science University, Portland, OR, USA
[3] Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, USA
[4] Santa Fe Institute, Santa Fe, NM, USA

Abstract

Diverse bacterial communities live on and in human skin. These complex communities vary by skin location on the body, over time, between individuals, and between geographic regions. Culture-based studies have shown that human to human and human to surface contact mediates the dispersal of pathogens, yet little is currently known about the drivers of bacterial community assembly patterns on human skin. We hypothesized that participation in a sport involving skin to skin contact would result in detectable shifts in skin bacterial community composition. We conducted a study during a flat track roller derby tournament, and found that teammates shared distinct skin microbial communities before and after playing against another team, but that opposing teams’ bacterial communities converged during the course of a roller derby bout. Our results are consistent with the hypothesis that the human skin microbiome shifts in composition during activities involving human to human contact, and that contact sports provide an ideal setting in which to evaluate dispersal of microorganisms between people.

https://peerj.com/articles/53/

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3628844/

First report of family infestation with pubic louse (Pthirus pubis; Insecta: Anoplura: Pthiridae) in Iran – a case report

Tropical Biomedicine 30(1): 152–154 (Mar 2013)

Dehghani, R. [1], Limoee, M. [2] and Ahaki, A.R. [3]

[1] Environment Health Department College of Health, Kashan University of Medical Sciences, Kashan, I.R.
Iran
[2] Dept. of Public Health and Research Center for Environmental Epidemiology, Kermanshah University of
Medical Sciences, Kermanshah, I.R. Iran
[3] Dept. of Environment Health, Kashan University of Medical Sciences, Kashan, I.R. Iran

Abstract

The sucking lice including the head, body and pubic louse infest humans and so they are of high hygienic importance. Pubic lice are transmitted during sexual contact in adults. Thus, infestation of children with pubis louse is very rare. A case of infestation with pubic louse (Pthirus pubis) in a family in Kashan was seen. On examination of family members, the parasites were collected and observed under the light microscope. Infestation of eyelashes with P. pubis lice was confirmed. Since this parasite can be observed on the skin, infestation with this louse has always been one of the concerns of human communities. Pthiriasis has frequently been reported in many parts of the world; however, there are few reports on this infestation in Iran, especially familial infestation with this louse. Hence, this article could be the first report on the familial infestation with P. pubis in Iran and it can be suggested that infestation with pubic lice occurs in sporadic form in all over the country.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23665721

Shape of a Ponytail and the Statistical Physics of Hair Fiber Bundles

Phys. Rev. Lett. 108, 078101
volume 108, issue 7, pages 078101
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.108.078101
Published 13 February 2012

Raymond E. Goldstein [1], Patrick B. Warren [2], and Robin C. Ball [3]

[1] Department of Applied Mathematics and Theoretical Physics, University of Cambridge, Wilberforce Road, Cambridge CB3 0WA, United Kingdom
[2] Unilever R&D Port Sunlight, Quarry Road East, Bebington, Wirral, CH63 3JW, United Kingdom
[3] Department of Physics, University of Warwick, Coventry, CV4 7AL, United Kingdom

Abstract

A general continuum theory for the distribution of hairs in a bundle is developed, treating individual fibers as elastic filaments with random intrinsic curvatures. Applying this formalism to the iconic problem of the ponytail, the combined effects of bending elasticity, gravity, and orientational disorder are recast as a differential equation for the envelope of the bundle, in which the compressibility enters through an “equation of state.” From this, we identify the balance of forces in various regions of the ponytail, extract a remarkably simple equation of state from laboratory measurements of human ponytails, and relate the pressure to the measured random curvatures of individual hairs.

http://journals.aps.org/prl/abstract/10.1103/PhysRevLett.108.078101

The use of mercury against pediculosis in the Renaissance: the case of Ferdinand II of Aragon, King of Naples, 1467-96

Medical History
Volume 55 / Issue 01 / January 2011, pp 109-115
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/S0025727300006074

Gino Fornaciari*, Silvia Marinozzi, Valentina Gazzaniga, Valentina Giuffra, Malayka Samantha Picchi, Mario Giusiani and Massimo Masetti

Professor Gino Fornaciari and Dr Valentina Giuffra, Department of Oncology, Transplants and Advanced Technologies in Medicine, Division of Palaeopathology, History of Medicine and Bioethics, University of Pisa, Italy;
Dr Silvia Marinozzi and Professor Valentina Gazzaniga, Department of Experimental Medicine, Section of History of Medicine, University of Rome ‘La Sapienza’, Italy;
Dr Malayka Samantha Picchi and Dr Massimo Masetti, Department of Biology, Laboratory of Entomology, University of Pisa;
Professor Mario Giusiani, Department of Neuroscience, Section of Forensic Medicine, University of Pisa.

*Primary address for correspondence: Professor Gino Fornaciari, Divisione di Paleopatologia, Storia della Medicina e Bioetica, Dipartimento di Oncologia, dei Trapianti e delle Nuove Tecnologie in Medicina, Università di Pisa, via Roma 57, 56126 Pisa, Italy.

Abstract

The hair samples of Ferdinand II of Aragon (1467–1496), King of Naples, whose mummy is preserved in the Basilica of San Domenico Maggiore in Naples, showed a high content of mercury, with a value of 827ppm. Furthermore, examination using a stereomicroscope and a scanning electron microscope (SEM) of head and pubic hairs of Ferdinand II, revealed a lice infestation. The reasons for the massive presence of the mercury in the king's hair are discussed and contemporary literature regarding the use of this metal in medical therapies and in cosmetic practices is analysed. As a result, the high value of mercury in the hair of Ferdinand II can be attributed to antipediculosis therapy, applied as a topic medicament. This case represents an important finding for the history of medicine, because demonstrates that in the Renaissance mercury was applied locally not only to treat syphilis, as well attested by direct and indirect sources, but also to prevent or eliminate lice infestation.

http://journals.cambridge.org/action/displayAbstract?fromPage=online&aid=8516973

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3037217/

http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC3037217/

Microbiological Laboratory Hazard of Bearded Men

Appl Microbiol. Jul 1967; 15(4): 899–906

Manuel S. Barbeito, Charles T. Mathews, and Larry A. Taylor

Industrial Health and Safety Office, Fort Detrick, Frederick, Maryland 21701

Abstract

An investigation was conducted to evaluate the hypothesis that a bearded man subjects his family and friends to risk of infection if his beard is contaminated by infectious microorganisms while he is working in a microbiological laboratory. Bearded and unbearded men were tested with Serratia marcescens and Bacillus subtilis var. niger. Contact aerosol transmission from a contaminated beard on a mannequin to a suitable host was evaluated with both Newcastle disease virus and Clostridium botulinum toxin, type A. The experiments showed that beards retained microorganisms and toxin despite washing with soap and water. Although washing reduced the amount of virus or toxin, a sufficient amount remained to produce disease upon contact with a suitable host.

http://aem.asm.org/content/15/4/899.abstract