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Biological age, as assessed by osteographic measurements of hand bones from radiograms, was estimated in about 7000 individuals belonging to 32 ethnic groups and samples and to 2 major human groups (Europeans and Asians). Individual ages in the total group varied between 16 and 99 years old. Our biological age measure is strongly correlated with chronological age of the individual (Pearson's r = 0.78-0.80, p < 0.001), which renders the correlation amenable to fitting with a two-stage stochastic model. The following parameters of the model were estimated accordingly: to is the minimal age at which initial bone changes occurred, q is the probability that an individual will first develop involutive bone change at age [t.sub.i] > [t.sub.0], and B is the rate of aging (bone change) per unit time. The parameters varied considerably within different populations, but only a few samples showed statistically significant sex differences for all three parameters. However, B was consistently higher among women than among men. Apart from that, the distributions of the observed biological age estimates adjusted on the expected biological age values reveal no differences between men and women in any of the studied samples or in the total population., Aging designates a developmental sequence of changes that begins in the uterus and continues throughout life (Adelman and Roth 1982). In Israel, for example, at present more than 445,000 people [...]

The aims of the present study are to 1) determine and describe levels of dental fluctuating asymmetry (FA) in a highly endogamous human group; 2) evaluate the effects of various FA measures on perceived FA levels and their interrelationships; 3) study the connections between dental variables (tooth size, class, position, type, location and dimension) and FA levels; and 4) estimate the interrelationships between dental FA measures. The study was carried out on 242 Bedouin boys aged 5 to 14 years. The results demonstrate that the main variables influencing dental FA levels within this population are tooth class (incisors, canine, premolars, molars) and position (mesial, distal) and that the interaction between the two is significant. When sample sizes are large enough and individual measures are needed for the statistical analysis, the use of a computational method based on absolute values is legitimate. Clear relationships between some FA dental traits are discerned through principal-components analysis.

A set of 31 nonconventional paired cranial measurements, as well as six conventional nonpaired measures, were taken on 266 skulls, representing two related populations: Bedouins of the Israeli Negev Desert and Bedouins of the Sinai. The data were subjected to univariate and discriminant analyses to determine the relative efficacy of paired vs. conventional measures in sorting individuals according to tribal and sex affiliation. It was found that paired measured have greater discriminatory power (87%) than conventional ones (47%) in terms of classifying individuals belonging to human isolates derived from a common ancestor and sharing similar environmental conditions. This greater discrimination attests to the value of the level of 'developmental noise' (a measure provided by fluctuating asymmetry) in sorting human populations. Possible explanations are proffered for the above finding.