tag:theconversation.com,2011:/ca/topics/face-3465/articlesFace – The Conversation2024-01-19T13:42:15Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2172262024-01-19T13:42:15Z2024-01-19T13:42:15ZFace recognition technology follows a long analog history of surveillance and control based on identifying physical features<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/569962/original/file-20240117-29-ri412u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C5272%2C3598&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Today's technology advances what passport control has been doing for more than a century.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/controll-of-passports-at-the-frontiers-between-beuthen-and-news-photo/548866047">ullstein bild via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>American Amara Majeed was <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-48061811">accused of terrorism</a> by the Sri Lankan police in 2019. Robert Williams was <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/24/technology/facial-recognition-arrest.html">arrested outside his house</a> in Detroit and detained in jail for 18 hours for allegedly stealing watches in 2020. Randal Reid <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/03/31/technology/facial-recognition-false-arrests.html">spent six days in jail</a> in 2022 for supposedly using stolen credit cards in a state he’d never even visited.</p>
<p>In all three cases, the authorities had the wrong people. In all three, it was face recognition technology that told them they were right. Law enforcement officers in many U.S. states are <a href="https://www.wired.com/story/hidden-role-facial-recognition-tech-arrests/">not required to reveal</a> that they used face recognition technology to identify suspects.</p>
<p>Face recognition technology is the latest and most sophisticated version of <a href="https://www.dhs.gov/biometrics">biometric surveillance</a>: using unique physical characteristics to identify individual people. It stands in a <a href="https://www.thalesgroup.com/en/markets/digital-identity-and-security/government/inspired/history-of-biometric-authentication">long line of technologies</a> – from the fingerprint to the passport photo to iris scans – designed to monitor people and determine who has the right to move freely within and across borders and boundaries.</p>
<p>In my book, “<a href="https://www.press.jhu.edu/books/title/12700/do-i-know-you">Do I Know You? From Face Blindness to Super Recognition</a>,” I explore how the story of face surveillance lies not just in the history of computing but in the history of medicine, of race, of psychology and neuroscience, and in the health humanities and politics.</p>
<p>Viewed as a part of the long history of people-tracking, face recognition techology’s incursions into privacy and limitations on free movement are carrying out exactly what biometric surveillance was always meant to do.</p>
<p>The system works by converting captured faces – either static from photographs or moving from video – into a series of unique data points, which it then compares against the data points drawn from images of faces already in the system. As face recognition technology improves in accuracy and speed, its effectiveness as a means of surveillance becomes ever more pronounced.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/569964/original/file-20240117-15-h4ovvh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="faces in a crowd highlighted and annotated with dates and times" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/569964/original/file-20240117-15-h4ovvh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/569964/original/file-20240117-15-h4ovvh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/569964/original/file-20240117-15-h4ovvh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/569964/original/file-20240117-15-h4ovvh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/569964/original/file-20240117-15-h4ovvh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/569964/original/file-20240117-15-h4ovvh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/569964/original/file-20240117-15-h4ovvh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">Paired with AI, face recognition technology scans the crowd at a conference.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/live-demonstration-uses-artificial-intelligence-and-facial-news-photo/1080200068">David McNew/AFP via Getty Images</a></span>
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<h2>Accuracy improves, but biases persist</h2>
<p>Surveillance is predicated on the idea that <a href="https://theconversation.com/surveillance-is-pervasive-yes-you-are-being-watched-even-if-no-one-is-looking-for-you-187139">people need to be tracked</a> and their movements limited and controlled in a trade-off between privacy and security. The assumption that less privacy leads to more security is built in.</p>
<p>That may be the case for some, but not for the people disproportionately targeted by face recognition technology. <a href="https://www.routledge.com/Histories-of-Surveillance-from-Antiquity-to-the-Digital-Era-The-Eyes-and/Marklund-Skouvig/p/book/9781032021539">Surveillance has always been designed</a> to identify the people whom those in power wish to most closely track.</p>
<p>On a global scale, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/21670811.2018.1493938">there are</a> <a href="https://longreads.tni.org/stateofpower/settled-habits-new-tricks-casteist-policing-meets-big-tech-in-india">caste cameras in India</a>, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/sep/30/uyghur-tribunal-testimony-surveillance-china">face surveillance of Uyghurs in China</a> and even <a href="https://mynbc15.com/news/spotlight-on-america/facial-recognition-technology-in-school-hallways-states-face-a-divisive-debate">attendance surveillance</a> <a href="https://dx.doi.org/10.7302/21934">in U.S. schools</a>, often with low-income and majority-Black populations. <a href="https://www.aclu.org/news/privacy-technology/how-is-face-recognition-surveillance-technology-racist">Some people are tracked more closely</a> than others.</p>
<p>In addition, the cases of Amara Majeed, Robert Williams and Randal Reid <a href="https://www.aclu.org/news/privacy-technology/how-is-face-recognition-surveillance-technology-racist">aren’t anomalies</a>. As of 2019, face recognition technology <a href="https://nvlpubs.nist.gov/nistpubs/ir/2019/NIST.IR.8280.pdf">misidentified Black and Asian people</a> at up to <a href="https://www.nist.gov/news-events/news/2019/12/nist-study-evaluates-effects-race-age-sex-face-recognition-software">100 times the rate of white people</a>, including, in 2018, a disproportionate number of the <a href="https://www.aclu.org/news/privacy-technology/amazons-face-recognition-falsely-matched-28">28 members of the U.S. Congress</a> who were falsely matched with mug shots on file using Amazon’s Rekognition tool.</p>
<p>When the database against which captured images were compared had only a limited number of mostly white faces upon which to draw, face recognition technology would offer matches based on the closest alignment available, leading to a pattern of highly racialized – and racist – false positives.</p>
<p>With the expansion of images in the database and increased sophistication of the software, <a href="https://www.csis.org/blogs/strategic-technologies-blog/how-accurate-are-facial-recognition-systems-and-why-does-it">the number of false positives</a> – incorrect matches between specific individuals and images of wanted people on file – has <a href="https://bipartisanpolicy.org/blog/frt-accuracy-performance/">declined dramatically</a>. Improvements in pixelation and mapping static images into moving ones, along with increased social media tagging and <a href="https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/691288/your-face-belongs-to-us-by-kashmir-hill/">ever more sophisticated scraping tools</a> like those developed by Clearview AI, have helped decrease the error rates.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2019/12/19/federal-study-confirms-racial-bias-many-facial-recognition-systems-casts-doubt-their-expanding-use/">The biases</a>, however, remain deeply embedded into the systems and their purpose, explicitly or implicitly targeting already targeted communities. The technology is not neutral, nor is the surveillance it is used to carry out.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/569966/original/file-20240117-21-awurl6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Pen and ink illustration of suited hands using calipers to measure a man's forehead to back of his head" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/569966/original/file-20240117-21-awurl6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/569966/original/file-20240117-21-awurl6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=458&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/569966/original/file-20240117-21-awurl6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=458&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/569966/original/file-20240117-21-awurl6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=458&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/569966/original/file-20240117-21-awurl6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=576&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/569966/original/file-20240117-21-awurl6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=576&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/569966/original/file-20240117-21-awurl6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=576&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Physiognomy went beyond recognition of an individual and tried to connect physical features with other characteristics.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/illustration/head-royalty-free-illustration/1399373778">clu/DigitalVision Vectors via Getty Images</a></span>
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<h2>Latest technique in a long history</h2>
<p>Face recognition software is only the most recent manifestation of global systems of tracking and sorting. Precursors are rooted in the now-debunked belief that bodily features offer a unique index to character and identity. This pseudoscience was formalized in the late 18th century under the rubric of the <a href="https://www.hup.harvard.edu/books/9780674036048">ancient practice of physiognomy</a>.</p>
<p>Early systemic applications included anthropometry (body measurement), fingerprinting and iris or retinal scans. They all offered unique identifiers. None of these could be done without the participation – willing or otherwise – of the person being tracked.</p>
<p>The framework of bodily identification was adopted in the 19th century for use in criminal justice detection, prosecution and record-keeping to allow governmental control of its populace. The intimate relationship between face recognition and border patrol was galvanized by the <a href="http://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/passport-photos-history-development-regulation-mugshots">introduction of photos into passports</a> in some countries including Great Britain and the United States in 1914, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108664271">a practice that became widespread by 1920</a>.</p>
<p>Face recognition technology provided a way to go stealth on human biometric surveillance. Much early research into face recognition software was <a href="https://www.wired.com/story/secret-history-facial-recognition/">funded by the CIA</a> for the purposes of border surveillance.</p>
<p>It tried to develop a standardized framework for face segmentation: mapping the distance between a person’s facial features, including eyes, nose, mouth and hairline. Inputting that data into computers let a user search stored photographs for a match. These early scans and maps were limited, and the attempts to match them were not successful.</p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/569967/original/file-20240117-23-u3alzk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Woman looks at screen with her image on a vending machine" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/569967/original/file-20240117-23-u3alzk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/569967/original/file-20240117-23-u3alzk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/569967/original/file-20240117-23-u3alzk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/569967/original/file-20240117-23-u3alzk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/569967/original/file-20240117-23-u3alzk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/569967/original/file-20240117-23-u3alzk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/569967/original/file-20240117-23-u3alzk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">A customer pays via facial recognition at a smart store in China.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/nov-6-2018-a-visitor-tries-facial-recognition-payment-in-a-news-photo/1058496364">Huang Zongzhi/Xinhua News Agency via Getty Images</a></span>
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<p>More recently, private companies have <a href="https://fortune.com/longform/facial-recognition/">adopted data harvesting techniques</a>, including face recognition, as part of a long practice of <a href="https://theconversation.com/data-brokers-know-everything-about-you-what-ftc-case-against-ad-tech-giant-kochava-reveals-218232">leveraging personal data for profit</a>.</p>
<p>Face recognition technology works not only to unlock your phone or help you board your plane more quickly, but also in promotional store kiosks and, essentially, in any photo taken and shared by anyone, with anyone, anywhere around the world. These photos are stored in a database, creating ever more comprehensive systems of surveillance and tracking.</p>
<p>And while that means that today it is unlikely that Amara Majeed, Robert Williams, Randal Reid and Black members of Congress would be ensnared by a false positive, face recognition technology has invaded everyone’s privacy. It – and the governmental and private systems that design, run, use and capitalize upon it – is watching, and paying particular attention to those whom society and its structural biases deem to be the greatest risk.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/217226/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Sharrona Pearl receives funding from Interfaith America.</span></em></p>Face recognition technology follows earlier biometric surveillance techniques, including fingerprints, passport photos and iris scans. It’s the first that can be done without the subject’s knowledge.Sharrona Pearl, Associate Professor of Bioethics and History, Drexel UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1989902023-02-15T01:51:42Z2023-02-15T01:51:42ZCould buccal massage – the latest celebrity beauty trend – make you look older, not younger?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/509368/original/file-20230210-18-xqv6c9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=2%2C5%2C995%2C555&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/manual-sculpting-face-massage-young-woman-1441681823">Alexander Egizarov/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, <a href="https://www.vanityfair.com/style/2018/05/meghan-markle-royal-wedding-prep">reportedly</a> had it before marrying Prince Harry. Jennifer Lopez is also <a href="https://www.eonline.com/news/917768/jennifer-lopez-is-a-fan-of-meghan-markle-s-pre-wedding-facial-too">apparently</a> a fan. We’re talking about a type of facial called a “<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/fashion/2023/jan/30/why-celebrities-love-buccal-massage-mouth-facial">buccal massage</a>”.</p>
<p>But what exactly is a buccal massage? Does it really sculpt the face, <a href="https://www.skincarebyamypeterson.com/buccal-sculpting-facial">as claimed</a>? Are there risks? Could it actually make your skin look “looser” and older?</p>
<p>You probably won’t be surprised to hear there isn’t evidence from rigorous controlled scientific studies to show buccal massage gives you a more contoured look. </p>
<p>But talking about it can raise awareness about our facial muscles, what they do, and why they’re important.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/does-amber-heard-really-have-the-worlds-most-beautiful-face-an-expert-explains-why-the-golden-ratio-test-is-bogus-187018">Does Amber Heard really have the world's most beautiful face? An expert explains why the Golden Ratio test is bogus</a>
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<h2>What is buccal massage? Does it work?</h2>
<p>Buccal massage (pronounced “buckle”) is also called “intra-oral” massage. The term “buccal” comes from the Latin “bucca” meaning “cheek”. </p>
<p>In buccal massage, a beautician inserts their fingers into the buccal cavity – the space between your teeth and the inside of your cheeks – <a href="https://www.instyle.com/beauty/skin/buccal-facials">to</a> “massage and sculpt your skin from the inside”. </p>
<p>They apply pressure between the thumb (on the outside the mouth), and pinch and move fingers (inside the mouth), to stretch and massage the muscles. </p>
<p>You can also <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RPpPEG7ZX2w">perform it on yourself</a>, which may give you better control over stopping if <a href="https://www.dazeddigital.com/beauty/article/44445/1/buccal-massage-sharpen-cheekbones">it hurts</a>.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="InstagramEmbed" data-react-props="{"url":"https://www.instagram.com/p/CBeua74FLm-","accessToken":"127105130696839|b4b75090c9688d81dfd245afe6052f20"}"></div></p>
<p>But could all of this (rather expensive) action really change the shape of your face, or how it looks, feels, or moves?</p>
<p>It’s extremely unlikely, since the shape of your face is influenced by a lot more than your muscles. Any claims of buccal massage providing any lasting impact or “uplift” on the contours of the face are purely anecdotal.</p>
<p>In the absence of controlled trials reporting on the effects of buccal massage, it’s unlikely stretching your skin and oral or facial muscles in this way will provide any lasting benefit.</p>
<p>That’s possibly because buccal massage is “passive” – the muscles are only moving by the effort of the beautician.</p>
<p>In contrast, “active” movement of face muscles, through a program of face exercises, was associated with some improvements to facial appearance in a <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5885810/">small study</a> of middle-aged women.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/friday-essay-the-ugly-history-of-cosmetic-surgery-56500">Friday essay: the ugly history of cosmetic surgery</a>
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</em>
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<h2>But facial massage and stretching can help some</h2>
<p>External massaging or stretching muscles in the face, however, can help some people with certain medical conditions affecting the jaw, or how the mouth opens.</p>
<p>This includes people with <a href="https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/24086-trismus">trismus</a>. This is when the temporomandibular joint – where the jawbone meets the skull – can be so tight it’s <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK493203/">hard to open your mouth</a>. </p>
<p>Face massage can also provide <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5237268/">some relief</a> for people with jaw clenching or <a href="https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/bruxism/symptoms-causes/syc-20356095">bruxism (teeth grinding)</a> when it relaxes the muscle and reduces tension. </p>
<p>Health professionals might also <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0305417915000546?via%3Dihub">prescribe</a> mouth and face stretches and exercises for someone recovering from <a href="https://www.vicburns.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/Face-and-mouth-exercises_020419.pdf">facial burns</a>. This is to make sure that, as someone heals, their skin is flexible and muscles mobile for the mouth to open wide enough and move properly. Being able to open your mouth wide enough is vital for eating and tooth brushing. </p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/why-do-i-grind-my-teeth-and-clench-my-jaw-and-what-can-i-do-about-it-172298">Why do I grind my teeth and clench my jaw? And what can I do about it?</a>
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<h2>Is buccal massage safe?</h2>
<p>As there is no scientific research into buccal massage, we don’t know if it’s safe or if there are any risks.</p>
<p>The firm touch, squeezing and movement of another person’s fingers on the sensitive mucous membrane (moist lining) inside your mouth could be both uncomfortable and off-putting. This action will also <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/odi.12867#:%7E:text=Stimulation%20of%20mechanoreceptors%20in%20the,%2C%20%26%20Berg%2C%201987">stimulate your salivary glands</a> to produce saliva, which you’ll need to spit or swallow. </p>
<p>As buccal massage involves a beauty therapist’s fingers being inside your mouth, infection prevention and control measures, including <a href="https://www.health.nsw.gov.au/environment/factsheets/Pages/beauty-treatment.aspx">excellent hand hygiene</a>, is essential. </p>
<p>It would also be interesting to know whether or not buccal massage could actually further <a href="https://www.huffpost.com/entry/what-is-buccal-face-massage_l_6352be32e4b03e8038debf83">loosen your skin</a> and make you look older, sooner.</p>
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<p>
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Read more:
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<h2>Your face muscles are important</h2>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/509385/original/file-20230210-409-iccs2s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Anatomical drawings of the face, from front and two sides" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/509385/original/file-20230210-409-iccs2s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/509385/original/file-20230210-409-iccs2s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=359&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/509385/original/file-20230210-409-iccs2s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=359&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/509385/original/file-20230210-409-iccs2s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=359&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/509385/original/file-20230210-409-iccs2s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=452&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/509385/original/file-20230210-409-iccs2s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=452&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/509385/original/file-20230210-409-iccs2s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=452&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Your face muscles affect how we look, eat, drink and communicate.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-illustration/3d-illustration-female-head-muscles-anatomy-1525406915">Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Regardless of whether buccal massage has any effect, it’s a chance to talk about our face muscles and why they’re important.</p>
<p>We often take them for granted. We may not think about keeping these muscles “supple”, and they don’t usually feel “stiff” unless we hold a smile for long periods, grind our teeth, or have a medical condition affecting the face, jaw or mouth.</p>
<p>There are more than <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK493209/">two dozen</a>, muscles in our face, most in pairs, one on either side of the face.</p>
<p>They’re a vital part of who we are, shaping our appearance, and allowing us to make facial expressions, lower and raise our jaw and the corners of our mouth, smile, blow a kiss, speak, suck and swallow.</p>
<p>Face muscles help define the shape of our face and our identity. It’s no wonder we can struggle with age-related changes that affect how our face looks.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/lets-face-it-first-impressions-count-online-71012">Let's face it, first impressions count online</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>3 cheers for our buccinators</h2>
<p>The <a href="https://www.healthline.com/human-body-maps/buccinator#1">buccinator muscles</a>, which buccal massage moves, are vital to our survival. The buccinator is one of the first muscles <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK546678/">to contract</a> when a baby suckles.</p>
<p>These muscles lie deep beneath the skin of the cheeks and are important for a number of reasons:</p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/509378/original/file-20230210-16-sa3bvr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="The buccinator muscles" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/509378/original/file-20230210-16-sa3bvr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/509378/original/file-20230210-16-sa3bvr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=800&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/509378/original/file-20230210-16-sa3bvr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=800&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/509378/original/file-20230210-16-sa3bvr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=800&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/509378/original/file-20230210-16-sa3bvr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1005&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/509378/original/file-20230210-16-sa3bvr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1005&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/509378/original/file-20230210-16-sa3bvr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1005&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">We have two buccinator muscles, one either side of our face.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-illustration/3d-rendered-medically-accurate-muscle-anatomy-1607241178">Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<ul>
<li><p>their main function is to help us eat. They contract to help move food between the teeth for chewing. We can squeeze our buccinator muscles to push food back into the mouth from the sides</p></li>
<li><p>they help us puff out our cheeks, blow out a candle, or blow a trumpet </p></li>
<li><p>when they contract, they move your inner cheek out of the way of your teeth. Without them, you’d bite your cheek every time you closed your jaw</p></li>
<li><p>they help keep your teeth in place.</p></li>
</ul>
<h2>In a nutshell</h2>
<p>Buccal massage mightn’t make your face look “sculpted”. It probably comes with infection risks, and we know little about its safety. </p>
<p>But if nothing else, the buccal massage trend has highlighted just how important our face muscles really are.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/198990/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Bronwyn Hemsley receives funding from the Australian Research Council and the University of Technology Sydney</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Amy Freeman-Sanderson receives funding from he University of Technology Sydney. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Helen L. Blake does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>You probably won’t be surprised there aren’t any clinical studies about whether buccal massage can give you a more contoured face. We also don’t know if your face could end up looking more ‘saggy’.Bronwyn Hemsley, Professor of Speech Pathology, University of Technology SydneyAmy Freeman-Sanderson, Senior Lecturer in Speech Pathology, University of Technology SydneyHelen L. Blake, Lecturer in speech pathology, University of Technology SydneyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1952982022-12-02T16:32:59Z2022-12-02T16:32:59ZWhy you could have ‘face-ism’ – an extreme tendency to judge people based on their facial features<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/497982/original/file-20221129-24-6991vn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=16%2C8%2C5486%2C3638&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">We all make judgments based on first impressions but some people take it to extremes</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/hmm-let-me-think-studio-shot-604726298">Cast Of Thousands/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>You’ve finally got an interview for your dream job. Dozens of applications, dozens of rejection letters – but now you’ve got a shot at the job you really wanted. In you go. Maybe you shake hands with the person who will decide your future, pour a glass of water to steady your nerves. </p>
<p>But what you don’t know is that none of this matters. The second your interviewer set eyes on you, they decided you looked so incompetent and untrustworthy that you would never get this job. Because unfortunately, they are one of a subset of people who new research shows have a disposition to judge extreme personality traits from just a quick view of a person’s face.</p>
<p>Look at the two faces below. Would you hire these people? Who looks more intelligent? Would you trust either person to watch your laptop in a cafe while you pop out to take a call?</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A male face and a female face" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/498694/original/file-20221202-24-fkdmuf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/498694/original/file-20221202-24-fkdmuf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/498694/original/file-20221202-24-fkdmuf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/498694/original/file-20221202-24-fkdmuf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/498694/original/file-20221202-24-fkdmuf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/498694/original/file-20221202-24-fkdmuf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/498694/original/file-20221202-24-fkdmuf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">What do you think these people would be like in person?</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://figshare.com/articles/figure/Young_adult_composite_faces/4055130/1">Lisa DeBruine/figshare</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>These <a href="https://figshare.com/articles/figure/Young_adult_composite_faces/4055130/1">images</a> were created by psychologist Lisa DeBruine and colleagues. In fact they are composite images, with each one having been created by combining four different faces. </p>
<p>Even though these faces aren’t real, you may still have made a snap verdict about each composite person’s competence based on their facial expression and structure. We do this all the time. Even though the people in the images don’t exist, we still have projected traits onto them. Making quick judgments about how much we should trust someone, how dominant they are likely to be, or how intelligent they are can be useful estimates of personality. </p>
<p>But this can also, unfortunately, lead to stereotyping – for example, thinking that people with a particular physical characteristic must all be untrustworthy.</p>
<h2>Harsh judgments</h2>
<p><a href="https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/pdf/10.1098/rsos.220172">Recent work</a> from researchers in Japan suggests something more worrying; that some of us have a disposition to draw drastic conclusions about the traits and personalities of others based solely on facial appearance.</p>
<p>In a series of online studies with more than 300 participants, Atsunobu Suzuki and colleagues found what they call “face-based trait inferences” (FBTIs). Basically, subjects made a series of personality judgments having taken a brief look at someone’s face. While everyone makes FBTIs to some degree, they found that some people only make <em>extreme</em> judgments (both positive and negative). This held even when the age, sex and ethnicity of participants were controlled for.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Doubtful HR manager talking to an applicant at job interview" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/497981/original/file-20221129-19-orst4k.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/497981/original/file-20221129-19-orst4k.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/497981/original/file-20221129-19-orst4k.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/497981/original/file-20221129-19-orst4k.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/497981/original/file-20221129-19-orst4k.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/497981/original/file-20221129-19-orst4k.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/497981/original/file-20221129-19-orst4k.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Let’s hope for her sake he doesn’t have face-ism.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/doubtful-unconvinced-african-american-hr-manager-1368244226">fizkes/Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Imagine seeing a certain type of face, perhaps with hard eyes and masculine features, and immediately getting the impression the person is <a href="https://www.cell.com/trends/cognitive-sciences/fulltext/S1364-6613(08)00235-0?_returnURL=https%3A%2F%2Flinkinghub.elsevier.com%2Fretrieve%2Fpii%2FS1364661308002350%3Fshowall%3Dtrue">extremely untrustworthy</a>. Or that someone with more feminine features and larger eyes is <a href="https://www.science.org/doi/full/10.1126/science.1110589?casa_token=OsQdYrgCde8AAAAA%3Awzf-CBS2CAGiCxiq4MO0GOrjix5bh4-VRTR3TbnO9Z1qN7m7FHZmnOvxiidVj3An5_kYhKibpet_fNs">incompetent</a>. As Suzuki and colleagues say, this is problematic indeed.</p>
<h2>Face up to the problem</h2>
<p>We already know unconscious bias is rife in decision-making about new hires. A 2018 study sent separate versions of almost identical CVs to apply for 50 different jobs. The only difference was the name on the CV: Adam Smith on one and Ravindra Thalwal on the other. Ravindra <a href="https://employernews.co.uk/employment/study-reveals-discrimination-as-cvs-with-non-british-names-dont-result-in-interviews-except-in-tech-sector/">received about half of the responses</a> compared with his more traditionally British sounding doppelgänger.</p>
<p>One of the leading figures in first impression research, Alexander Todorov, tells us these snap judgments are predictable but usually <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0956797614532474">inaccurate</a>. And we also know that <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0963721419835206?casa_token=qH0q5oGS87sAAAAA%3AdtjldZZY7dVnzD-vGF10c-CHKAXqC9ZlzlDF-qf8bB2OEGDyyPuNPzEzsPxQLt_5wFKv5k4IM5Gwpg&journalCode=cdpa">first impressions</a> are usually hard to shake. So this could mean the wrong people are frequently being hired for jobs. </p>
<p>The thing with unconscious bias is you don’t realise you’re doing it most of the time. It’s one of the reasons some companies insist on unconscious bias training (although some people still <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-54282685">refuse to do it</a>). Unconscious bias training is not some fix-all remedy for discrimination, but even short interventions have been <a href="https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.1816076116">shown to change people’s attitudes</a>. </p>
<p>You can design unconscious bias training for prejuduices against other physical characteristics such as race, gender and weight. But face-ism seems to be a stereotype that crosses ethnicities, the sexes and physical appearance. </p>
<p>One solution could be to make people aware that they exhibit extreme FBTIs by taking a test similar to the Suzuki experiment. Research <a href="https://psycnet.apa.org/doiLanding?doi=10.1037%2Fxge0000179">has shown</a> that being made aware of your biases can lead to a change of mindset in the short term, but people need extra interventions periodically to make any real behaviour change last.</p>
<p>Maybe just making someone aware that they make extreme personality judgments based on facial appearance will be enough to pull the unconscious bias into the conscious. We’re certainly going to have to try; otherwise you might yourself be a victim of face-ism in the future.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/195298/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Paddy Ross does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>New research shows some people make extreme personality judgments based solely on facial appearancePaddy Ross, Associate Professor, Department of Psychology, Durham UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1570472021-04-30T03:16:19Z2021-04-30T03:16:19ZCurious Kids: why do we have eyebrows?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/397452/original/file-20210428-17-1xkb1y3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=19%2C5%2C979%2C992&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-illustration/3d-render-abstract-emotional-face-icon-726202051">from www.shutterstock.com</a></span></figcaption></figure><blockquote>
<p>Mummy, why do we have eyebrows? — Alexander, age 3, Brisbane.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>What a great, eyebrow-raising question, Alexander!</p>
<p>Eyebrows come in a range of shapes, sizes and colours. They help make our faces unique. But there’s more to eyebrows than meets the eye.</p>
<h2>Eyebrows help us express our feelings</h2>
<p>Our eyebrows say a lot about how we are feeling. We scrunch our eyebrows when angry, and perk them up when surprised.</p>
<p>Moving our eyebrows can also tell people if we’re happy, confused, sad or upset. These expressions help us <a href="https://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=TukNoJDgMTUC&oi=fnd&pg=PR3&ots=GWDrdo9Zf9&sig=eXSu_cNe8irY72DOpvqMaW6Sy0E">communicate</a>. So, eyebrows can tell a story without saying a word.</p>
<p>How quickly we move our eyebrows also matters. When we’re sad, we move our eyebrows slowly. When we’re angry, we move them faster. And when we’re happy, we move them the fastest.</p>
<h2>Eyebrows protect your eyes</h2>
<p>If you have been running around on a hot day, you might notice some sweating on your forehead. The shape of the bones and <a href="https://youtu.be/T-FnAH9y1N4">skin</a> around the eyebrows helps direct the sweat toward the side of our faces. That stops water from running directly into our eyes.</p>
<p>How our eyebrow hairs are lined up, and the direction they grow in, also help protect our eyes from <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK537278/">sweat</a>, as well as from dirt, dust and water.</p>
<p>In fact, when dust lands on our eyebrows, we often <a href="https://jddonline.com/articles/dermatology/S1545961614S0007X">blink automatically</a> to get rid of the dust. Even if dust lands on one eyebrow, we can’t help blinking both eyes.</p>
<p>Our eyebrows also shade our eyes from <a href="https://jddonline.com/articles/dermatology/S1545961614S0007X">bright lights</a>. The eyebrow hairs stick out from our face, which reduces the amount of sunlight entering our eyes.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Girl focussing in bright light" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/391356/original/file-20210324-23-fpvg5z.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/391356/original/file-20210324-23-fpvg5z.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/391356/original/file-20210324-23-fpvg5z.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/391356/original/file-20210324-23-fpvg5z.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/391356/original/file-20210324-23-fpvg5z.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/391356/original/file-20210324-23-fpvg5z.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/391356/original/file-20210324-23-fpvg5z.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Eyebrows can help block how much bright light enters our eyes.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Christian Moro/Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>And when we’ve had a tiring day, or when we’re asleep, eyebrows help us <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK537278/">relax</a> our eyes. They reduce strain on our eye muscles and help us shut our eyelids.</p>
<h2>Eyebrows form part of our identity</h2>
<p>Whether we have big bushy eyebrows, or styled “brows”, our eyebrows play a big part in making us look unique.</p>
<p>They also help us recognise <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1068/p5027">familiar faces</a>. So if we didn’t have eyebrows, we might not so easily recognise our friends or family.</p>
<p>Looking at eyebrows also helps us know if someone’s a <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1068/p220131">man or a woman</a>. That’s because men tend to have thicker eyebrows closer to the eyes, and women have thinner eyebrows higher above the eyes. </p>
<p>And older people, like our grandparents, can have <a href="https://youtu.be/ZqwGTso2Wmc">tired</a> or droopy looking eyebrows. That’s because, <a href="http://www.oculist.net/downaton502/prof/ebook/duanes/pages/v8/v8c001.html">as people get older</a>, their eyebrow muscles become worn out and gravity pulls them down.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/curious-kids-why-do-older-adults-get-shorter-146766">Curious Kids: why do older adults get shorter?</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Eyebrows can be beautiful</h2>
<p>Since ancient Egyptian times, people have linked eyebrows with <a href="https://jddonline.com/articles/dermatology/S1545961614S0007X">beauty</a>. Men and women used to <a href="https://www.marieclaire.com/beauty/makeup/a9381/eyebrows-through-the-years/">paint on dark, arched eyebrows</a> with a black powder to show respect to Egyptian gods. Eyebrows were also thought to give people supernatural powers!</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/friday-essay-shaved-shaped-and-slit-eyebrows-through-the-ages-123872">Friday essay: shaved, shaped and slit - eyebrows through the ages</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Even today, people tweak the look of their eyebrows. They can remove hairs by tweezing or waxing. They can even dye their eyebrows or tattoo them.</p>
<p>So, next time you look in the mirror, take a closer look at your eyebrows. They tell others how you’re feeling and help protect your eyes. They also play a big part in what you look like and who you are.</p>
<hr>
<p><em>Hello, Curious Kids! Have you got a question you’d like an expert to answer? Ask an adult to send your question to curiouskids@theconversation.edu.au</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/157047/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Your eyebrows can tell a whole story without saying a word.Christian Moro, Associate Professor of Science & Medicine, Bond UniversityCharlotte Phelps, PhD Student, Bond UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1515392020-12-07T16:06:59Z2020-12-07T16:06:59ZWe scanned the DNA of 8,000 people to see how facial features are controlled by genes<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/373138/original/file-20201204-17-3yrbd8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=19%2C34%2C3255%2C2025&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Using 3-D facial images researchers have identified changes in the DNA that contribute to variation in facial features. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Julie D. White</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span></figcaption></figure><p><strong>Takeaways</strong></p>
<ul>
<li><p><strong>A new study reveals more than 130 regions in human DNA play a role in sculpting facial features.</strong></p></li>
<li><p><strong>The nose is the facial feature most influenced by your genes.</strong></p></li>
<li><p><strong>Understanding the link between specific genes and facial features could be useful for treating facial malformations or for orthodontics.</strong> </p></li>
</ul>
<hr>
<p>You might think it’s rather obvious that your facial appearance is determined by your genes. Just look in the family photo album and observe the same nose, eyes or chin on your grandparents, cousins and uncles and aunts. Perhaps you have seen or know someone with a genetic syndrome – that often results from a damaging alteration to one or more genes – and noticed the often distinctive facial features.</p>
<p>You may be surprised to learn that until very recently, geneticists had virtually no understanding of which parts of our DNA were linked to even the most basic aspects of facial appearance. This gap in our knowledge was particularly galling since facial appearance plays such an important role in basic human interactions. The availability of large data sets combining genetic information with facial images that can be measured has rapidly advanced the pace of discovery.</p>
<p>So, what do we know about the genetics of facial appearance? Can we reliably predict a person’s face from their DNA? What are the implications for health and disease? We are <a href="https://www.dental.pitt.edu/person/seth-weinberg-0">an anthropologist</a> and <a href="https://www.publichealth.pitt.edu/home/directory/john-r-shaffer">a human geneticist</a> whose research focuses on uncovering the biological factors that underlie the similarities and differences in facial appearance among humans. </p>
<h2>How many genes are associated with facial appearance?</h2>
<p>We still don’t have a complete answer to this question, but <a href="https://doi.org/10.1101/2020.05.12.090555">recent work published in Nature Genetics by our collaborative research team</a> has identified more than 130 chromosomal regions associated with specific aspects of facial shape. Identifying these regions is a critical first step toward understanding how genetics impacts our faces and how such knowledge could impact human health in the future.</p>
<p>We accomplished this by scanning the DNA of more than 8,000 individuals to look for statistical relationships between about seven million genetic markers – known locations in the genetic code where humans vary – and dozens of shape measurements derived from 3D facial images. </p>
<p>When we find a statistical association between a facial feature and one or more genetic markers, this points us to a very precise region of DNA on a chromosome. The genes located around that region then become our prime candidates for facial features like nose or lip shape, especially if we have other relevant information about their function – for example, they may be active when the face is forming in the embryo. </p>
<p>While more than 130 chromosomal regions may seem like a large number, we are likely only scratching the surface. We expect that thousands of such regions – and therefore thousands of genes – contribute to facial appearance. Many of the genes at these chromosomal regions will have such small effects, we may never have enough statistical power to detect them. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/373140/original/file-20201204-15-v9led8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/373140/original/file-20201204-15-v9led8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/373140/original/file-20201204-15-v9led8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=300&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/373140/original/file-20201204-15-v9led8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=300&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/373140/original/file-20201204-15-v9led8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=300&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/373140/original/file-20201204-15-v9led8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=377&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/373140/original/file-20201204-15-v9led8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=377&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/373140/original/file-20201204-15-v9led8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=377&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The figure shows selected locations on Chromosome 2 associated with facial shape. Each face shows the likely candidate gene and its observed effect on facial shape displayed as a color-coded heat map. Red indicates regions of the face moving in an outward direction, and blue indicates regions of the face moving in an inward direction.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Adapted from: White J and Indencleef K.</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">CC BY-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>What do we know about these genes?</h2>
<p>When we look collectively at the implicated genes at these 130-plus DNA regions, some interesting patterns emerged. </p>
<p>Your nose, like it or not, is the part of your face most influenced by your genes. Perhaps not surprisingly, areas like the cheeks, which are highly influenced by lifestyle factors like diet, showed the fewest genetic associations.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/373139/original/file-20201204-13-15txxye.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/373139/original/file-20201204-13-15txxye.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/373139/original/file-20201204-13-15txxye.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=357&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/373139/original/file-20201204-13-15txxye.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=357&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/373139/original/file-20201204-13-15txxye.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=357&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/373139/original/file-20201204-13-15txxye.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=448&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/373139/original/file-20201204-13-15txxye.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=448&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/373139/original/file-20201204-13-15txxye.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=448&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">No doubt that Kaia Gerber inherited her nose from supermodel mother Cindy Crawford.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/kaia-gerber-and-cindy-crawford-attend-her-time-omega-news-photo/855684684?adppopup=true">Bertrand Rindoff Petroff/Getty Images</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The ways that these genes influence facial shape was not at all uniform. Some genes, we found, had highly localized effects and impacted very specific parts of the face, while others had broad effects involving multiple parts. </p>
<p>We also found that a large proportion of these genes are involved in basic developmental processes that build our bodies – bone formation, for example – and, in many cases, are the same genes that have been implicated in rare syndromes and <a href="https://theconversation.com/joaquin-phoenixs-lips-mocked-heres-what-everyone-should-know-about-cleft-lip-130181">facial anomalies like cleft palate</a>. </p>
<p>We found it interesting that there was a high degree of overlap between the genes involved in facial and limb development, which may provide an important clue as to why <a href="http://doi.org/10.1002/1096-8628(20000717)93:2%3C110::aid-ajmg6%3E3.0.co;2-9">many genetic syndromes are characterized by both hand and facial malformations</a>. In another curious twist, we found some evidence that the genes involved in facial shape may also be involved in cancer – an intriguing finding given emerging evidence that individuals treated for pediatric cancer show some <a href="https://doi.org/10.1002/ajmg.a.37850">distinctive facial features</a>. </p>
<h2>Can someone take my DNA and construct an accurate picture of my face?</h2>
<p>It is unlikely that today, or for the foreseeable future, someone could take a sample of your DNA and use it to construct an image of your face. Predicting an individual’s facial appearance, like any complex genetic trait, is a very difficult task. </p>
<p>To put that statement in context, the 130-plus genetic regions we identified explain less than 10% of the variation in facial shape. However, even if we understood all of the genes involved in facial appearance, prediction would still be a monstrous challenge. This is because complex traits like facial shape are not determined by simply summing up the effects of a bunch of individual genes. Facial features are influenced by many biological and non-biological factors: age, diet, climate, hormones, trauma, disease, sun exposure, biomechanical forces and surgery. </p>
<p>All of these factors interact with our genome in complex ways that we have not even begun to understand. To add to this picture of complexity, genes interact with one another; this is known as “<a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/nrg2452">epistasis</a>,” and its effects can be complex and unpredictable. </p>
<p>It is not surprising then, that <a href="https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1711125114">researchers</a> attempting to predict individual facial features from DNA have been <a href="https://doi.org/10.1101/185330">unsuccessful</a>. This is not to say that such prediction will never be possible, but if someone is telling you they can do this today, you should be highly skeptical. </p>
<h2>How might research connecting genes and faces benefit humans?</h2>
<p>One of the most exciting developments in medicine in the 21st century is the use of patients’ <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/nrg.2016.86">genetic information to create personalized treatment plans</a>, with the ultimate goal of improving health outcomes.</p>
<p>[<em>Deep knowledge, daily.</em> <a href="https://theconversation.com/us/newsletters/the-daily-3?utm_source=TCUS&utm_medium=inline-link&utm_campaign=newsletter-text&utm_content=deepknowledge">Sign up for The Conversation’s newsletter</a>.]</p>
<p>A deeper understanding of how genes influence the timing and rate of facial growth could be an invaluable tool for planning treatments in fields like orthodontics or reconstructive surgery. For example, if someday we can use genetics to help predict when a child’s jaw will hit its peak growth potential, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ajodo.2015.09.012">orthodontists</a> may be able to use this information to help determine the optimal time to intervene for maximal effect. </p>
<p>Likewise, knowledge of how genes work individually and in concert to determine the size and shape of facial features can provide new molecular targets for drug therapies aimed at correcting facial growth deficiencies. </p>
<p>Lastly, greater knowledge of the genes that build human faces may offer us new insights into the root causes of congenital facial malformations, which can profoundly impact quality of life for those affected and their families.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/151539/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Seth M. Weinberg receives funding from the National Institutes of Health. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>John R. Shaffer receives funding from the University of Pittsburgh and the National Institutes of Health. </span></em></p>Like it or not, the facial feature most influenced by your genes is your nose. Researchers investigate which genes are involved in sculpting the face.Seth M. Weinberg, Associate Professor in the Departments of Oral Biology, Human Genetics, and Anthropology. Co-Director of the Center for Craniofacial and Dental Genetics, University of PittsburghJohn R. Shaffer, Assistant Professor of Human Genetics, University of PittsburghLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/846372017-10-03T15:04:04Z2017-10-03T15:04:04ZFaces reveal a lot – but the science needs to be interpreted with care<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/188150/original/file-20170929-13542-25985g.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/download/confirm/159375611?src=6LheiUU3EVGakrpLzoDqZg-1-3&size=medium_jpg">B.erne/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>What’s in a face? If we are to believe research conducted over the last decade or so, the answer is: a lot. And according to a <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10508-017-1070-x">recent study</a>, facial dimensions can even reveal a person’s sex drive. While men had a higher sex drive than women, in both sexes it was people with relatively wider faces that had this higher sex drive. </p>
<p>On its own, this finding seems surprising at best and crazy at worst – how could the shape of someone’s face possibly have anything to do with their libido? When viewed in the context of other studies, however, it starts becoming clearer that there may be some logic and truth to it. In fact, unlike the classic 19th-century approach of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phrenology">phrenology</a>, the detailed study of head-shape to infer character, the study of facial appearance is largely (albeit not always) driven by careful consideration of biology and evolutionary theory. </p>
<p>Take <a href="https://osf.io/zn79k/">another recent study</a> where an artificial intelligence program correctly identified people as gay or straight – 81% of the time for men and 74% of the time for women – based on an analysis of their face. The study also found that, on average, gay men had more feminine facial features than straight men, while lesbian women had more masculine features than straight women. For the purpose of understanding what’s in a face, the finding that gay and lesbian faces have less sex-typical features is interesting because it aligns with one <a href="http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1743-6109.2010.02024.x/full">current model</a> that suggests the development of sexual orientation is the result of hormone exposure in the womb. </p>
<p>Hormones probably also play a critical role in the first study about sex drive; wider faces (relative to height) have been linked to higher levels of <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Lars_Penke/publication/257492195_Telling_Facial_Metrics_Facial_Width_Is_Associated_with_Testosterone_Levels_in_Men/links/02e7e526fa7796d7d1000000.pdf">testosterone</a>. Testosterone, in turn, <a href="https://academic.oup.com/jcem/article/91/7/2509/2656285/The-Relationship-between-Libido-and-Testosterone">influences sex drive</a>. In fact, facial width has been associated with other testosterone-linked characteristics, such as dominance and <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Cheryl_Mccormick/publication/26747406_Facial_Structure_Is_a_Reliable_Cue_of_Aggressive_Behavior/links/00b7d5230acba58567000000.pdf">aggression</a>. Together, these studies provide a clear picture that testosterone drives both behaviour and facial appearance. </p>
<p>Facial cues to behaviour are also automatically picked up by most people. Just think of the last time you met someone and thought he or she looked trustworthy, friendly or aggressive. It is very likely that other people would agree with your assessment; many studies show that people highly agree when it comes to gleaning personality or behavioural traits from faces. For example, in line with the wide-face-dominance association mentioned above, earlier <a href="https://static1.squarespace.com/static/56c77251f8baf3ae17ce0a75/t/56d722609f7266eea24c0603/1456939624844/Lefevre+%26+Lewis+2014+%28EJP%29+Perceiving+aggression+from+facial+structure.pdf">studies</a> have found that people tend to associate wide faces with dominant behaviour. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/188149/original/file-20170929-19819-1gk80dp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/188149/original/file-20170929-19819-1gk80dp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=472&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/188149/original/file-20170929-19819-1gk80dp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=472&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/188149/original/file-20170929-19819-1gk80dp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=472&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/188149/original/file-20170929-19819-1gk80dp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=593&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/188149/original/file-20170929-19819-1gk80dp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=593&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/188149/original/file-20170929-19819-1gk80dp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=593&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Does Wayne Rooney’s wide face tell us anything about his character?</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/download/confirm/323514836?src=xLL7C6n0x0JW8YQeQ14MKQ-1-2&size=medium_jpg">Mitch Gunn/Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Overgeneralising</h2>
<p>Our knack for perceiving characteristics from people’s faces is perhaps where phrenology comes back into play. People agree with each other about the characteristics that are presented in a face, but we oversimplify this task, ending up with overgeneralisations or even false perceptions. For example, there is excellent agreement between people about what makes a face look <a href="http://haxbylab.dartmouth.edu/publications/TPO09.pdf">trustworthy or untrustworthy</a>, but there seems to be no truth in these perceptions – it doesn’t actually mean that person is or isn’t trustworthy. </p>
<p>A <a href="http://www.psych.utoronto.ca/users/rule/pubs/2013/Rule_etal(2013-JPSP).pdf">study</a> conducted by Nick Rule and others found that in the lab, as well as the real world, people seen as untrustworthy were, as a group, no less trustworthy than those seen as highly trustworthy. In the lab, students were encouraged to cheat on a test and there was no difference in perceptions of trustworthiness from facial photographs of those students who did cheat and those who did not. Similarly, when shown pictures of military criminals and war heroes, observers did not rate trustworthiness any differently. </p>
<p>From an evolutionary perspective it makes sense for us to <a href="https://s3.amazonaws.com/academia.edu.documents/43564460/Natural_selection_and_the_regulation_of_20160309-7906-3i5buz.pdf?AWSAccessKeyId=AKIAIWOWYYGZ2Y53UL3A&Expires=1507038541&Signature=vvfOwwd9yqL3jJq0FOAwmvu7ORg%3D&response-content-disposition=inline%3B%20filename%3DNatural_selection_and_the_regulation_of.pdf">overgeneralise</a>, especially when it comes to negative traits. It is safer to overestimate someone’s aggressiveness than to get beaten up when we don’t expect it. But that means we must be careful not to rely on first impressions too much. </p>
<p>Thinking back to the sex-drive study, while there is a link between facial width and sex drive, it would be wrong to conclude that every person with a wide face is a sex maniac. The association is present when looking across a large group of people, but is better thought of as a tendency rather than a fact present in each individual. Or put differently, if you take 100 people with wide faces and 100 people with narrow faces, the average sex drive in the wide-face group is likely higher, but there will also be people in the narrow-face group whose sex drive is very high or people in the wide-face group whose sex drive is very low.</p>
<p>On balance, studies on facial appearance are telling and well conducted, although there are certainly some that stretch the interpretation so the usual rule of thumb that if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is applies. We can tell a lot from faces including health, character and, yes, even sexual orientation. But while these characteristics are correctly gleaned at group level, we need to be careful not to make assumptions about individuals.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/84637/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Carmen Lefevre does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>…just don’t call it the new phrenology.Carmen Lefevre, User Researcher and Senior research associate, UCLLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/613542017-04-05T01:09:36Z2017-04-05T01:09:36ZFacial recognition is increasingly common, but how does it work?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/163908/original/image-20170404-5697-os7vpk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Mapping a face is the starting point.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/biometric-verification-young-man-face-recognition-331957112">Anton Watman/shutterstock.com</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>The Trump <a href="http://www.npr.org/2017/01/31/512439121/trumps-executive-order-on-immigration-annotated">administration’s efforts</a> to impose new immigration rules drew attention – and <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2017/03/29/politics/hawaii-trump-travel-ban-extended/">legal fire</a> – for its restrictions on the ability of people born in certain majority Muslim countries to enter the U.S. In the frenzy of concern, an obscure piece of the executive orders did not get scrutinized, or even noticed, very much: an <a href="http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Passcode/2017/0210/Trump-s-immigration-order-vastly-expands-border-surveillance">expansion of facial recognition systems in major U.S. airports</a> to monitor people leaving the U.S., in hopes of catching people who have overstayed their visas or are wanted in criminal investigations.</p>
<p>It’s a much more powerful version of the method your <a href="https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201891">phone or computer might use to identify friends</a> in your photos. Using computers to <a href="https://www.ftc.gov/sites/default/files/documents/reports/facing-facts-best-practices-common-uses-facial-recognition-technologies/121022facialtechrpt.pdf">recognize people’s faces and validate their identities</a> can <a href="https://www.ftc.gov/sites/default/files/documents/reports/facing-facts-best-practices-common-uses-facial-recognition-technologies/121022facialtechrpt.pdf">streamline access control</a> for secure corporate and government buildings or devices. Some systems can <a href="https://www.ftc.gov/sites/default/files/documents/reports/facing-facts-best-practices-common-uses-facial-recognition-technologies/121022facialtechrpt.pdf">identify known or suspected criminals</a>. Businesses can analyze their customers’ faces to help <a href="https://www.ftc.gov/sites/default/files/documents/reports/facing-facts-best-practices-common-uses-facial-recognition-technologies/121022facialtechrpt.pdf">tailor marketing strategies</a> to people of different genders, ages and ethnic backgrounds. There are even consumer services that take advantage of facial recognition, like virtual <a href="https://www.macstories.net/news/iphone-app-with-face-tracking-technology-lets-you-try-virtual-glasses/">eyeglass fitting</a> and <a href="http://modiface.com/news.php?story=60">virtual makeovers</a>.</p>
<p>There are also serious privacy concerns as government agencies and companies are more able to track individuals through their communities, and even around the world. The facial recognition market is worth approximately US$3 billion and is expected to grow to <a href="http://finance.yahoo.com/news/facial-recognition-market-component-software-003400704.html">$6 billion by 2021</a>. Surveillance is a large reason for growth; <a href="http://finance.yahoo.com/news/facial-recognition-market-component-software-003400704.html">government entities</a> are the primary consumers.
The FBI has a database with images of <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2017/mar/27/us-facial-recognition-database-fbi-drivers-licenses-passports">approximately half the U.S. population</a>. There are also fears of people using facial recognition to engage in online harassment or even <a href="http://fortune.com/2016/05/20/facial-recognition-nightmare/">real-world stalking</a>.</p>
<p>As facial recognition becomes more common, we must know how it works. As someone who studies and researches the legal implications of new technology in criminal investigations, I believe it’s important to understand what it can and can’t do, and how the technology is progressing. Only then can we have informed discussions about when and how to use computers to recognize that most human of features – our faces.</p>
<h2>How it works</h2>
<p>As one of several methods of what are called “biometric” identification systems, facial recognition examines physical features of a person’s body in an attempt to uniquely distinguish one person from all the others. Other forms of this type of work include the very common <a href="https://gcn.com/articles/2017/01/26/iarpa-fingerprints.aspx">fingerprint matching</a>, <a href="https://fee.org/articles/welcome-aboard-but-first-us-marshals-will-scan-your-retina/">retina scanning</a>, <a href="https://www.biometricupdate.com/201703/samsung-galaxy-s8-to-feature-princeton-identity-iris-technology-for-mastercard-selfie-pay">iris scanning</a> (using a more readily observable part of the eye) and even <a href="https://www.biometricupdate.com/201703/pindrop-voice-authentication-to-be-integrated-with-amazon-connect">voice recognition</a>.</p>
<p>All of these systems take in data – often an image – from an unknown person, analyze the data in that input, and attempt to <a href="https://doi.org/10.1109/TCSVT.2003.818349">match them to existing entries</a> in an database of known people’s faces or voices. Facial recognition does this in <a href="https://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-15-621">three steps</a>: detection, faceprint creation, and verification or identification. </p>
<p>When an image is captured, computer software analyzes it to identify where the faces are in, say, a crowd of people. In a mall, for example, <a href="http://www.consumerreports.org/privacy/facial-recognition-who-is-tracking-you-in-public1/">security cameras</a> will feed into a computer with facial recognition software to identify faces in the video feed.</p>
<p>Once the system has identified any potential faces in an image, it <a href="https://cours.etsmtl.ca/sys828/REFS/Intro/Hanbook%20of%20Face%20Recognition.pdf#page=18">looks more closely</a> at each one. Sometimes the image needs to be <a href="https://cours.etsmtl.ca/sys828/REFS/Intro/Hanbook%20of%20Face%20Recognition.pdf#page=20">reoriented or resized</a>. A face very close to the camera may seem tilted or stretched slightly; someone farther back from the camera may appear smaller or even partially hidden from view. </p>
<p>When the software has arrived at a proper size and orientation for the face, it looks even more closely, seeking to create what is called a “<a href="https://www.springer.com/us/book/9780857299314">faceprint</a>.” Much like a fingerprint record, a faceprint is a set of characteristics that, taken together, uniquely identify one person’s particular face. Elements of a faceprint include the <a href="https://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-15-621">relative locations of facial features</a>, like eyes, eyebrows and nose shape. A person who has small eyes, thick eyebrows and a long narrow nose will have a very different faceprint from someone with large eyes, thin eyebrows and a wide nose. <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/andygreenberg/2010/09/27/how-to-hide-your-face-from-big-brother-try-sunglasses/#273c09e6456f">Eyes</a> are a key factor in accuracy. <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/andygreenberg/2010/09/27/how-to-hide-your-face-from-big-brother-try-sunglasses/#273c09e6456f">Large dark sunglasses</a> are more likely to reduce the accuracy of the software than facial hair or regular prescription glasses.</p>
<p>A faceprint can be compared with <a href="https://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-15-621">a single photo</a> to verify the identity of a known person, say an employee seeking to enter a secure area. Faceprints can also be compared to databases of many images <a href="https://cours.etsmtl.ca/sys828/REFS/Intro/Hanbook%20of%20Face%20Recognition.pdf#page=20">in hopes of identifying an unknown person</a>.</p>
<h2>It’s not always easy</h2>
<p>A key factor affecting how well facial recognition works is <a href="https://doi.org/10.1109/TCSVT.2003.818349">lighting</a>. An evenly lit face seen directly from the front, with no shadows and nothing blocking the camera’s view, is the best. In addition, whether an image of a face contrasts well with its background, and <a href="https://cours.etsmtl.ca/sys828/REFS/Intro/Hanbook%20of%20Face%20Recognition.pdf#page=20">how far away it is</a> from the camera, can help or hurt the facial recognition process.</p>
<figure class="align-left zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/163889/original/image-20170404-5736-93z0iu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/163889/original/image-20170404-5736-93z0iu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/163889/original/image-20170404-5736-93z0iu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=800&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/163889/original/image-20170404-5736-93z0iu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=800&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/163889/original/image-20170404-5736-93z0iu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=800&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/163889/original/image-20170404-5736-93z0iu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1005&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/163889/original/image-20170404-5736-93z0iu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1005&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/163889/original/image-20170404-5736-93z0iu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1005&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Uneven light, a bad angle and a strange expression can cause facial recognition to fail.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/rouadec/12362434563/">rouadec/flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Another very important challenge to successful facial recognition is the degree to which the person being identified cooperates with – or is even aware of – the process. People who know they are using facial recognition, such as that employee trying to get into a restricted room, are relatively easy to work with. They are able to look directly at the camera in proper lighting, to make things optimal for the software analysis.</p>
<p>Other people don’t know their faces are being analyzed – and may not even know they’re being surveilled by these systems at all. Images of their faces are trickier to analyze; a face picked out of a crowd shot may have to be digitally transformed and zoomed in before it can generate a faceprint. That leaves more room for the system to <a href="https://www.ftc.gov/sites/default/files/documents/reports/facing-facts-best-practices-common-uses-facial-recognition-technologies/121022facialtechrpt.pdf">misidentify the person</a>.</p>
<h2>Potential problems</h2>
<p>When a facial recognition system incorrectly identifies a person, that can cause a number of potential problems, depending on what kind of error it is. A system restricting access to a specific location could wrongly admit an unauthorized person – if, say, she was wearing a disguise or even just looked similar enough to someone who should be allowed in. Or it could block the entry of an authorized person by failing to correctly identify her.</p>
<p>In law enforcement, surveillance cameras aren’t always able to get very good images of a suspect’s face. That could mean identifying an innocent person as a suspect – or even failing to recognize that a known criminal just ran afoul of the law again.</p>
<p>Regardless of how accurate it appears to be on TV crime dramas, there is room for error, though the technology is improving. The National Institute of Standards and Technology has estimated that stated error rates are declining <a href="https://www.ftc.gov/sites/default/files/documents/reports/facing-facts-best-practices-common-uses-facial-recognition-technologies/121022facialtechrpt.pdf">50 percent every two years</a>, and are currently <a href="https://dx.doi.org/10.6028/NIST.IR.8173">around 0.8 percent</a>. That’s better than voice recognition, which has <a href="http://www.zdnet.com/article/microsofts-newest-milestone-worlds-lowest-error-rate-in-speech-recognition/">error rates above 6 percent</a>. But <a href="https://www.ftc.gov/sites/default/files/documents/reports/facing-facts-best-practices-common-uses-facial-recognition-technologies/121022facialtechrpt.pdf">facial recognition may still be more error-prone</a> than <a href="http://www.sciencepublication.org/ijast/documents/ijastiss2/4.pdf">iris scanning</a> and <a href="https://www.nist.gov/news-events/news/2004/07/nist-study-shows-computerized-fingerprint-matching-highly-accurate">fingerprint scanning</a>.</p>
<h2>Privacy concerns</h2>
<p>Even if it’s accurate, though – and perhaps even more so as accuracy improves – facial recognition raises <a href="https://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-15-621">privacy concerns</a>. One of the chief worries is that, much like the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1748-720X.2006.00024.x">rise of DNA databases</a>, facial features and photos are being <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2017/mar/27/us-facial-recognition-database-fbi-drivers-licenses-passports">warehoused by government agencies</a>, which will become able to track people and erase any notion of privacy or anonymity.</p>
<p>New privacy problems are cropping up all the time, too. A new smartphone app, <a href="http://www.computerworld.com/article/3071920/data-privacy/face-recognition-app-findface-may-make-you-want-to-take-down-all-your-online-photos.html">FindFace</a>, allows people to take a person’s photo and use facial recognition to find their social media accounts. Ostensibly a convenient way to connect with friends and co-workers, the app invites misuse. People can use it to <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2017/mar/11/sxsw-facial-recognition-biometrics-surveillance-panel">expose identities</a> and <a href="http://fusion.net/this-face-recognition-company-is-causing-havoc-in-russi-1793856482">harass others</a>.</p>
<p>These new capabilities are also raising concern about other malicious uses of publicly available images. For example, when police issue alerts about missing children, they often include a photograph of the child’s face. <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2017/mar/11/sxsw-facial-recognition-biometrics-surveillance-panel">There is little regulation or oversight</a>, so nobody knows whether those images are also being entered into facial recognition systems. </p>
<p>This, of course, doesn’t even touch on using facial recognition tools along with other technologies like police body cameras, geolocation software and machine learning to assist in <a href="https://theintercept.com/2017/03/22/real-time-face-recognition-threatens-to-turn-cops-body-cameras-into-surveillance-machines/">real-time tracking</a>. That goes beyond simple identification and into the realm of where someone has been, and where the software predicts they will go. Combining technologies offers attractive options for crime fighting, and deepens the fissures in our privacy.</p>
<p>Technology provides powerful tools, and the law is often ill-equipped to keep pace with new developments. But if we’re going to be using facial recognition in immigration and law enforcement decisions, we must engage with its possibilities and its detriments, and understand the issues of accuracy, privacy and ethics this new capability raises.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/61354/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jessica Gabel Cino receives federally funded research grants in the area of criminal law.</span></em></p>Computers are getting better at identifying people’s faces, and while that can be helpful as well as worrisome. To properly understand the legal and privacy ramifications, we need to know how facial recognition technology works.Jessica Gabel Cino, Associate Dean for Academic Affairs and Associate Professor of Law, Georgia State UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/710122017-01-29T18:56:36Z2017-01-29T18:56:36ZLet’s face it, first impressions count online<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/154133/original/image-20170124-16052-1gjb35v.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Same face, different impressions.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock/lipik</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>We live in an age where most of us have an online presence. Many of us have numerous accounts <a href="https://www.socialmedianews.com.au/social-media-statistics-australia-november-2016/">on social and professional networking sites</a> such as Facebook and LinkedIn. And singles among us are increasingly turning online to find love. </p>
<p>So how do the images we post of ourselves online influence the first impressions others form of us?</p>
<p>While it’s often said we shouldn’t judge a book by its cover, the reality is that <a href="https://theconversation.com/open-minded-heres-how-much-facial-stereotyping-influences-your-decisions-33445">we all do</a>. It takes only the <a href="http://www.csuchico.edu/%7Enschwartz/Psychological%20Science-2006-Willis-592-8.pdf">briefest glance</a> of a face, for us to form first impressions on a range of social attributes such as attractiveness, trustworthiness, likeability and competence.</p>
<p>And it isn’t all in the eye of the beholder. There is a high degree of consensus in the first impressions we form of others from their facial appearance. This means many people will often form the same impression of another person based on their appearance.</p>
<h2>First impressions count</h2>
<p>It goes without saying that the extent to which you’re evaluated as attractive, trustworthy, likeable and competent can influence important personal outcomes, such as your love life and employment prospects.</p>
<p>But perhaps less intuitive is the fact that first impressions formed on the basis of an individual’s facial appearance can have <a href="http://tlab.princeton.edu/publication_files/Todorov_ARP2014.pdf">important consequences</a> for societal outcomes.</p>
<p>Within politics, first impressions of competence predict <a href="https://theconversation.com/is-it-too-late-for-trump-and-clinton-to-become-more-likable-57329">electoral success</a>. Political candidates with more competent-looking faces win more votes and are more likely to win elections. </p>
<p>In business, <a href="https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1571469">competent-looking CEOs</a> are more likely to be hired by large corporations and receive larger salaries. In the judicial system, individuals who have untrustworthy-looking faces are more likely to receive <a href="https://people.ok.ubc.ca/stporter/Publications_files/Dangerous%20Decision%20Theory%20-%20mock%20jury%20study%20FINAL.pdf">guilty verdicts</a>.</p>
<h2>Face facts</h2>
<p>Given first impressions predict such important personal and societal outcomes, we’d want them to be highly accurate. The problem is, they’re not. </p>
<p><a href="http://www.psych.utoronto.ca/users/rule/pubs/2013/Rule_etal(2013-JPSP).pdf">Research</a> has shown that people judge both criminals and non-criminals similarly in terms of their perceived trustworthiness. </p>
<p>The lack of accuracy in our first impressions is further illustrated by inconsistency in the nature of first impressions assigned to different images of the exact same face.</p>
<p>Consider the first impressions of <a href="https://theconversation.com/facial-symmetry-and-good-health-may-not-be-related-30637">facial attractiveness</a> as an example. Stable, biologically based features of a face, namely symmetry, averageness (mathematically average for the population) and sexual dimorphism (masculinity and femininity) are well established <a href="http://www.annualreviews.org/doi/abs/10.1146/annurev.psych.57.102904.190208?journalCode=psych">markers of facial attractiveness</a>. These are all attributes that remain constant across different images of a person’s face. </p>
<p>But <a href="http://earlyexperience.unsw.wikispaces.net/file/view/Jenkins-COGNITION_2011.pdf">research</a> shows that separate images of the same face will often receive very different attractiveness ratings. The variability in attractiveness ratings across images of a single person’s face is on par with the variability in attractiveness ratings assigned to faces of different individuals. </p>
<p>Similar findings have also been observed for other first impressions, including <a href="http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.963.7276&rep=rep1&type=pdf">trustworthiness and competence</a>. </p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/b31zkdQ_2_8?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">What’s your impression of this face as it changes expression?</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>How is it that different images of the same face can create such different first impressions?</p>
<p>The answer lies in the fact that an important determinant of the first impressions we form from an image of a face, comes from changeable aspects of our facial appearance. That is, variations in our facial expression, facial viewpoint and eye gaze direction.</p>
<p><a href="https://theconversation.com/facial-expressions-are-key-to-first-impressions-what-does-that-mean-for-people-with-facial-paralysis-59359">Facial expressions</a> in particular have a profound influence on our first impressions. Smiling faces are evaluated more positively on a range of social attributes, including <a href="http://webzoom.freewebs.com/evolutionarycognition/papers/Willis.et.al.2011-Social.Cognition.pdf">approachability, trustworthiness</a>, and <a href="http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/bjop.12206/full">attractiveness</a>. </p>
<p>The most negative evaluations are assigned to faces conveying negative emotions, such as anger. Even subtle cues to positive and negative emotion influence first impressions assigned to emotionally neutral faces in a similar manner. It’s an issue that those – including myself – who have been accused of suffering from “<a href="http://www.smh.com.au/lifestyle/beauty/scientists-have-discovered-what-causes-resting-bitch-face-20160203-gml6em.html">resting bitch face</a>”, would be all too aware of.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/3v98CPXNiSk?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
</figure>
<p>So why do facial expressions play such an important role in guiding our first impressions?</p>
<h2>Express yourself, facially</h2>
<p>Facial expressions are important social signals giving information about the internal state and behavioural intentions of others. The ability to accurately infer this information from a momentary glance of a face enables us to regulate our social behaviour appropriately.</p>
<p>This capacity can be important for survival. For instance, the ability to rapidly detect emotions that convey threat, such as anger, can enable you to flee an attacker.</p>
<p>It appears that the extent to which a face is perceived to convey threat, as communicated by one’s facial expression, is directly related to our first impressions. For example, faces that are perceived as <a href="http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0131472">more threatening</a> are considered less approachable than faces conveying non-threatening emotions. </p>
<p>From an evolutionary perspective, using this information when forming first impressions is clearly adaptive when we encounter strangers in person. This is particularly the case when it’s the only information we have available to guide our interactions.</p>
<p>But when we are forming first impressions of others from a brief glance of their images online, it clearly has the potential to lead us astray.</p>
<h2>Putting your best face forward</h2>
<p>So what does this mean for how we should present ourselves online if we want to make a good first impression?</p>
<p>The message is simple. The key to making a good first impression, whether we’re wanting to be perceived as attractive, competent, trustworthy or likeable all rests with a smiling face. </p>
<p>So whether you’re looking for love, or on the look out for a new job, go for the snap of you smiling if you want to put your best face forward.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/71012/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Megan Willis does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>If you’re looking online for new love, a new job or just to meet up with new friends, then a lot rests on the face you present to the world.Megan Willis, Senior Lecturer, School of Psychology, Australian Catholic UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/561882016-03-18T10:05:59Z2016-03-18T10:05:59ZAcne treatment: antibiotics don’t need to kill bacteria to clear up your skin<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/115027/original/image-20160314-11292-yqnlxi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Antibiotics can help, but at lower doses and shorter durations than doctors tend to prescribe. </span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.shutterstock.com/pic-182957342/stock-photo-acne-skin-because-the-disorders-of-sebaceous-glands-productions.html?src=pyNEB5JOBn2Ujs5daJMJxA-1-78">Acne via www.shutterstock.com.</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Acne is one of the most common dermatologic diseases, affecting <a href="http://www.sidnet.org/files/Burden%20of%20Skin%20Diseases%202004%20Final%20Sept%2005.pdf">40-50 million people each year</a> in the United States. While best known as a bothersome part of puberty, affecting approximately <a href="https://www.aad.org/media/stats/conditions">85 percent of young people</a>, acne can persist (or even start) in adulthood, causing emotional and physical distress and sometimes permanent disfigurement. </p>
<p>Many people with acne will be prescribed antibiotics for treatment at some point. In fact, about <a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11100021">five million prescriptions</a> for oral antibiotics are written each year for the treatment of acne in the United States. While dermatologists comprise 1 percent of physicians overall, they are responsible for <a href="http://dermatologytimes.modernmedicine.com/dermatology-times/content/tags/acne/dermatologists-contribute-overuse-antibiotics">5 percent of all antibiotic prescriptions written</a>. </p>
<p>Even though national recommendations say that a course of antibiotics to treat acne shouldn’t <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jaad.2015.12.037">last more than three months</a>, a study published in the <em>Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology</em> found that the average amount of time a patient is prescribed an oral antibiotic is actually <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jaad.2015.09.046">over 300 days</a>.</p>
<p>Antibiotics may be prescribed at higher doses than <a href="http://dermatologytimes.modernmedicine.com/dermatology-times/content/tags/acne-treatment/derms-slow-embrace-subantimicrobial-dose-concept">what is really needed to treat acne</a>. While antibiotics can kill the bacteria associated with acne, it’s their anti-inflammatory effects, not their antimicrobial effects, that yield the biggest skin-clearing benefits. </p>
<p>The result is that the bacteria associated with acne are <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S1473-3099(15)00527-7">becoming resistant to common antibiotics</a> – and this overuse also contributes to more harmful bacteria, like <em>Staphlycoccus aureus</em> and <em>Streptococcus</em> becoming resistant. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/115046/original/image-20160315-17748-f66dp7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/115046/original/image-20160315-17748-f66dp7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=246&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/115046/original/image-20160315-17748-f66dp7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=246&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/115046/original/image-20160315-17748-f66dp7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=246&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/115046/original/image-20160315-17748-f66dp7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=309&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/115046/original/image-20160315-17748-f66dp7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=309&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/115046/original/image-20160315-17748-f66dp7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=309&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">What is it exactly?</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/practicalcures/23388045145/in/photolist-BCHQZF-685ncS-eEwbU5-4E6Nka-oxjsH6-f5eaoH-9azsfQ-jzDZVi-77hWkd-jMxLbd-CMkwV-77hDHC-5w9Nho-cSb68Q-eh86mE-681cAP-77hGxh-4U7EJF-9qaXgM-8NgCMx-BCHQHD-B5cRPx-5FhKxZ-5FhKfg-nqqAwA-a63Kq-a63Kp-8sXWN1-9nH3We-bB17Yq-4dJgUX-7g6Ydv-brxmTP-PC9bN-4CoUJa-edzEW5-9wVGPe-czh3KE-rBtepJ-cTptMJ-2qiGz-o2buPN-e3ba6Z-a63Kn-a63Ki-a63Kk-82orWz-4CfWGn-fSR22k-a63Km">Practicalcures.com/Flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>What is acne anyway?</h2>
<p>Acne is a chronic inflammatory skin condition, characterized by blackheads and whiteheads (called comedones), pimples, and deeper lumps (cysts or nodules). They are caused when hair follicles are clogged with oil, bacteria and dead skins cells, and can occur on the face, neck, chest, back, shoulders and upper arms. </p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/115468/original/image-20160317-30203-1drggxf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/115468/original/image-20160317-30203-1drggxf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/115468/original/image-20160317-30203-1drggxf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=473&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/115468/original/image-20160317-30203-1drggxf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=473&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/115468/original/image-20160317-30203-1drggxf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=473&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/115468/original/image-20160317-30203-1drggxf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=595&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/115468/original/image-20160317-30203-1drggxf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=595&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/115468/original/image-20160317-30203-1drggxf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=595&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Whiteheads, blackheads and pustules! Oh my!</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.shutterstock.com/pic-248595325/stock-vector-types-of-acne-pimples-healthy-skin-whiteheads-and-blackheads-papules-and-pustules.html?src=byWggq37ITai9CYfWs_1lQ-1-4">Acne diagram via www.shutterstock.com.</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>While once thought to be a direct result of overactive sebaceous oil glands, now we know that inflammation <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1600-0625.2009.00890.x">is the driving force behind acne</a>. In fact, this inflammation can be seen in the skin even <em>before</em> a pimple pops up. And clogged follicles can also stimulate more inflammation. </p>
<p>The bacterium that lends its name to the condition <em>Propionibacterium acnes</em>, is just one of the factors that stimulates this acne-causing inflammation.</p>
<p>Hereditary and genetic factors, hormones, emotional stress and even diet can also bring on the zits. For instance, foods with a high glycemic load such as white grains (bread, rice, pasta) and sweets have been <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/exd.12898">linked to acne</a>, as they can increase oil production and skin cell turnover. This ultimately causes a backup in the pores and follicles on our skin – creating a nice environment for the inflammation-inducing <em>P. acnes</em> to flourish.</p>
<p>Treating the inflammation can help prevent acne from developing, and the potent anti-inflammatory effects of antibiotics can help to treat acne, much more than their ability to kill bacteria. For instance, the tetracycline class of antibiotics, such as doxycycline and minocycline, <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2015/329418">can inhibit the production of pro-inflammatory signaling molecules</a>.</p>
<p>They also inhibit overactive demolition enzymes called matrix metalloproteinases. Normally, these enzymes help keep our skin healthy, breaking down old and dying structures to allow new ones to be built up. But when they’re overactive, these enzymes can <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/sj.jid.5701188">damage the hair and oil gland</a> unit as well as surrounding supporting structures in the skin. </p>
<p>When that happens, these enzymes contribute to the formation of the big, angry, red, cystic acne lesion, and they can also contribute to the creation of pitted scars. </p>
<p>This is why antibiotics are used to treat acne, but also rosacea, razor bumps and scarring hair loss, to name a few other dermatological conditions.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/115172/original/image-20160315-9272-14qakpq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/115172/original/image-20160315-9272-14qakpq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/115172/original/image-20160315-9272-14qakpq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/115172/original/image-20160315-9272-14qakpq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/115172/original/image-20160315-9272-14qakpq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/115172/original/image-20160315-9272-14qakpq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/115172/original/image-20160315-9272-14qakpq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Antibiotics also have anti-inflammatory effects.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.shutterstock.com/pic-312461384/stock-photo-drug-pill-and-capsule-of-antibiotics-in-blister-packaging.html?src=J9dQi_H4p-z8On1_kIgYEw-1-15">Antibiotics image via www.shutterstock.om.</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>We need to change how we use antibiotics</h2>
<p>Thanks to using higher-than-needed doses of antibiotics and keeping patients on them for longer than recommended, the <em>P. acne</em> and other skin bacteria, like <em>Staphlyococcus aureus</em> (MRSA, the multi-drug resistant strain of staph bacteria) have developed <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jaad.2015.12.037">resistance to multiple topical and oral antibiotics</a> used to treat this disease chronically. For instance, 20 or 30 years ago, the antibiotic erythromycin was used frequently to treat acne, but now both bacteria are uniformly resistant. </p>
<p>So far we have not seen too much resistance to the tetracycline class of antibiotics used today, but they too will be on their way out if we do not change our prescribing patterns. </p>
<p>This is frustrating because antibiotics don’t need to kill bacteria to treat acne. Clearing <em>P. acnes</em> from the area can be helpful, but the bacteria is just one stimulus of inflammation, so removing it is an assist, not a win. And research has shown that the desired anti-inflammatory effects <a href="http://jddonline.com/articles/dermatology/S1545961615P0581X">can be achieved at sub-antibacterial dosing</a>. This means that the needed dose is so low that it can’t kill good bacteria or challenge pathogenic bacteria to become resistant. </p>
<p>And antibiotics should never be prescribed on their own to treat acne. In fact, treatment guidelines always recommend that antibiotics be <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jaad.2015.12.037">combined with a nonantibiotic topical treatment</a>.</p>
<p>An oldie but goodie is benzoyl peroxide in a relatively low strength (2.5 percent, compared to the 8-10 percent that you get at the drugstore). It can kill <em>P. acnes</em>, but because it’s not an antibiotic, bacteria can’t become resistant to it. It can also break down the skin overgrowth <a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/8204465">covering the pore</a>, which leads to blemishes. </p>
<p>Retinoids, derived from vitamin A, are by far the <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/jdv.13190">most effective topical anti-acne drugs</a>. They limit pore clogging, inhibit inflammation and matrix metalloproteinases. Retinoids also affect the various genes involved in producing the structural components of the skin, such as collagen and elastin, improving the appearance of scars.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/115475/original/image-20160317-30219-cct6pg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/115475/original/image-20160317-30219-cct6pg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/115475/original/image-20160317-30219-cct6pg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/115475/original/image-20160317-30219-cct6pg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/115475/original/image-20160317-30219-cct6pg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/115475/original/image-20160317-30219-cct6pg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/115475/original/image-20160317-30219-cct6pg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Better treatments on the horizon?</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.shutterstock.com/pic-301072340/stock-photo-young-white-skinned-girl-with-wet-hair-without-makeup-is-in-disbelief-in-front-of-cosmetic-products.html?src=csl_recent_image-1">Woman image via www.shutterstock.com.</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>The future of acne treatment</h2>
<p>A future direction in acne treatment development is utilizing agents that can kill <em>P. acnes</em> but that don’t lead to microbial resistance. </p>
<p>For instance, there are studies using synthetic antimicrobial peptides, tiny strings of amino acids that can physically destroy <em>P. acnes</em>. This remedy would likely be used in conjunction with other therapies that can treat other causes of acne.</p>
<p>Even more promising is the use of nitric oxide, one of the most important and potent biological molecules, which can both kill <em>P.acnes</em> without the risk of it or any other bacteria developing resistance <em>and</em> inhibit multiple elements of inflammation involved in the formation of the vicious pimple. The limitation to date has been delivery, as nitric oxide is highly unstable.</p>
<p>But nanotechnology might provide a way of delivering nitric oxide to treat acne. I, along with collaborators at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine and the University of California, Los Angeles, have shown that a nanoparticle capable of generating low levels of nitric oxide over time <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/jid.2015.277">could hit all the key pathologic elements</a> that lead to acne. </p>
<p>In the meantime, if you are prescribed antibiotics for acne, ask your doctor how long you need to take them and if the dose is appropriate. And try to avoid popping those zits.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/56188/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Consulting/Ad board: Sanova works, Oakstone institute, Loreal, La Roche Posay, Galderma, Amgen, Onset, Aveeno, Valeant, Microcures, Nano Bio-Med, Biogen, Pfizer, Nerium, G&W Laboratories, Novartis, Occulus, Intraderm, Encore, Ferndale. Speaker: Amgen, Valeant. Grants: Valeant
</span></em></p>While antibiotics can kill the bacteria associated with acne, it’s their anti-inflammatory effects, not their antimicrobial effects, that yield the biggest skin-clearing benefits.Adam Friedman, Associate Professor of Dermatology, George Washington UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/112192012-12-09T19:10:25Z2012-12-09T19:10:25ZFace value: where to look when you want to read someone<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/18452/original/k9dmh3ym-1354855980.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Much information is available to us just by focusing on a person's face.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Dual Time Studio</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>You can tell a lot about a person just by looking at their face. From a glance, we can glean information about a person’s emotional state, sex, age, ethnicity, where their attention is focused and, of course – if we recognise them – who they are.</p>
<p>But where should you look on a face to get the best look – that is, where should we focus our gaze to gather the most information? </p>
<p>In their new study <a href="http://www.pnas.org/content/109/48/E3314.short">published in PNAS</a>, Matthew Peterson and Miguel Eckstein – from the University of California Santa Barbara – shed some light on this question through the use of eye-tracking techniques.</p>
<h2>Tracking eyes</h2>
<p>There is a <a href="http://i-perception.perceptionweb.com/journal/I/article/i0389">long history of research into eye movements</a>, stretching back to Aristotle. In the 1950s and 1960s, <a href="http://i-perception.perceptionweb.com/journal/I/article/i0382">Alfred Yarbus</a>, a Russian scientist, demonstrated that when people look at a face they tend to look at the eyes and mouth, in a triangular scanning pattern. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/18449/original/fpbtpmcg-1354855547.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/18449/original/fpbtpmcg-1354855547.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=908&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/18449/original/fpbtpmcg-1354855547.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=908&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/18449/original/fpbtpmcg-1354855547.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=908&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/18449/original/fpbtpmcg-1354855547.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1140&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/18449/original/fpbtpmcg-1354855547.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1140&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/18449/original/fpbtpmcg-1354855547.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1140&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Eye movements to faces, from Yarbus (1967, figures 114 and 115)</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Springer Science and Business Media</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>To measure eye movements, Yarbus developed suction caps that were attached to the surface of the eye like contact lenses (see image below). Small mirrors were attached to the caps to reflect light, and these reflections were used to measure eye movements. </p>
<p>Most modern eye movement recording techniques are much less invasive; they are compact and can be used to measure eye movements in both children and adults. Applications are even being developed to allow eye tracking with <a href="http://www.inference.phy.cam.ac.uk/opengazer/">nothing more than a webcam</a>.</p>
<p>That said, precise information about where people are looking typically requires a set-up involving a small camera connected to a computer that monitors the reflection of infrared light from the cornea of the eye and the position of the pupil. </p>
<h2>Look into my eyes</h2>
<p>The studies by Yarbus showed that when given the freedom to explore a face for an extended period of time, people from Western cultures will concentrate their fixations mainly on the eyes, with some looks also to the mouth.</p>
<p>In these cultures it is important to look a person in the eye during social interactions to avoid appearing insincere or even a bit shifty. </p>
<p>In East Asian cultures, where eye contact may be considered impolite or disrespectful, people <a href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0003022">have been shown</a> to focus more on the nose. </p>
<p>But regardless of where they are looking on the face <a href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0009708">there is evidence</a> that both cultures extract information from the eyes.</p>
<p>This suggests that perhaps the eye region is important in conveying information about the face.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/18450/original/cb8czv3r-1354855791.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/18450/original/cb8czv3r-1354855791.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/18450/original/cb8czv3r-1354855791.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=233&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/18450/original/cb8czv3r-1354855791.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=233&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/18450/original/cb8czv3r-1354855791.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=233&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/18450/original/cb8czv3r-1354855791.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=293&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/18450/original/cb8czv3r-1354855791.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=293&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/18450/original/cb8czv3r-1354855791.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=293&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Left: Eye movement recording techniques from the 1950s and 1960s. Two of Yarbus’s suction caps, together with the recording device. Right: Modern</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Springer Science and Business Media</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>In the blink of an eye</h2>
<p>The new paper by Peterson and Eckstein suggests it’s best to look just below the eyes in order to most effectively extract information from a person’s face.</p>
<p>To reach their conclusion, the researchers presented test subjects with faces very briefly, allowing them time for only a single movement of the eye. The subjects were then asked to make common, socially important judgments, such as determining the identity, gender or emotion of the face. </p>
<p>When people were able to choose where to look, they tended to look at an area between and just below the eyes. This was the preferred area regardless of whether people were judging identity, expression or gender. </p>
<p>When people were only allowed to look at other regions of the face (e.g. forehead, tip of the nose, mouth), their ability to judge identity, expression or gender was reduced. These results suggest that the area people naturally prefer to look at – the area just below the eyes – provides access to information useful in performing these tasks.</p>
<p>Peterson and Eckstein also wanted to know whether eye movements are functional – that is, do people consistently look at the area which will maximise accuracy of the task?</p>
<p>To do this they used a computer-based modelling program – an artificial “ideal observer” – to identify the optimal area to look on the face to extract the largest amount of information. The area identified by the computer program corresponded closely to the patterns observed in the participants. </p>
<p>Together the results from the human and computer observers suggest that when time is short, our visual systems unconsciously guide our eyes to the best spot on the face to perform the task.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/18451/original/5mc2zsc8-1354855940.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/18451/original/5mc2zsc8-1354855940.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/18451/original/5mc2zsc8-1354855940.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=706&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/18451/original/5mc2zsc8-1354855940.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=706&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/18451/original/5mc2zsc8-1354855940.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=706&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/18451/original/5mc2zsc8-1354855940.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=888&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/18451/original/5mc2zsc8-1354855940.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=888&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/18451/original/5mc2zsc8-1354855940.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=888&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Where participants looked when identifying famous faces. Green dots show individual participant’s mean fixation positions, white dot shows the group mean.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Peterson and Eckstein/PNAS</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Looking the wrong way</h2>
<p>So why does all this matter?</p>
<p>At a fundamental level, being able to discern information from a face quickly and accurately may have conferred an evolutionary advantage over the course of human history.</p>
<p>Determining whether a person walking towards you is a friend or foe is important because the quicker you can determine whether that person looks angry, the more time you have to plan whether to flee or fight.</p>
<p>On a more focused level, understanding where it is best to look may help us understand why some people have difficulty recognising emotion and identity from faces. People with schizophrenia and autism spectrum disorders, for instance, often have trouble reading faces.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0037681">Studies</a> have suggested these difficulties may be associated with atypical eye movement patterns.</p>
<p>Similarly, <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/02643290802299350">there is evidence</a> that people with prosopagnosia (“face-blindness”) – who have <a href="http://theconversation.com/i-should-know-you-face-blindness-and-the-problem-of-identifying-others-8884">severe difficulty recognising the faces of familiar people</a> – do not look at the eyes but that training to improve face recognition can increase looks to the eyes.</p>
<p>So next time you’re looking at someone’s face, remember: there’s more to this seemingly basic process than meets the eye. </p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/11219/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Romina Palermo receives funding from the ARC. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Kate Crookes does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>You can tell a lot about a person just by looking at their face. From a glance, we can glean information about a person’s emotional state, sex, age, ethnicity, where their attention is focused and, of…Kate Crookes, Research Associate, ARC Centre of Excellence in Cognition and its Disorders & School of Psychology, The University of Western AustraliaRomina Palermo, Associate Professor, ARC Centre of Excellence in Cognition and its Disorders & School of Psychology, The University of Western AustraliaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.