Scientists have long been interested in the relation between a nose’s form and its function. New research is showing that climate may have played an important role in how the nose’s internal structure evolved.

Researchers in Germany recently showed that individuals from cold, dry climates, such as Greenland or Siberia, had higher and narrower nasal cavities than those from hot, humid climates, such as Papua New Guinea or Gabon. The German team, led by Marlijn Noback of Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen, took computer-aided measurements of the nasal cavities of 100 skulls representing 10 human groups living in five different climates. They found that the nasal cavities of cold, dry climate populations are relatively high and show a larger and more abrupt change in diameter in the upper part of the cavity than those of hot, humid climate populations. Her research was published online in the American Journal of Physical Anthropology this past June.

This narrowing of the nasal passage enhances contact between the air and the mucosal tissue, which helps to warm and humidify that air, Noback notes. Cold, dry climate populations also show a relatively longer nasal cavity, giving this population more space in which to bring incoming air in line with body temperature. Microscopic hairs called cilia, which line the nasal passage, help to keep out pathogens and dust that may infect or irritate the lungs, and the cilia work more efficiently when incoming air is moist. “Proper heating and humidification of air in colder climates are important for respiratory health,” says paleoanthropologist Nathan Holton of the University of Iowa.  In warm-climate-adapted populations, inhalations are not directed toward the narrow upper part of the nasal cavity for warming. So “people from warm climates, moving into cold climates, could be more susceptible [to] colds and related diseases,” Noback says. 

Which sort of nose do you have? Although you can’t tell much about the external shape of the nose when looking at its internal structure, a narrow, longer internal cavity is generally linked to a relatively narrower and more projecting nose, Holton says.

This article was originally published with the title The Shape of a Nose.

5 Comments

1. 1. JamesDavis 07:35 AM 8/21/11

   Didn't we learn this in 9th grade human biology? Germany can't be that far behind.

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2. 2. SigmaEyes 09:53 PM 8/21/11

   Finally, an excuse I can give to a plastic surgeon in asking for rhynoplasty! I'll just say I am moving to the Bahamas!

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3. 3. jgrosay 04:41 PM 8/22/11

   I've always had the hunch that the flat noses of chinese and other asian populations is due to the fact that they lived for thousand of years in a siberian-like climate, or in the same Siberia, short noses having a diminished risk of freezing on cold weather than nosy noses. The high cheeks of those people would allow more room for paranasal sinuses to heat and filter incoming freezing air. This concept can be considered as having some support in the fact that chinese cuisine has dishes very close to siberian ones, a coincidence found also in south american natives recipes, as current native americans came from Siberia when the Bering strait was walkable. On the same line, current greek cuisine is just the same as cuisine done in Turkey. A doubt comes into my mind: why the current chinese people stay away from the region they live in today, being confined to the Siberia freezing temperatures ? Was there another ethnic group, or just wild animals made colonization impossible ? The burial of a group of people coming from Europe was discovered not long time ago close to a desert acting as barrier to reach what is China today, but was somebody there before ? Who ? Why they don't continue today ? . As a lay in this field, I'll greatly appreciate references about this to consult. Salut +

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4. 4. sasidharan 02:33 PM 8/23/11

   i just want to get it thorough that mucous just melt's as the temperature of our body increases or by eating contagious food items?and what makes us to breath through mouth?

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5. 5. dbromwich 01:21 AM 8/26/11

   Minor correction. The article was published electronically on June 9 2011, but the journal issue is August 2011:
   
   Noback, M. L., K. Harvati, et al. "Climate-related variation of the human nasal cavity." American Journal of Physical Anthropology 145(4): 599-614.
   
   The implications of the research also extend to inhalation toxicology where a higher air velocity and more sudden changes in air direction should better protect the lungs from particulates but lead to more nasal cancers.
   

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