Biological Shape Research Articles

Teaching the ‘appropriate’ age for reproduction: from family planning to ‘life plan’

This study explores how the idea of an ‘appropriate’ age for a woman to reproduce has been propagated through maternal and child health policies in Japan since the early post-war era. The notion of an ‘appropriate’ age emerged during the 1960s when a qualitative shift occurred in family planning, as local government classes for newlyweds began to emphasize the health risks associated with ‘elderly primipara’: childbirth in later life. Since the 1990s, the Japanese government has attempted to tackle the country’s declining fertility rate through pronatalism, outlining the reproductive difficulties that aging can engender and, from the 2010s, instructing young people to draw up their own ‘life plan’. However, as government recognition of child abuse has increased, a competing argument has emerged that pregnancy in young women should not be viewed as ‘appropriate’. This concept of an ‘appropriate’ age for reproduction is fluid, malleable and dependent on both social context and interpretation. I argue that governmental attempts to define an ‘appropriate’ age for pregnancy should be challenged: reproduction and child nurturing are unpredictable phenomena, in which social and biological factors shape individual experiences.

How can biological shapes inspire design activity in closed domains?

Biological examples have been used to increase innovation in design activities and design education. And biologically inspired design has been studied in mechanical engineering using biological functions and principles as source domains. However, there were few studies regarding shape-based biological design in industrial design; furthermore, the openness of the source and target domains was vague. This study tries to explore shape-based biological design with closed source domain and closed target domain. In addition, this study aims to figure out students’ difficulties and defects in bionics design to promote design education. Third-year undergraduate students, graduate students, and experts whose backgrounds are industrial design were invited to be participants in the study. Participants of each expertise level were divided into two groups and were given whole and segmented pictures of white sharks individually to design electric cars. Outcome-based validation was chosen to measure the effect of analogy. Multivariate ANOVA was used to evaluate the effect of expertise level and source domain completeness on the results. The findings showed that presenting designers with segmented pictures can increase the number of biological elements and details in the solution. However, there appeared to be no significant difference between the novelty of the work, whether the group received complete or segmented images. Novice designers were more innovative and preferred to use more biological elements during ideation than the experts, while the latter tended to use fewer elements of biology and generated solutions with a higher level of abstraction. For design education, the findings will give teachers advice on how to train and inspire their students in bionics design. For the design industry, segmented biological images can increase the elements used and the details in the sketches. In addition, the evaluation metrics for shape-based BID established in this study can help designers and manufacturers in terms of production.

Structure Design of Multi-joint Bionic Robot Based on Solidworks

The body structure of the multi joint bionic robot is designed and analyzed. According to the movement form of snake and caterpillar, a multi joint bionic robot is designed and manufactured based on the principle of bionics. Using SolidWorks software to establish the model, there are three parts: head joint, body joint and tail joint. The bionic robot uses 3D technology to be printed and make a physical prototype, and experiment with the prototype. It can imitate the movement of snakes and caterpillars, and realize snake movement, insect movement, turning, curling, lurking and other movements. Through the structural design, processing and manufacturing of the multi joint bionic robot, the movement shape is analyzed and adjusted to make its movement attitude completely similar to the biological shape.

A novel investigation of the effect of iterations in sliding semi-landmarks for 3D human facial images

BackgroundLandmark-based approaches of two- or three-dimensional coordinates are the most widely used in geometric morphometrics (GM). As human face hosts the organs that act as the central interface for identification, more landmarks are needed to characterize biological shape variation. Because the use of few anatomical landmarks may not be sufficient for variability of some biological patterns and form, sliding semi-landmarks are required to quantify complex shape.ResultsThis study investigates the effect of iterations in sliding semi-landmarks and their results on the predictive ability in GM analyses of soft-tissue in 3D human face. Principal Component Analysis (PCA) is used for feature selection and the gender are predicted using Linear Discriminant Analysis (LDA) to test the effect of each relaxation state. The results show that the classification accuracy is affected by the number of iterations but not in progressive pattern. Also, there is stability at 12 relaxation state with highest accuracy of 96.43% and an unchanging decline after the 12 relaxation state.ConclusionsThe results indicate that there is a particular number of iteration or cycle where the sliding becomes optimally relaxed. This means the higher the number of iterations is not necessarily the higher the accuracy.

Fractal geometry and applicability to biological simulation shapes for sustainable architecture design in Vietnam.

Sustainability is the biggest goal that all areas including building architecture aim at. Sustainability is created by the harmony of buildings to the natural environment in many aspects. In terms of form, biological simulations are considered as a way of learning from natural shapes in order to create the similarities of architecture with nature, contributing to creating the sustainability in aesthetics and structure, in which the geometric language is used as a basic tool for composing the complex form of the work. However, Euclidean geometry, which existed for thousands of years, cannot describe nature correctly and is rated "hard dry" and "cold." In the 1970s, the mathematician Mandelbrot found fractal geometry with a great self-similarity rule, which allowed for precise modeling of many complex structures of nature. After appearing, fractal geometry quickly penetrated into all areas of life, whereas in Vietnam, many people have not known it. This article summarizes the basic knowledge of fractal geometry, its relationship with sustainable historical architectures in Vietnam, and its applicability in drawing biological simulation architectural form that harmonizes the nature, contributing to creating sustainable buildings for the future.

Recent biological invasion shapes species recognition and aggressive behaviour in a native species: A behavioural experiment using robots in the field.

Invasive species are a world-wide threat to biodiversity. Yet, our understanding of biological invasions remains incomplete, partly due to the difficulty of tracking and studying behavioural interactions in recently created species interactions. We tested whether the interactions between the recently introduced invasive lizard Anolis cristatellus and the native Anolis oculatus in Dominica have led to changes in species recognition and aggressive behaviour of the native species. The use of realistic robots allowed us to test the behavioural response of 131 A. oculatus males towards relevant and controlled conspecific versus heterospecific stimuli, directly in the field and in two contexts (allopatry vs. sympatry). Our results show that species recognition evolved prior to sympatry in A. oculatus. Moreover, interspecific competition resulted in an increase in the time spent displaying and a divergence in the aggressive behaviour of the native species towards conspecifics versus heterospecifics. Inherent species recognition and higher aggressive behaviour may limit species coexistence as they are expected to favour A. oculatus during territorial interactions with A. cristatellus. While more studies are needed to understand the causes of these behavioural shifts and their consequences on long-term species coexistence, the present study highlights the role of behaviour as a first response to interspecific interactions.

Are geometric morphometric analyses replicable? Evaluating landmark measurement error and its impact on extant and fossil Microtus classification.

Geometric morphometric analyses are frequently employed to quantify biological shape and shape variation. Despite the popularity of this technique, quantification of measurement error in geometric morphometric datasets and its impact on statistical results is seldom assessed in the literature. Here, we evaluate error on 2D landmark coordinate configurations of the lower first molar of five North American Microtus (vole) species. We acquired data from the same specimens several times to quantify error from four data acquisition sources: specimen presentation, imaging devices, interobserver variation, and intraobserver variation. We then evaluated the impact of those errors on linear discriminant analysis‐based classifications of the five species using recent specimens of known species affinity and fossil specimens of unknown species affinity. Results indicate that data acquisition error can be substantial, sometimes explaining >30% of the total variation among datasets. Comparisons of datasets digitized by different individuals exhibit the greatest discrepancies in landmark precision, and comparison of datasets photographed from different presentation angles yields the greatest discrepancies in species classification results. All error sources impact statistical classification to some extent. For example, no two landmark dataset replicates exhibit the same predicted group memberships of recent or fossil specimens. Our findings emphasize the need to mitigate error as much as possible during geometric morphometric data collection. Though the impact of measurement error on statistical fidelity is likely analysis‐specific, we recommend that all geometric morphometric studies standardize specimen imaging equipment, specimen presentations (if analyses are 2D), and landmark digitizers to reduce error and subsequent analytical misinterpretations.

Do nutritional behaviors depend on biological sex and cultural gender?

Conventional knowledge, resulting from observations and experience, maintains the conviction that there are gender differences in the acquisition, preparation and consumption of food. This review shows differences between the sexes in eating behavior, food choice and nutritional strategy which were conditioned by evolution and by intra-individual (biological or psychological) and extra-individual (socioeconomic and cultural) factors. Women manifest a more pronounced trust in healthy nutrition, greater engagement in controlling body weight, a higher tendency to eat in a group and in stressful situations, and they frequently experience frustration due to their own nutritional behaviors, which reflects higher social pressure and their attempts to reduce eating-related pleasure. On the other hand, men prefer fatty meals with a strong taste, and are directed mainly by the pleasure of consumption; they more frequently furtively eat sweet foods while watching television, use more dietary supplements and more frequently visit fast food restaurants. Nutritional behavior, styles of nutrition, dietary profiles, approach to nourishment, approach to the place of meal consumption, and the sources of nutritional knowledge all demonstrate associations with gender. Reciprocal interactions between gender and diet are conditioned by physiological, psychological and sociocultural factors. This system of reciprocal interactions includes feedback: biological sex and cultural gender shape one's diet and, reciprocally, one's diet affects the deepening or flattening of gender differences. The analysis of reciprocally interacting factors entangled in the formation of a nutritional model may also represent an important element of pro-health prophylaxis and should be used in medical and dietary practice. Males in particular should be informed and educated about health-promoting diets.

STRATEGIES OF BIO MIMICRY AS A TOOL FOR SUSTAINABILITY (APPLICATIONS IN SIMULATION FOR DESIGN COLLEGES' STUDENTS)

Strategies of bio mimicry are considered one of the most modern and vital trends, whichaffecting the architectural thinking and have an effective role in increasing the buildingefficiency towards its surrounding environment. Nature has been and remained the source ofsystems and processes. Due to its rules and principles, it could preserve the ecosystemthrough which design solutions could be drawn. Such solutions are more capable thanhumans, and the design thinking which combines biology and architecture and creatingintegration between building and nature is called science of bio mimicry. Such phenomenonhas assisted the architectural applications on generating sustainable shapes that are morebalanced to the surrounding environment, however some of these applications are superficialand depended on simulation of living shapes with ignoring the biological relationship betweensuch shapes with their environment. Consequently, the research dilemma is represented in notutilizing, implicitly and in depth, from natural science in preparing architectural designswhether such science is physical or biology of the ecosystems for living organism and theirprinciples that ensuring its internal cohesion, which in turn adapting with the environmentalchanges surrounding. Therefore, the study highlights the significance of studying thestrategies and principles of bio mimicry, and utilized them and thus it is possible to createinnovative design solutions to achieve more sustainable ecological balance. By studying thesimulation techniques and highlight at certain applications utilized by at design works, theresearch has emphasized the importance of the integration of biology with nature, and thisattitude of understanding such ecological systems could lead to developing a methodology fora sustainable ecological design, of which the environmental biology shall become a vitalelement integrated with ecological design systems.

A Simple Approach to Stiffness Enhancement of a Printable Shape by Hamilton-Jacobi Skeletonization

The 3D-Printing technology is ready to produce parts with specific properties like individual stiffness. Based on a predefined outer shape, the inner structure of a printed part defines mainly the mechanical features. By Hamilton-Jacobi skeletonization, a stiffness enhancement of a printable shape can be achieved in a way, that a novel AM-corner includes linear axis function. Originating in the field of shape analysis in computer vision and graphics, the so-called medial axis transform (MAT) is designed for the computation of a structure that resembles the bone structure of biological shapes. The input for MAT computation is typically a shape’s boundary. The arising topological skeletons have proven to provide a useful concept for many applications; however, their computation is generally intricate and also known to rely on many parameters, diminishing the accessibility of skeletonization methods. In this work, the classical Hamilton-Jacobi skeletonization approach is adopted to compute a stability enhancing shape structure. As the basic method has not been designed for the context of additive manufacturing, a set of suitable modifications are introduced to design an algorithm that suits our intended purpose. Unlike the traditional skeletonization schemes, the resulting method appears to be robust and in practice almost completely automated as we can identify useful generic parameter settings. By a finite element method (FEM) study, the elastic stress properties of the AM-corner with linear axis function is validated and printed with in metal (1.4404) with the 3D Selected Laser Melting (SLM) system AconityMIDI. The AM-knot with skeletonization guides approximately 20 times better than a standard knot. While the first obtained results are shown as 2.5 dimensional shapes, it is emphasized that the proposed algorithm offers many possibilities for extensions to three dimensions and variations in context of additive manufacturing.

ISOLATION AND LAGOON MORPHOMETRY DEFINE FISH DIVERSITY AND COMPOSITION IN NEARSHORE AREAS OF FLOODPLAIN LAGOONS OF THE SOUTHERN PANTANAL

Floodplain lagoons support high fish diversity, but the role of local vs. regional factors in structuring assemblages is little studied in the Brazilian Pantanal. Aiming to understand the importance of limnological, biological, and regional characteristics shaping fish assemblages in the Pantanal floodplain, we sampled 26 lagoons in the Rio Negro floodplain from September 2005 through November 2006. Our results suggest that widely distributed species are also more abundant locally. Fish species richness is defined by a combination of isolation level, area and mean depth of lagoons, while evenness is determined mainly by macrophyte richness, lagoon area, water conductivity and distance to the river. Distribution of the most abundant fish species in sampled lagoons was explained by macrophyte biomass, lagoon area, shoreline development index and macrophyte richness. Overall, a general pattern of species diversity and distribution was primarily defined by a regional characteristic, namely, isolation, interacting with lagoon morphometry, and secondarily by biotic characteristics.

The changing landscape of abortion care: Embodied experiences of structural stigma in the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland

The private use of abortion medication outside of the formal healthcare setting is an international phenomenon. Despite new and expanding pathways to abortion access, we know little about how women's perceptions and experiences of abortion may also be changing. This study examines the embodied experience of 68 women who sought abortion services in Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. Social stigma and restrictive abortion laws were major barriers to care at the time of study, providing the opportunity to explore the ways biological, social, and structural factors shape embodiment. Those who obtained an abortion either traveled abroad for clinical care or self-managed a medication abortion at home. Participant's perceptions of pain, the fetus, the method (medication vs. surgical), and environment in which they sought abortion care (at home vs. in a clinic) were shaped by structural stigma. Women gained greater experiential knowledge through medication self-management, allowing them to relate abortion to other natural bodily processes and redefine their beliefs about pregnancy and the fetus. Preferences and attitudes about the environment of abortion care were informed by stigma and differential perceptions of risk. Those who traveled most often emphasized legal and medical risks of abortion at home, while those who self-managed emphasized social, financial, and emotional risks of pursuing clinical abortion care abroad. Given the increase in reproductive self-care alternatives, these findings situate self-managed abortion in the literature of (de)medicalization and reveal the ways technology and structural factors shape perceptions and beliefs about pain, the fetus, method, and environment. For some, self-managed medication abortion may be a preferred pathway to care. Policies that consider medication self-management as part of a spectrum of legitimate options can improve abortion access for marginalized groups while also offering an improved abortion experience for those who prefer medication abortion and an out-of-clinic environment.

Identifying new topoisomerase II poison scaffolds by combining publicly available toxicity data and 2D/3D-based virtual screening

Molecular descriptor (2D) and three dimensional (3D) shape based similarity methods are widely used in ligand based virtual drug design. In the present study pairwise structure comparisons among a set of 4858 DTP compounds tested in the NCI60 tumor cell line anticancer drug screen were computed using chemical hashed fingerprints and 3D molecule shapes to calculate 2D and 3D similarities, respectively. Additionally, pairwise biological activity similarities were calculated by correlating the 60 element vectors of pGI50 values corresponding to the cytotoxicity of the compounds across the NCI60 panel. Subsequently, we compared the power of 2D and 3D structural similarity metrics to predict the toxicity pattern of compounds. We found that while the positive predictive value and sensitivity of 3D and molecular descriptor based approaches to predict biological activity are similar, a subset of molecule pairs yielded contradictory results. By simultaneously requiring similarity of biological activities and 3D shapes, and dissimilarity of molecular descriptor based comparisons, we identify pairs of scaffold hopping candidates displaying characteristic core structural changes such as heteroatom/heterocycle change and ring closure. Attempts to discover scaffold hopping candidates of mitoxantrone recovered known Topoisomerase II (Top2) inhibitors, and also predicted new, previously unknown chemotypes possessing in vitro Top2 inhibitory activity.

Balanced Options for Access and Benefit-Sharing: Stakeholder Insights on Provider Country Legislation.

The over-arching aim of the access and benefit-sharing (ABS) of genetic resources is to enable fair distribution of benefits between the users (such as universities and biotech companies) and providers (such as biodiversity rich countries) so as to both open the doors for innovation and create incentives for biodiversity conservation. Access to genetic resources is crucial for research related to conservation of plant genetic resources as well as R&D for agricultural products and evolved crops that can attain to the new weather conditions climate change brings. Therefore, access to genetic resources in general as well as benefit-sharing from that access is a key element for sustainable development in order to secure research as well as environmental sustainability and resource availability. ABS is currently a rapidly developing and evolving field that is shaped by each and every implementation of the Parties. This means that the national implementation of the Parties determine how ABS goals are realised and how ABS principles find form within regulatory mechanisms. These principles are found in international legal documents such as the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) as well as Nagoya Protocol. Additionally, decisions and guidelines drafted by the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity shape these principles that are then to be fulfilled by the Parties when drafting their ABS laws by means of implementing regulatory mechanisms that comply with the international law. This article reviews 20 provider country’s ABS frameworks as well as one regional law with the aim of identifying the common regulatory mechanisms that find place in these legal texts. This descriptive approach is then followed by an empirical comparative analysis through semi-structured stakeholder interviews in order to identify the most beneficial regulatory mechanisms according to ABS experts that belong in four different stakeholder groups (provider countries, academic users, industrial users and collections)

Modeling the behavior of inclusions in circular plates undergoing shape changes from two to three dimensions.

Growth of biological tissues and shape changes of thin synthetic sheets are commonly induced by stimulation of isolated regions (inclusions) in the system. These inclusions apply internal forces on their surroundings that, in turn, promote 2D layers to acquire complex 3D configurations. We focus on a fundamental building block of these systems, and consider a circular plate that contains an inclusion with dilative strains. Based on the Föppl-von Kármán (FvK) theory, we derive an analytical model that predicts the 2D-to-3D shape transitions in the system. Our findings are summarized in a phase diagram that reveals two distinct configurations in the post-buckling region. One is an extensive profile that holds close to the threshold of the instability, and the second is a localized profile, which preempts the extensive solution beyond the buckling threshold. While the former solution is derived as a perturbation around the flat configuration, assuming infinitesimal amplitudes, the latter solution is derived around a buckled state that is highly localized. We show that up to vanishingly small corrections that scale with the thickness, this localized configuration is equivalent to that expected for ultra-thin sheets, which completely relax compressive stresses. Our findings agree quantitatively with direct numerical minimization of the FvK energy. Furthermore, we extend the theory to describe shape transitions in polymeric gels, and compare the results with numerical simulations that account for the complete elastodynamic behavior of the gels. The agreement between the theory and these simulations indicates that our results are observable experimentally. Notably, our findings can provide guidelines to the analysis of more complicated systems that encompass interaction between several buckled inclusions.

How Methods of Molecular Biology Shape Our Understanding of the Hematopoietic System

How Methods of Molecular Biology Shape Our Understanding of the Hematopoietic System

"The orchids of the animal kingdom": tackling functional anatomy and phenotypic plasticity of ant nest beetles (Carabidae: Paussus) using 3D models generated by Micro-Computed Tomography (µ-CT)

The genus Paussus is a highly specialized, charismatic group of ground beetles (Carabidae) classified in the subfamily Paussinae. All species of Paussus are obligate myrmecophiles (associates of ants). As with many other myrmecophilous or termitophilous beetles, Paussus have undergone extreme phenotypic adaptations for life with ants, at the level of head, antennae, and prothorax. Host data suggest that Paussus species are likely to be species-specific ant parasites, and the structural modifications of antennae and other body parts are likely under selection by their host ants. Investigating anatomical structures have been fundamental to better understand living organisms, and their interplay with the surrounding environment, which could induce significant morphological variation. In the last few years, bio-imaging techniques paired with geometric morphometrics (GM) overcame the limits of traditional anatomical studies, becoming widely non-invasive and highly informative for both internal and external characters. The use of Computed Tomography (CT) scanners definitively allowed to advance in the knowledge of either known or neglected biological structures. For this project, we used X-ray micro-computed tomography, in order to acquire 2D serial, cross-sections of various paussines samples, with a resolution between 0.954 and 2.44 micrometers. The 2D images in high resolution are then processed using a high-performance computer system and Thermo Scientific™ Amira™ Software and Thermo Scientific™ Avizo™ Software for the reconstruction of 3D models. With these models, we will be able to conduct a morphological study of the most variable parts in the body of the genus Paussus using 3D geometric morphometrics (3D GM), as these integrative techniques allows to describe in a quantitative way even subtle differences between structures, so as to determine whether the striking diversity of phenotypes is caused by the host or by other factors, overlapping the results obtained with the molecular part of phylogeny. These innovative practices help to deepen the meaning of shape in insect biology, from both structural and evolutionary views. They will allow, in particular, to describe the relationship between phylogeny and functional morphology in the extremely variable species of the subfamily Paussinae.

Biomimetic nanostructures/cues as drug delivery systems: a review

With key scientific advances, researchers are now able to understand biological structures shapes, processes, and mechanisms. The exploitation of these biological fundamentals is a growing area of biomedical research to produce highly efficient and eco-friendly solutions to offer better health facilities. In recent years, the use of naturally inspired structures and processes have gained high research interests to develop numerous types of drug delivery systems (DDSs) to tackle various diseases of high concern. Biologically inspired materials along with both internal and external stimuli-responsive behaviors can be used to engineer advanced DDSs, the so-called ‘smart DDS.’ Biobased constructs with biomedical potentialities either resemble biological structures to produce similar kind of response or synthesize using a biologically inspired process to avoid their possible failure or rejection. Several DDSs have shown great potential for successful treatment of diseases by specific targeting to diseased tissue with enhanced drug efficiency, bioavailability, and biocompatibility. Subject to the application type and purpose, the nanocarrier-based DDSs are considered potential candidates to deliver biopharmaceuticals. Herein, we reviewed the biomimicry of various DDSs at the nanoscale. Emphasis is given to the DDS based on nanoparticles, nanofibers, micelles, liposomes, and hydrogels. The biomimicry of each of the aforementioned DDSs has also been highlighted, with respect to their action mechanisms and use as novel carriers for biomedical applications at large and drug delivery, in particular.

Normal Fluctuations of Biological Membrane Shape as a Coupling Factor for Ordered Monolayer Domains

It is believed that separation of lipid matrix of biological membranes into ordered and disordered phases plays an important role in the lateral distribution of proteins and transduction of cellular signals through the plasma membrane. In model lipid membranes with symmetric composition of monolayers, such phase separation always leads to formation of bilayer domains. However, the lipid composition of outer and inner monolayers of plasma membranes of cells is different, i.e., these membranes are asymmetric. The mechanism of coupling of monolayer domains into bilayer structures in cells still remains unexplained. The ordered lipid domain is thicker than the surrounding membrane; as a result, elastic deformations occur at their boundary. Minimization of the elastic part of the boundary energy contributes to the coupling of monolayer domains in opposite monolayers. However, this driving force is not enough to ensure that domains will come into register: at a certain fraction of the membrane area occupied by the domains, the elastic energy can reach the minimum in antisymmetric configurations (the ordered domain in the upper monolayer is opposed by disordered monolayer of the surrounding membrane). As an alternative factor of the coupling, we considered curvature thermal fluctuations of the membrane shape. Our theoretical analysis of elastic deformations in a lipid bilayer that is asymmetric in monolayer composition shows that more rigid lipid domains tend to distribute into the region with lower curvature of the monolayer; these regions naturally coincide in opposite monolayers. Thus, the coupling of ordered domains in different monolayers is provided by their greater bending stiffness as compared to the surrounding membrane. At the same time, greater ordering leads to lateral condensation, i.e., to the decrease of the average area per lipid molecule. The difference in area per lipid molecule in the coexisting membrane phases, on the contrary, tends to separate bilayer domains into their monolayer components. To quantify the coupling energy of ordered domains, it is necessary to take both of these effects into account.

Statistical shape-kinematics models of the skeletal joints: Application to the shoulder complex.

Patient-specific biomechanical simulations of joints require accurate reconstruction of bony anatomy from medical image data. The articular geometries of the joints may influence their biomechanics. Statistical shape models (SSMs) have become ubiquitous in the literature and aim to capture the natural variation of biological objects. They work by learning the variation from training examples to define the space of valid biological shapes. However, the kinematic information descriptive of the anato-physiological relationship of two interacting objects is not generally encoded in the SSM. Here, we propose a framework for developing combined statistical shape and kinematics models (SSKMs) as Gaussian process morphable models to analyse the shape and kinematics relationship. We demonstrate the framework on a three-dimensional (3D) image data set consisting of ten right-handed cadaveric shoulder joints acquired using computed tomography. Additionally, we simulate specific bone motions to encode kinematics in the combined model. Our SSKM built from shoulder data (matching scapulae and humeri) correctly depicts a correlation between the shape and kinematics as hypothesized. We furthermore demonstrate the ability to marginalize from the SSKM to obtain shape-only variation and kinematics-only variation. Future work aims to use the SSKM framework to understand the relationships between kinematics and shape for various joints as well as to develop patient-specific computational models to evaluate joint biomechanics.