Now in our 13th year of bringing you beautiful imagery from biomedical science every day

Search the archive of over 4000 images

Feeling Blue
31 December 2015

Feeling Blue

We use facial expressions to communicate our deepest emotions. But to get the message across, whomever we’re aiming our fear, love or pain at needs to be able to tell one expression from another. Pictured on the top row, a man is pulling similar faces but expressing very different emotions: disgust (left) and anger (middle). These may be easily confused, but researchers used a combination of image analysis and computer graphics to create a facial 'blueprint' (right) highlighting expressive differences in his lower jaw. By contrast, the East Asian woman (bottom row) is using changes around her expressive eyes to convey the same emotions (bottom right). Ethnic and cultural differences may explain how some facial expressions are 'lost in translation', often delaying accurate diagnosis of neurological disorders, or pain in trauma victims. Being aware of these differences may help to keep communication from breaking down, even when words fail us.

Written by John Ankers

Search The Archive

Submit An Image

Follow on Tumblr

Follow on Instagram

What is BPoD?

BPoD stands for Biomedical Picture of the Day. Managed by the MRC Laboratory of Medical Sciences until Jul 2023, it is now run independently by a dedicated team of scientists and writers. The website aims to engage everyone, young and old, in the wonders of biology, and its influence on medicine. The ever-growing archive of more than 4000 research images documents over a decade of progress. Explore the collection and see what you discover. Images are kindly provided for inclusion on this website through the generosity of scientists across the globe.

Read More

BPoD is also available in Catalan at www.bpod.cat with translations by the University of Valencia.