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Cell Phones Causing Young People to Grow Horns on Skulls- Research

Published

7 years ago

June 21, 2019

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Researchers at the University of the Sunshine Coast in Queensland, Australia have found evidence that our frequent use of mobile devices could be causing horn-like bone spurs to appear on younger adults.

New research in biomechanics suggested that mobile phones are remolding human skeletons, possibly altering not just the behaviours but the bodies we inhabit.

According to the research, young people are developing hornlike spikes at the back of their skulls — bone spurs caused by the forward tilt of the head, which shifts weight from the spine to the muscles at the back of the head, causing bone growth in the connecting tendons and ligaments.

The weight transfer that causes the buildup can be compared to the way the skin thickens into a callus as a response to pressure or abrasion.

The result is a hook or hornlike feature jutting out from the skull, just above the neck.

In academic papers, a pair of researchers at the University of the Sunshine Coast in Queensland, Australia, argues that the prevalence of the bone growth in younger adults points to shifting body posture brought about by the use of modern technology.

They say smartphones and other handheld devices are contorting the human form, requiring users to bend their heads forward to make sense of what’s happening on the miniature screens.

The researchers said their discovery marks the first documentation of a physiological or skeletal adaptation to the penetration of advanced technology into everyday life.

Health experts warn of “text neck,” and doctors have begun treating “texting thumb,” which is not a clearly defined condition but bears resemblance to carpal tunnel syndrome. But prior research has not linked phone use to bone-deep changes in the body.

“An important question is what the future holds for the young adult populations in our study, when development of a degenerative process is evident in such an early stage of their lives?” ask the authors in their most recent paper, published in Nature Research’s peer-reviewed, open access Scientific Reports.

The study came out last year but has received fresh attention following the publication last week of a BBC story that considers, “How modern life is transforming the human skeleton.”

Since then, the unusual formations have captured the attention of Australian media, and have variously been dubbed “head horns” or “phone bones” or “spikes” or “weird bumps.”

Each is a fitting description, said David Shahar, the paper’s first author, a chiropractor who recently completed a PhD in biomechanics at Sunshine Coast.

“That is up to anyone’s imagination,” he told The Washington Post. “You may say it looks like a bird’s beak, a horn, a hook.”

However it is designated, said Shahar, the formation is a sign of a serious deformity in posture that can cause chronic headaches and pain in the upper back and neck.

Part of what was striking about their findings, he said, was the size of the bone spurs, which are thought to be large if they measure 3 or 5 millimeters in length. An outgrowth was only factored in to their research if it measured 10 millimeters, or about two-fifths of an inch.

The danger is not the head horn itself, said Mark Sayers, an associate professor of biomechanics at Sunshine Coast who served as Shahar’s supervisor and co-author. Rather, the formation is a “portent of something nasty going on elsewhere, a sign that the head and neck are not in the proper configuration,” he told The Washington Post.

Their work began about three years ago with a pile of neck X-rays taken in Queensland. The images captured part of the skull, including the area where the bony projections, called enthesophytes, form at the back of the head.

Contrary to conventional understanding of the hornlike structures, which have been thought to crop up rarely and mainly among older people suffering from prolonged strain, Shahar noticed that they appeared prominently on X-rays of younger subjects, including those who were showing no obvious symptoms.

The pair’s first paper, published in the Journal of Anatomy in 2016, enlisted a sample of 218 X-rays, of subjects ages 18 to 30, to suggest that the bone growth could be observed in 41 percent of young adults, much more than previously thought. The feature was more prevalent among men than among women.

The effect — known as enlarged external occipital protuberance — used to be so uncommon, Sayers said, that one of its early observers, toward the end of the 19th century, objected to its title, arguing that there was no real protrusion.

That’s no longer the case.

Another paper, published in Clinical Biomechanics in the spring of 2018, used a case study involving four teenagers to argue that the head horns were not caused by genetic factors or inflammation, pointing instead to the mechanical load on muscles in the skull and neck.

And the Scientific Reports paper, published the month before, zoomed out to consider a sample of 1,200 X-rays of subjects in Queensland, ages 18 to 86.

The researchers found that the size of the bone growth, present in 33 percent of the population, actually decreased with age. That discovery was in stark contrast to existing scientific understanding, which had long held that the slow, degenerative process occurred with aging.

They found instead that the bone spurs were larger and more common among young people. To understand what was driving the effect, they looked to recent developments — circumstances over the last 10 or 20 years altering how young people hold their bodies.

“These formations take a long time to develop, so that means that those individuals who suffer from them probably have been stressing that area since early childhood,” Shahar explained.

The sort of strain required for bone to infiltrate the tendon pointed him to handheld devices that bring the head forward and down, requiring the use of muscles at the back of the skull to prevent the head from falling to the chest. “What happens with technology?” he said.

“People are more sedentary; they put their head forward, to look at their devices. That requires an adaptive process to spread the load.”

That the bone growth develops over a long period of time suggests that sustained improvement in posture can stop it short and even ward off its associated effects.

The answer is not necessarily swearing off technology, Sayers said. At least, there are less drastic interventions.

“What we need are coping mechanisms that reflect how important technology has become in our lives,” he said.

Shahar is pressing people to become as regimented about posture as they became about dental hygiene in the 1970s, when personal care came to involve brushing and flossing every day. Schools should teach simple posture strategies, he said. Everyone who uses technology during the day should get used to recalibrating their posture at night.

As motivation, he suggested reaching a hand around to the lower rear of the skull. Those who have the hornlike feature can likely feel it.

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NCC Orders Telcos to Report Cyberattacks Within 4 Hours from 2027

Published

24 hours ago

March 11, 2026

Ebere Melum-Nwogbo

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Starting February 2027, Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), has mandated mobile network operators and other communications service providers to notify it within four hours of detecting any cyberattack.

This is aimed at strengthening the protection of telecom infrastructure and subscriber data.

The directive is contained in the Cyber Resilience Framework for the Nigerian Communications Sector (CRF-NCS) released by the NCC last month.

According to the NCC, the rule will take effect in February 2027, giving operators a year to put in place the necessary monitoring and reporting systems.

Under the framework, telecommunications companies must alert the regulator within four hours of detecting a cyber incident and continue to provide updates every four hours until the situation is contained.

Operators are also required to submit a confirmation report within 24 hours through a dedicated reporting portal.

The commission said the framework is designed to strengthen cybersecurity oversight in a sector that handles vast volumes of sensitive consumer and national infrastructure data.

Cyber threats targeting telecom networks can lead to service disruptions, data breaches affecting subscriber information, malware infections and other attacks capable of crippling communications systems, according to the regulator.

By introducing faster reporting timelines, the commission said it hopes to improve sector-wide situational awareness and ensure quicker response to threats before they escalate into major outages or data compromises.

The framework also requires telecommunications companies to establish dedicated Security Operations Centres (SOC) to monitor networks continuously for suspicious activity and cyber threats.

These centres are expected to detect and report malicious activities promptly while coordinating responses internally.

In addition, each operator must designate a cybersecurity lead responsible for working with the commission’s Computer Security Incident Response Team (CSIRT) to share intelligence and coordinate responses to incidents affecting the communications ecosystem.

The NCC said the new framework forms part of broader efforts to strengthen resilience across Nigeria’s communications infrastructure and promote a unified cybersecurity posture in the sector.

The measures come amid growing global and domestic concern over data breaches and cyber intrusions targeting companies that manage large volumes of digital information.

Telecommunications companies, which serve as gateways for internet traffic, mobile banking, messaging and other digital services, are increasingly seen as critical infrastructure vulnerable to cyber threats.

Nigeria’s telecom regulator has in recent years tightened rules around data protection and network security as the country’s digital economy expands.

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US Court Dismisses All Claims Against Binance in Major Anti-Terrorism Lawsuit Victory

Published

24 hours ago

March 11, 2026

Ugo Onwuaso

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A United States federal court in the Southern District of New York has comprehensively dismissed all claims against Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange by registered users, in a high-profile lawsuit under the Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA).

Binance

The 62-page decision represents a decisive legal victory, rejecting allegations from 535 plaintiffs who claimed the platform provided material support linked to 64 terrorist attacks.

The court meticulously examined and dismissed every central allegation, ruling that plaintiffs failed to establish Binance assisted terrorists, associated itself with the attacks, participated in or sought to advance them, or engaged in any conspiracy with terrorist organisations.

This full dismissal underscores the absence of evidence supporting the claims, affirming Binance’s long-standing position that the suit was meritless.

Binance General Counsel Eleanor Hughes described the outcome as “a complete vindication of all false allegations.” She emphasised: “The court has unambiguously rejected the false and damaging narrative that Binance assisted terrorists.

“We have always maintained these claims were without merit, and today’s ruling confirms that. We will continue to defend ourselves aggressively against any litigation or reporting that misrepresents who we are and how we operate.”

While the ruling grants plaintiffs 60 days to file an amended complaint in light of a recent appellate decision, Binance expressed strong confidence that no revisions can remedy the “fundamental deficiencies” identified by the court. The exchange views this as a thorough examination and rejection of the underlying assertions.

Binance reaffirmed its commitment to industry-leading compliance infrastructure, proactive regulatory engagement, and robust legal governance worldwide.

The company stressed that its operations do not support, facilitate, or enable terrorism in any form, and it plans to maintain constructive dialogue with regulators while pursuing vigorous defences against misleading narratives.

This development bolsters Binance’s position amid ongoing global scrutiny of crypto platforms, highlighting its operational integrity in a sector often targeted by unsubstantiated claims.

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TikTok Pumps $200k into AI Media Literacy for Sub-Saharan Africa at Nairobi Summit

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24 hours ago

March 11, 2026

Ugo Onwuaso

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TikTok has announced an additional $200,000 investment in AI media literacy initiatives across Sub-Saharan Africa during its third annual Safer Internet Summit in Nairobi, underscoring the platform’s push for safer online spaces amid rising digital challenges.

TikTok

The two-day event, themed #SaferTogether: ‘Innovation and Safety’, gathered government officials, regulators, safety partners, and industry leaders from the region. It builds on prior summits in Ghana (2024) and Cape Town (2025), focusing on collaborative solutions for online protection.

TikTok’s Head of Government Relations and Public Policy for Sub-Saharan Africa, Tokunbo Ibrahim, stated: “Our mission is clear: to share learnings, tackle challenges, and advance actionable solutions that protect citizens online. By uniting policymakers, innovators, and creators, we ensure all-inclusive conversations for a resilient digital landscape.”

Kenya’s Cabinet Secretary for ICT, Hon. William Kabogo, who opened the summit, added: “This reflects our commitment to collaboration, sector growth, and a safe digital space. We must advance digital innovation, responsible AI governance, and strong regional partnerships.”

Boosting AI Literacy with Local Partners

A summit highlight was TikTok’s expanded $2 million AI Literacy Fund, launched globally in November 2025. The new $200,000 in ad credits targets local organisations to combat misinformation and empower users.

In Sub-Saharan Africa, initial grantees include:

Mtoto News (Kenya): Producing content to help youth engage responsibly with AI.
Africa Check (Nigeria, South Africa, Kenya): Enhancing fact-checking against AI-generated deepfakes.
CJID/DUBAWA (West Africa): Amplifying truth via independent fact-checking to fight information disorder.

Valiant Richey, TikTok’s Global Head of Partnerships, Elections & Market Integrity, said: “We partner with trusted locals because their expertise makes AI literacy impactful, empowering communities as viewers or creators.”

Transparency and Moderation Advances

Delegates explored TikTok’s AI-driven safety measures, including mandatory labelling of AI-generated content (AIGC), advanced detection, and partnerships like the Coalition for Content Provenance and Authenticity (C2PA) for watermarking.

With over 100 million daily uploads, AI aids proactive moderation: Q3 2025 data shows 14 million videos removed in Sub-Saharan Africa, 96.7% via automated tech, complementing human oversight.

The summit ended with pledges for ongoing digital safety efforts across the region.

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