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• Details
  • Monday, January 22
  • In person and via Zoom;

Nina Jablonski, Penn State University, Anthropology

Atherton Professor, Evan Pugh Professor Emeritus of Anthropology

(Remote via Zoom)

• Details
  • Monday, Jan 29, 3:30 pm
  • Remote via Zoom;

  Abstract:

  Human skin pigmentation, as one of the most visible of human phenotypic traits, has a fascinating evolutionary history. The biological importance of the trait has, however, often been obscured by the taxonomic and social significance with it. In this lecture, we will explore what we know about the evolution of human skin pigmentation and examine how this knowledge sheds light on widespread beliefs about the usefulness of skin color phenotypes in classification and about the social meanings assigned to skin color in recent centuries.

  Accompanying Reading:

  Jablonski, N.G. (2021). The evolution of human skin pigmentation involved the interactions of genetic, environmental, and cultural variables. Pigment Cell and Melanoma Research, Accepted Article. https://doi.org/10.1111/pcmr.12976 PMID: 33825328.

Shara Bailey, New York University

Professor and Associate Chair in the Department of Anthropology

(In-person lecture)

• Details
  • Monday, February 5, 3:30 pm
  • In person and via Zoom; 

  Abstract

  The skulls of our fossil relatives have fascinated researchers for centuries and yet much of what we know about human evolution comes from the teeth. In the past decade, dental research has revealed previously unknown human species, as well as evidence of hybridization between these and our own species In this lecture, Dr. Bailey will discuss what we know about our closest fossil relative, Neanderthals, as well as recent insights into the “bushiness” of the human family tree from a dental perspective. 

  Biosketch

  Shara Bailey is a Professor and Associate Chair in the Department of Anthropology, New York University and the Director of the Center for the Study of Human Origins. She has extensively researched Neanderthals and modern human origins, including the earliest modern humans from Europe and Africa. She has collected human dental data from around the world and is often called upon to diagnose and interpret new hominin finds, including the recently rediscovered Denisovan mandible from Xiahe County, China and 2.8 million year old fossil human teeth from East Africa associated with some of the oldest Oldowan tools. Her research has been featured on National Public Radio, The History Channel, National Geographic and PBS/Nova.

  Accompanying Reading

  TBA

Classic film with Spencer Tracy, Fredric March, Gene Kelly (Stanley Kramer, 1960)

• Details

  Description:

  Spencer Tracy and Frederic March go head-to-head as opposing attorneys in this blistering courtroom drama about the famed "Scopes Monkey Trial" of 1925 where a Tennessee teacher must defend himself for teaching Darwinism. The accused was a slight, frightened man who'd deliberately broken the law. His trial was a Roman circus, the chief gladiators being the two great legal giants of the century. Locked in mortal combat, they bellowed & roared imprecations & abuse. The spectators sat uneasily in the sweltering heat with murder in their hearts, barely restraining themselves. America's freedom was at stake.

  

• Details

  In-person and via Zoom;

  Abstract

  The propensity and skill to make and use tools were undoubtedly important behaviors throughout the evolutionary history of hominids. However, these behaviors are not unique to humans - habitual tool use has also been documented in other extant, non-human primate species. Stone tools leave a distinct physical record of their use, making it possible to make inferences about such behavior. Through a comparative perspective, I review significant findings from studies of wild common chimpanzees, long-tailed macaques, and tufted capuchin monkeys, which use stone tools habitually, primarily for extractive foraging purposes. 

  Bio/Research page

  https://anthropology.sas.upenn.edu/people/caroline-jones

  Accompanying Reading

  TBA

• Details

  In person and via Zoom;

  
  Abstract

  The process of integration into a global market economy is increasingly affecting and defining life in much of the developing world with a cascade of consequences for systems of production, reproduction, and social relationships. In this talk I discuss the key outcomes of market integration for fertility, marriage, and kinship systems in South Asia using examples from my work in Bangladesh, India, and Pakistan. I argue that industrialization and market integration sparked a demographic transition to lower fertility, and that together these economic and demographic transitions have directly and indirectly precipitated a further series of changes in whether marriages are arranged, the likelihood of marrying kin, and the form of marriage transactions including a switch from brideprice to dowry. Using logic from evolutionary ecology, I interpret these changes as outcomes of two strategic shifts in individual behavioral strategies—one towards lower fertility and higher parental investment, and the other from intensive to extensive kin relationships—occurring simultaneously in the economic and social context of market integration.

  Biosketch

  I am a biocultural anthropologist, human behavioral ecologist, and anthropological demographer with interests in marriage, family, kinship, parental investment, fertility, mortality, and inequality. I have conducted field research on the economics of marriage and parental investment in urban South India, the causes of rapid fertility decline in rural Bangladesh, and the effects of market integration on wealth, social networks, and health in rural Bangladesh.

  
  Current Work: Understanding the foundations of inequality and how these shift with both market integration and adaptation to local environments.
  Understanding the evolutionary demography of human fertility, including the psychological mechanisms that underpin human reproduction
  The behavioral ecology of human kinship, marriage, and family systems.

  Accompanying Reading

• Details

  In person and via Zoom;

  Abstract

  Extinction rates have drastically increased since the end of the Pleistocene, with many large animal species either going extinct (e.g. woolly mammoths) or seeing significant population declines (e.g. Asian elephants). Biotechnology offers many avenues to address ecological issues surrounding biodiversity, conservation, and bioremediation. Specifically, genome engineering enables the direct adaptation of existing species to new environmental conditions, and proxies of extinct taxa . However, our ability to engineer the complex phenotypes required for extreme adaptive shifts relies on the ability to accurately identify impactful variants, introduce them in an efficient and scalable manner, and confirm their phenotypic effects. Using elephants and mammoths as a case study, I describe current work in identifying protein-coding and non-coding variation, the use of CRISPR-Cas9 for genome editing, and preliminary work on characterization and validation of targets. I also discuss some of the potential challenges associated with modern de-extinction efforts and how they may be circumvented or addressed in the most ethical way possible. 

  Bio/Research page:

  https://churchlab.hms.harvard.edu/church-lab-member/emil-karpinski

  Accompanying Reading

• Details

  In person and via Zoom;

  Abstract

  Using examples from the history of mission-critical engineering and the contemporary nature of large-scale programs, this talk will build on how we frequently recognize one act and aspect of engineering (innovation) over another (maintenance) across our careers, corporations, and culture. It will consider some evolutionary and economical forces that shape the politics—and philosophy—of prestige associated with engineering priorities and projects. In a world pulled by and pushed toward the novel and the nifty, how can commercial innovations gain more grounded vision informed by a prosocial sensibility of care and conservation? 

  Biosketch

  Guru Madhavan is the Norman R. Augustine Senior Scholar and senior director of programs of the National Academy of Engineering. He has worked in the medical device industry, has served as a technical advisor to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the European Commission, and is chair of the board of the nonprofit ProSocial World. A systems engineer by background, he received his M.S. in biomedical engineering from Stony Brook University and a M.B.A as well as a Ph.D. in biomedical engineering from ������ý that awarded him the Edward Weisband Distinguished Alumni Award for Public Service or Contribution to Public Affairs. His recent awards include: ASME Henry Laurence Gantt Medal for business leadership, AAMI Laufman-Greatbatch Award for contributions to health technology, IEEE Norbert Wiener Award for Social and Professional Responsibility, IEEE Alfred Goldsmith Award for Outstanding Achievement in Engineering Communication, and IEEE-USA Award for Distinguished Literary Contributions Furthering Public Understanding and the Advancement of the Engineering Profession and the George F. McClure Citation of Honor for engineering leadership. He is an elected fellow of the Institution of Engineering and Technology (UK), the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the American Institute of Medical and Biological Engineering, and the American Society of Mechanical Engineers.

  His books include the nonfiction “Applied Minds: How Engineers Think” and “Wicked Problems: How to Engineer a Better World” (that is dedicated to the city of ������ý), both from W.W. Norton.

  Accompanying Reading

• Details

  In person and via Zoom;

  Title: Unraveling the evolutionary relationships of ancient echinoderms 

  Abstract: Paleozoic echinoderms evolved and diversified rapidly throughout the Paleozoic, leading to some of the most disparate body plans among invertebrates. However, our understanding of how these disparate groups are related to one another remains uncertain, due to a combination of a fragmentary fossil record and high levels of convergent evolution. This talk explores an enigmatic grouping of these echinoderms, the diploporans, and new research into their evolutionary relationships, as well as their possible patterns of diversification and paleobiogeography in the Ordovician seas. 
   
  Biosketch: Sarah Sheffield is an assistant professor at ������ý. She received her bachelors, maters, and doctorate degrees from The University of North Carolina, Auburn University, and the University of Tennessee, respectively. After she earned her doctorate, she worked at the University of South Florida in Tampa, FL as a visiting instructor and then assistant professor until she moved to ������ý, NY. Her research focuses in two areas: first, evolutionary paleobiology. She uses invertebrate fossils to test hypotheses of how evolutionary patterns developed throughout geologic history. Her research program also focuses on how inclusive and equitable education affects student learning.  

  Accompanying Reading:

• Details

  MONDAY APRIL 8 - SOLAR ECLIPSE - Seminar will begin at 4:00 PM

  In person and via Zoom

  Title
  Human-Virus Coevolution: Evidence of Virus Microevolution from SARS-CoV-2
  Pandemic and Monkeypox Outbreak

  Abstract
  This talk informs the topic of human-virus coevolution by presenting two cases of
  immune response-driven microevolution in viruses. First, we will discuss how APOBEC3
  enzymes, a group of innate antiviral immune response molecules, may be responsible
  for the rapid evolution of Monkeypox Virus observed during the recent global outbreak.
  According to our analysis of 294 Monkeypox Virus genomes representing four
  outbreaks, 87.61% of observed mutations had the APOBEC3 “signature”, suggesting
  the likelihood of APOBEC3-driven accelerated evolution of this virus. In the second
  case, we will discuss the possible effect of vaccination on the evolution of the SARS-
  CoV-2 (COVID19 virus). Through comparison of the mutation rates of the Beta variant
  (B.1.351) before and throughout the mass vaccination period against COVID-19, we
  report a strong correlation between increase in global vaccination rate and the
  accelerated mutation rate of the Beta variant of SARS-CoV-2. Our findings support the
  hypothesis that vaccination as a selective pressure can lead to accelerated evolution of
  rapidly mutating viruses. Overall, while further research is required to investigate the
  causal relationship between immune response and observed changes in mutation rates,
  these two scenarios provide examples of the possible immune response-driven
  microevolution in human viruses.

  Bio
  Michel Shamoon-Pour is a molecular anthropologist specializing in population genetics
  and paleogenomics. He is a Research Assistant Professor with the ������ý
  University's First-Year Research Immersion Program. His research primarily focuses on
  two areas of genetic histories of the Middle East and Caucasus populations, and tick-
  borne diseases. A microbiologist by training, Shamoon-Pour's research and teaching
  also focuses on host-pathogen coevolution, particularly human-virus and microbiome-
  pathogen interactions. As an educator, he emphasizes the health impact of
  socioeconomic disparities and systemic racism in the United States.

  Accompanying Reading