Sausage Of Science

Listeners, please welcome Dr. Eric Griffith to the show ...as a guest! In this episode, Eric takes a break from producing to talk about his research regarding human variation in dementia. Find the publication discussed in today’s episode via this citation: Griffith EE. (2023). “Recruiting Participants for Dementia Research Without Saying ‘Dementia’: A Site Study in Central Mexico.” In: Anthropological Perspectives on Aging, BM Howell & RP Harrod eds., University of Press of Florida. ------------------------------------------------------------ Dr. Eric Griffith received his Ph.D. in anthropology from the University of Massachusetts Amherst, as well as an MA in psychology from Boston University. He completed his dissertation fieldwork in central Mexico, focusing on the experiences of familial caregivers for people living with Alzheimer’s disease. Eric’s research interests include biocultural anthropology, dementia, cognitive aging, health disparities, and mixed methods research. Eric is currently a T32 pos

Listeners, please welcome Dr. Sheina Lew-Levy to the show! In this episode Prof. Lew-Levy discusses the importance of social learning among children to the study of evolution. Stick around for some gardening tips! Find the publication discussed in today’s episode via these citations: Pretelli, Ilaria, Alyssa N. Crittenden, Edmond Dounias, Sagan Friant, Jeremy Koster, Karen L. Kramer, Shani M. Mangola, Almudena Mari Saez, and Sheina Lew‐Levy. "Child and adolescent foraging: New directions in evolutionary research." Evolutionary Anthropology: Issues, News, and Reviews (2023): e22020. Lew‐Levy, Sheina, Wouter van den Bos, Kathleen Corriveau, Natália Dutra, Emma Flynn, Eoin O'Sullivan, Sarah Pope‐Caldwell et al. "Peer learning and cultural evolution." Child Development Perspectives (2023). ------------------------------------------------------------ Using methods from anthropology and psychology, Prof. Lew-Levy conducts research in hunter-gatherer societies to understand the cultural diversity in, and evol

Special Edition HBA Fellow take-over! HBA Junior Fellows Eric Griffith and Courtney Manthey-Pierce co-host this season's final episode with Dr. Meradeth Snow. Dr. Snow is an Associate Professor and Co-Chair of Anthropology at the University of Montana. There, she and her research team analyze ancient and degraded DNA for anthropological and forensic purposes. Her lab focuses primarily on the northern region of prehistoric Mexico. She is here to talk to us today about her most recent paper (currently in review) titled “A Reanalysis of Population Dynamics in the Casas Grandes Region of Northern Mexico Using Mitochondrial DNA.” ------------------------------ Contact Meradeth: meradeth.snow@umontana.edu Website: meradethhouston.com; Twitter: @MeradethHouston ------------------------------ Contact the Sausage of Science Podcast and Human Biology Association: Facebook: facebook.com/groups/humanbiologyassociation/, Website: humbio.org, Twitter: @HumBioAssoc Courtney Manthey-Pierce, Guest-Co-Host, Website: courtney

Cara is solo hosting this episode! She is joined by Dr. Charles Roseman to discuss the finer points of why/how "adaptionist" thinking can lead us all down scientific dead ends. Bonus fun: We also learn a little bit about squirrels and nicotine withdrawal. You know Chris was sorry to miss this episode! ******************************* The Scientific American article "To Understand Sex, We Need to Ask the Right Questions," co-authored by Profs. Roseman and Ocobock can be found here: https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/to-understand-sex-we-need-to-ask-the-right-questions/ Dr. Roseman's video demonstration will be uploaded to the HBA youtube page soon: https://www.youtube.com/@HumanBiologyAssociation ******************************* Dr. Roseman is an Associate Professor in Evolution, Ecology and Behavior and Anthropology in the School of Integrative Biology at the University of Illinois. His work broadly focuses on genotype phenotype map structure, and the evolution of complex traits. You can view his

Chris and special guest co-host Courtney Manthey-Peirce interview Dimitris Xygalatas, author of Ritual: How Seemingly Senseless Acts Make Life Worth Living. Associate Professor in Anthropology and Psychological Sciences at the University of Connecticut and head of the Experimental Anthropology Lab, Dimitris is an anthropologist and cognitive scientist who studies some things that make us human – but not the obvious ones. He is interested in some of the more peculiar aspects of human nature: ritual, music, sports fanship, and other things that help people connect, cope, and live meaningful lives. Dimitris’ research combines experimental methods with ethnographic fieldwork to study human culture holistically over the last several years in Southern Europe and Mauritius. ------------------------------ Contact Dimitris: xygalatas@uconn.edu Website: xygalatas.com; Twitter: @xygalatas ------------------------------ Contact the Sausage of Science Podcast and Human Biology Association: Facebook: facebook.com/groups/h

Listeners, please welcome Ed Hagen to the show! In this episode Prof. Hagen discusses his research on self medication and parasites. Prof. Hagen joins our regular host, Prof. Chris Lynn, as well as returning guest host Cristina Gildee. Find the publication discussed in today’s episode via this citation: Hagen, E. H., Blackwell, A. D., Lightner, A. D., & Sullivan, R. J. (2023). Homo medicus: The transition to meat eating increased pathogen pressure and the use of pharmacological plants in Homo. American Journal of Biological Anthropology, 180(4), 589-617. ------------------------------------------------------------ Prof. Hagen investigates tobacco use in the larger context of human use of plant secondary compounds. He investigates depression, suicide, and deliberate self-harm as potential signaling strategies. Child growth and development is a research theme that grew out of his work on postpartum depression. Prof. Hagen also recently begun testing evolutionary models of leadership and knowledge specializat

Listeners, please welcome Achsah Dorsey to the show! In this episode Prof. Dorsey discusses her research on childhood anemia in Peru and casually tosses in an excellent airplane turbulence metaphor to describe human physiology. Stick around for the ABBA shout-out. Prof. Dorsey joins our regular host, Prof. Chris Lynn, as well as returning guest host Prof. Theresa Gildner. Find the publication discussed in today’s episode via this citation: Dorsey, A. (2023). Biological and Ecological Impacts on Recovery from Anemia Among Peri-Urban Peruvian Children. In Human Growth and Nutrition in Latin American and Caribbean Countries (pp. 397-419). Cham: Springer International Publishing. ------------------------------------------------------------ Prof. Achsah Dorsey’s research utilizes life-history and evolutionary medicine perspectives to investigate the relationships between immune activation, body size and growth, and nutritional status in women and children. Her recent research explores the biological, environm

This week, Chris and guest co-host Cristina catch up with Georgia Scott, a master's student studying bioarchaeology at the University of Nevada, Reno. Her research interests focus on mortuary practices and treatment of the deceased, both past and present. Georgia received her Bachelor of Science in Anthropology from Montana State University and has a background in vertebrate paleontology, zooarchaeology, and museum studies. She is passionate about collaborative methodologies and improving engagement with descendant communities. Her most recent work explores the ethical considerations in bioarchaeological research and publications regarding the use and treatment of human remains. ------------------------------ Contact Georgia: georgiascott@nevada.unr.edu ------------------------------ Contact the Sausage of Science Podcast and Human Biology Association: Facebook: facebook.com/groups/humanbiologyassociation/, Website: humbio.org, Twitter: @HumBioAssoc Chris Lynn, HBA Public Relations Committee Chair, Website

Chris and Cristina sit down with Dr. Molly Fox, Associate Professor of Anthropology and of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences at UCLA. She studies the evolutionary context of chronic disease and the biosocial relationships between grandmothers, mothers, and children. Her current research projects investigate (1) the biological embedding of immigration and acculturation experiences in Mexican-American women and how this process influences aspects of gestational physiology that are implicated in shaping fetal developmental trajectories, thereby affecting health across generations; (2) psychobiological profiles of postpartum depression risk, etiology, and manifestation; (3) how the human newborn intestinal ecology (microbiome) affects infant cognitive and emotional development, with implications for vulnerability to mental illness; (4) how gestational and lactational (pregnancy and breastfeeding) physiology impose long-term alterations to biophysiology in ways that affect later-life risk of Alzheimer’s and o

Dee Jolly, PhD student in anthropology at the University of Oregon, joins Cara and Courtney to discuss how stigma affects the health of trans and gender diverse people. Dee is currently a 2nd year PhD student, working with Prof. Zachary DuBois. They finished their undergraduate studies at the University of Florida in 2016 and then earned a Master's degree in Medical Anthropology and Cross-Cultural Practice from Boston University in 2018. Contact the Sausage of Science Podcast and Human Biology Association: Facebook: www.facebook.com/groups/humanbiologyassociation Website: humbio.org/, Twitter: @HumBioAssoc Cara Ocobock, Co-Host, Website: sites.nd.edu/cara-ocobock/, Email:cocobock@nd.edu, Twitter:@CaraOcobock Courtney Manthey-Pierce, HBA webmaster, SoS co-host Website: courtneymanthey-pierce.godaddysites.com/ Eric Griffith, HBA Junior Fellow, SoS producer E-mail: eric.griffith@duke.edu

Cara and Chris chat with Dr. Rob Tennyson, a Postdoctoral scholar in the Department of Biobehavioral Health at Penn State University and a Postdoctoral Fellow in the Sociology Department at the University of Utah, who received his PhD in Biological Anthropology from the University of Washington in 2022. His research focuses on psychosocial stress, aging, and student-athlete mental health and well-being. His research program leverages diversity within and between populations to tease apart how differences in social environments, physical environments, and behavior influence human biological aging, connecting lived experiences to molecular, immunological, and demographic processes. Find the work discussed in today’s episode here: Analyzing COVID-19 Related Disruptions and Psychosocial Stress in Collegiate Student-Athletes https://osf.io/25f4h/ 'Legs Feed the Wolf': An Evolutionary Perspective on Psychosocial Stress, Physical Activity, and Telomere Length in NCAA Student-Athletes https://osf.io/s2cuj/ -------

Welcome to Bizarro World, Sausage of Science listeners! Cara is on the show today ...as a guest! She is joined by Sarah Lacy to discuss their recent American Anthropologist articles "Woman the hunter: The physiological evidence" and "Woman the hunter: The archaeological evidence." Also, please welcome guest host, and HBA webmaster, Courtney Manthey-Pierce. Find the publications discussed in today’s episode here: Ocobock, C., & Lacy, S. (2023). Woman the hunter: The physiological evidence. American Anthropologist. https://doi.org/10.1111/aman.13915 Lacy, S., & Ocobock, C. (2023). Woman the hunter: The archaeological evidence. American Anthropologist. https://doi.org/10.1111/aman.13914 And here is a link to their article in the Nov. 2023 issue of Scientific American: https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/the-theory-that-men-evolved-to-hunt-and-women-evolved-to-gather-is-wrong/ ------------------------------------------------------------ ​Sarah A. Lacy is a biological anthropologist specializing in

Twice the Caras! Cara and Cristina interview Dr. Cara Wall-Scheffler, professor and co-chair of Biology at Seattle Pacific University and an affiliate professor in the Department of Anthropology at the University of Washington. Her research focuses on the evolution of human sexual dimorphism, particularly in the context of balancing the pressures of thermoregulation and long-distance locomotion. She has been working on this problem for over 20 years. Her work demonstrates that different selection pressures have acted on men and women and that women, in particular, have a rare (among mammals) ability to work both efficiently (energy per unit of mass) and economically (total energy) when carrying loads. Women’s abilities are partly due to their relatively small body size, relatively high surface area, relatively broader pelves, and unique methods of thermoregulation. In addition to her research, Dr. Wall-Scheffler teaches courses in human physiology and evolutionary mechanisms on campus and at the Blakely Islan

Prof. Liz Mallott of Washington University in St. Louis joins Chris and Cristina to talk about her research on the human microbiome. ----------------------------------------------------------------- Dr. Liz Mallott is an assistant professor of Biology at Washington University in St. Louis. Professor Mallott’s research examines how social and environmental determinants of health shape variation in the human microbiome. Current projects examine how exposure to environmental pollutants, which disproportionately impact racial and ethnic minorities in the United States, influences the gut microbiome and cardiovascular disease risk. Her lab website can be found here: https://mallott-lab.github.io/ The following are citations for the articles mentioned on today’s show: Mallott, E. K., Sitarik, A. R., Leve, L. D., Cioffi, C., Camargo Jr, C. A., Hasegawa, K., & Bordenstein, S. R. (2023). Human microbiome variation associated with race and ethnicity emerges as early as 3 months of age. PLoS biology, 21(8), e3002230.

Season 6 premiere. Cara’s back! Chris and Cara chat with Dr. Saige Kelmelis, a biological anthropologist specializing in bioarchaeology, paleodemography, paleoepidemiology, and forensic anthropology. Her research involves the study of human skeletal and dental remains to reconstruct aspects of life, health, disease, identity, and demography. She integrates methods and theory in osteology, paleodemography, epidemiology, and hazard analyses to explore the interplay between human biocultural behavior and infectious disease. She also uses methods from bioarchaeology to reconstruct life histories and health outcomes in modern and past populations through cementochronology. Kelmelis is also a primary investigator on a collaborative project with other professionals, students, and tattoo artists in South Dakota to understand how this ancient practice of body modification affects health outcomes in modern people. Current and ongoing research includes the exploration of mortality risk and disease in monastic, urban, an

The show is currently on summer hiatus as most of our staff work on their research. New episodes will be back in the fall. In the meantime, we have a special bonus episode of the podcast. Prof. Joseph L. Graves Jr. of North Carolina A&T University reads an excerpt from his book A Voice in the Wilderness: A Pioneering Biologist Explains How Evolution Can Help Us Solve Our Biggest Problems. ----------------------------------------------------------------- Here's a link to the Barnes and Noble page for the book: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/a-voice-in-the-wilderness-professor-joseph-l-graves-jr-phd/1140835416 ----------------------------------------------------------------- Prof. Graves's faculty page: https://www.ncat.edu/employee-bio.php?directoryID=113858234 ----------------------------------------------------------------- Contact the Sausage of Science Podcast and Human Biology Association: Facebook: www.facebook.com/groups/humanbiologyassociation Website: humbio.org/, Twitter: @HumBioAssoc Ch

Anwesha Pan joins Chris and Mallika to talk about her work on famine and fecundability in Bangladesh as well as the connection between neighborhood-level family poverty and ovarian reserve. This is the season finale -- please check back in the fall for new content! Thank you to Mallika for filling in as co-host this season! ----------------------------------------------------------------- Anwesha Pan is a PhD candidate at the University of Washington and can be reached by e-mail at: anweshap@uw.edu Contact the Sausage of Science Podcast and Human Biology Association: Facebook: www.facebook.com/groups/humanbiologyassociation Website: humbio.org/, Twitter: @HumBioAssoc Chris Lynn, HBA Public Relations Committee Chair, Website: cdlynn.people.ua.edu/, Email: cdlynn@ua.edu, Twitter:@Chris_Ly Mallika Sarma, Sausage of Science Co-Host Website: mallikasarma.com/, Twitter: @skyy_mal Eric Griffith, HBA Junior Fellow, SoS producer E-mail: eric.griffith@duke.edu

Chris welcomes guest co-host, Cristina Gildee, to chat with Sofiya Shreyer, a Ph.D. student in the Anthropology Department at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. Sofiya is passionate about increasing research and education on menopause and other understudied women's health issues, such as PCOS, endometriosis, and sexual wellness. Under the guidance of Dr. Lynnette Sievert, she studies grandmotherhood, variation in caretaking behaviors, and the impact of child-rearing on both grandmaternal and children’s health and well-being. With the outbreak of war in Ukraine, Sofiya’s work toggled to focus on the study of menopause, where she manages and coordinates an ongoing multi-year study on hot flash experiences and brown adipose tissue in perimenopausal and menopausal women. Find her recent book chapter, “Aging and Childcare: A Biocultural Approach to Grandmothering in Ukraine” published in Anthropological Perspectives on Aging here: https://upf.com/book.asp?id=9780813069593 ------------------------------ Sofi

Chris and Mallika sit down with Sean Prall, an Assistant Professor and evolutionary anthropologist at the University of Missouri. His interests center on human health and reproduction, reproductive decision-making, and evolutionary ecology. He examines costs and trade-offs associated with investments in reproduction. He utilizes a combination of quantitative and qualitative methods, including anthropometrics, demography, endocrinology, actigraphy, validated health surveys, and dyadic peer ratings, alongside semi-structured demographic interviews and measures of social norms. Sean’s work is informed by a mix of evolutionary and behavioral ecology, cultural evolutionary theory, and evolutionary psychology, especially related to reproductive concerns. Sean is also a co-director of the Kunene Rural Health and Demography Project, a contributor to the ENDOW project, and a collaborator on the Shodagor Longitudinal Health and Demography Project. Find the publications discussed in today’s episode here: https://sprall

Drs. Karen Rosenberg and Wenda Trevathan join the show to discuss their work examining the evolution of human childbirth and infant helplessness. They also preview some of the content that will appear in their forthcoming (untitled) book. Title suggestions are welcome! Information about their previous publication Costly and Cute can be found here: https://sarweb.org/costly-cute/ -------------------------------------------------------- Karen Rosenberg is a biological anthropologist with a specialty in paleoanthropology. She received her degrees from the University of Chicago (B.A. 1976) and the University of Michigan (M.A. 1980, Ph.D., 1986) and has taught at the University of Delaware since 1987. She has studied human fossils and modern human skeletal material in museums in Europe, North America, Asia and Africa. Her research interests are in the origin of modern humans and the evolution of modern human childbirth and human infant helplessness. She has published in edited volumes as well as anthropol