Technology

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Genetics of Pacific Islanders

February 9, 2008 in Anthropology, Critical Thinking, Education, Technology by Kris | No comments

ResearchBlogging.orgFriedlaender et al. have a recent article in PLos Genetics. Titled The Genetic Structure of Pacific Islanders, the study used 687 microsatellite and 203 indel loci in nearly 1000 individuals from 41 populations in and around Oceania, in order to determine the genetic origins of these populations.

The researchers found

only a modest association between language and genetic affiliation. Oceanic languages were introduced and dispersed around the islands within the last 3,300 years, but there was apparently only a small infusion of accompanying “Austronesian” ancestry that has survived…suggest[ing] that Oceanic languages were adopted by many formerly Papuan-speaking groups, while at the same time there was little genetic influence or marital exchange. At least in Near Oceania, rates of language borrowing and language adoption have been faster and more pervasive than rates of genetic admixture.

Two aspects of this study appeal to me.

  1. Whole genome studies appear to be the wave of the future for anthropological genetic research, with the advent of new technologies that make these types of analyses feasible.
  2. It was published in an open access journal, by well-respected members of the field. There’s an interesting discussion of open-access publishing at apophenia, in which she emphasizes the importance of tenured faculty supporting open-access.

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Friedlaender JS, Friedlaender FR, Reed FA, Kidd KK, Kidd JR, Chambers GK, Lea RA, Loo JH, Koki G, Hodgson JA, Merriwether DA, & Weber JL (2008). The genetic structure of Pacific Islanders. PLoS genetics, 4 (1) PMID: 18208337

SciVee

August 20, 2007 in Education, Science, Technology by Kris | No comments

SciVee Logo

The Public Library of Science (PLoS) has partnered with the National Science Foundation (NSF) and the San Diego Computer Supercomputer Center (SDSC) to create SciVee, which

allows scientists to communicate their work as a multimedia presentation incorporated with the content of their published article. Other scientists can freely view uploaded presentations and engage in virtual discussions with the author and other viewers. SciVee also facilitates the creation of communities around specific articles and keywords. Use this medium to meet peers and future collaborators that share your particular research interests.

It’s still in alpha, so there’s not a lot of content yet. SciVee resembles a cross between LinkedIn and YouTube for scientists, and looks promising. Stay tuned.

Great Apes Endangered by Biofuels?

June 1, 2007 in Anthropology, Technology by Kris | No comments

Dr. Richard Leakey, famed paleoanthropologist, has sounded a warning concerning the fate of the world’s great apes, but not from the threat you might expect. While Leakey acknowledges that our closest relatives are at risk due to climate change caused by global warming, he also warned of the risk to biodiversity, including apes, as a result of the human response to global warming, namely the increased reliance on biofuels (think ethanol or biodiesel).

He said that “great swathes” of forest had already been destroyed in South Asia to make way for palm oil plantations [used in personal care products], and this had had a dramatic impact on orangutans, which currently number 50,000.

Sumatran Orangutan

The pressure to grow cash crops has the potential to accelerate habitat destruction in the world’s poorest countries. Even worse, clear cutting indigenous forests could exacerbate the effects of global warming by decreasing habitats which absorb greenhouse gases.

“It does seem that we cannot stop development, but it does also seem that perhaps we can stop development where critical species are threatened.”

As we attempt to decrease our dependence on fossil fuels and find clean energy alternatives, we must also protect biodiversity on this planet, and ensure that third world countries have sustainable economies, so that they aren’t forced to destroy their natural resources to survive.

What the Web Means

February 12, 2007 in Anthropology, Critical Thinking, Technology by Kris | No comments

This is a really cool explanation of what the World Wide Web is, and is becoming.  Even cooler, it was created by a cultural anthropologist in my adopted department at K-State. Check it out.

YouTube Preview Image

Charles Darwin’s Works Online

November 2, 2006 in Education, Evolution, Technology by Kris | No comments

Charles Darwin, 1878

darwin-online.org.uk is publishing all of Charles Darwin’s works online.  This site includes not just On the Origin of Species, but also The Descent of Man (available online for the first time), as well as his field notes from his time on the Beagle, and the three volume Life and Letters of Charles Darwin published in 1887. His works are available in text mode, as well as images of the original works.  Even cooler, many of these works are also available as mp3 files, so you can take Darwin with you!

The project run by Cambridge University has digitised some 50,000 pages of text and 40,000 images of original publications – all of it searchable.

“The idea is to make these important works as accessible as possible; some people can only get at Darwin that way,” said project director Dr. John van Wyhe.

Currently a work in progress, van Wyhe hopes to have the entire collection online by 2009, the 200th anniversary of Darwin’s birth.

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