CARTA - Anthropogeny (Audio)

Yoav Gilad is Associate Professor of Human Genetics at the University of Chicago. He studies genetic and regulatory differences between humans and our close evolutionary relatives, with the long-term goal of identifying the genetic basis for human-specific traits, including genetic variation that underlies higher susceptibility to certain diseases and disorders in humans than in other primates. Series: "CARTA - Center for Academic Research and Training in Anthropogeny" [Science] [Show ID: 21985]

Genevieve Konopka is an Assistant Professor of Neuroscience at UT Southwestern Medical Center. The focus of her research is elucidating how developmental signaling pathways are disrupted in neuropsychiatric illnesses, and identifying human-specific pathways that are vulnerable to neuropsychiatric disease. Series: "CARTA - Center for Academic Research and Training in Anthropogeny" [Science] [Show ID: 21986]

Ajit Varki, Distinguished Professor in the Departments of Medicine and Cellular & Molecular Medicine, Co-Director of CARTA, and Co-Director of the Glycobiology Research and Training Center at the University of California, San Diego, focuses on a family of cell surface sugars called the sialic acids, and their roles in biology, evolution and disease. Series: "CARTA - Center for Academic Research and Training in Anthropogeny" [Science] [Show ID: 21987]

Christopher Boehm is Professor of Biological Sciences & Anthropology and Director of the Goodall Research Center at the University of Southern California. He is a cultural anthropologist with a subspecialty in primatology, who researches conflict resolution, altruism, moral origins, and feuding and warfare. Series: "CARTA - Center for Academic Research and Training in Anthropogeny" [Science] [Show ID: 21281]

Christophe Boesch is Director of Primatology at the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Leipzig, Germany. His research takes an inclusive approach, addressing the biology of chimpanzees from many viewpoints and applying this knowledge to our understanding of the evolution of cognitive and cultural abilities in humans. Series: "CARTA - Center for Academic Research and Training in Anthropogeny" [Science] [Show ID: 21282]

Patricia Smith Churchland is Professor of Philosophy at UC San Diego. The central focus of her research has been the exploration and development of the hypothesis that the mind is the brain. Series: "CARTA - Center for Academic Research and Training in Anthropogeny" [Science] [Show ID: 21283]

Steve Frank is Professor of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at the University of California, Irvine. One of his current research projects is centered on microbial life history and sociality. The theory of virulence is an example of the broader problems of sociality and life history. Series: "CARTA - Center for Academic Research and Training in Anthropogeny" [Science] [Show ID: 21284]

Peter Hammerstein is a theoretical biologist at the Humboldt University in Berlin, Germany. Given his background in game theory and economics, he is interested in conflict and cooperation at the level of individuals and of genes. Series: "CARTA - Center for Academic Research and Training in Anthropogeny" [Science] [Show ID: 21285]

Sarah Hrdy is currently professor emerita at the University of California, Davis. She is a renowned anthropologist and primate sociobiologist who seeks to understand, step by Darwinian step, how apes could have evolved to imagine and care about what the lives of others might be like. Series: "CARTA - Center for Academic Research and Training in Anthropogeny" [Science] [Show ID: 21286]

Donald Pfaff, head of the Laboratory of Neurobiology and Behavior at The Rockefeller University, upends our entire understanding of ethics and social contracts with an intriguing proposition: the Golden Rule is hardwired into the human brain. Series: "CARTA - Center for Academic Research and Training in Anthropogeny" [Show ID: 21288]

Peter Richerson, Distinguished Professor Emeritus in the Department of Environmental Science and Policy at the University of California, Davis, focuses on the processes of cultural evolution. Series: "CARTA - Center for Academic Research and Training in Anthropogeny" [Show ID: 21289]

Closing remarks for CARTA’s Evolutionary Origins of Art and Aesthetics symposium held in March 2009. Series: "CARTA - Center for Academic Research and Training in Anthropogeny" [Show ID: 16440]

The human body has traits that evolved at different times, from 1.5 billion to 2 million years ago, each bringing health benefits and risks. Multicellularity enabled organs and cancer. The immune system defends us but can cause inflammation. Breastfeeding supports infant health but relates to breast cancer risk. Menstruation and invasive placentas improved reproduction but led to pain and cancer risks. Human-specific traits like bipedalism and aging brought new issues like back pain and childbirth problems. Hair loss and sweat glands helped us stay cool but increased skin cancer risk. Our hunter-gatherer past shaped our microbiome and health, but also made us prone to modern diseases from lifestyle changes. Series: "CARTA - Center for Academic Research and Training in Anthropogeny" [Humanities] [Science] [Show ID: 40702]

Humans have long been exposed to three main types of smoke: from early domestic fires, modern wildfires, and more recently, tobacco and fossil fuel pollution. All release tiny particles from partly burned plants, containing harmful chemicals like nitrogen oxides and carcinogens. These particles raise risks for lung cancer, dementia, and even childhood obesity. Studies show that air pollution can disrupt brain chemistry, increase Alzheimer’s-related proteins, and activate stress-related genes (NFkB, Nrf2). A new drug (GSM-15606) shows promise in reducing brain damage from pollution in mice. People with the ApoE4 gene may be more vulnerable, while the ApoE3 gene, possibly evolved 200,000 years ago, may offer some protection. Series: "CARTA - Center for Academic Research and Training in Anthropogeny" [Humanities] [Science] [Show ID: 40700]

The human gut microbiome is tightly linked our health. Our analyses of diverse human populations from around the globe, ranging from hunter-gatherer to industrialized, show that the gut microbiome is profoundly influenced by lifestyle. With a large collaborative team, we conducted deep metagenomic sequencing of the gut microbiomes of Tsimane horticulturalists from Bolivia and compared them to those of Hadza hunter-gatherers from Tanzania. We are also investigating whether diet and microbial therapies can address deficiencies in the industrialized gut community. Molecular mechanisms of host-microbial interaction are pursued using an array of technologies and experimental approaches including gnotobiotic and conventional mouse models, quantitative imaging, and a metabolomics pipeline focused on investigating microbiota-dependent metabolites. Series: "CARTA - Center for Academic Research and Training in Anthropogeny" [Humanities] [Science] [Show ID: 40698]