No Neandertal safe sex
Synopsis: A new paper claims humans and Neandertals were reproductively incompatible. I don't think so.Laurent Excoffier and colleagues' work has investigated how range expansions may have affected...
View ArticleSteampunk genetics
An article in European Journal of Human Genetics that came out a couple of years ago has always impressed me, and I just noticed that it has gone to open access: "Predicting human height by Victorian...
View ArticlePersonalized genomics beats personalized genetics
Joe Pickrell encountered sticker shock when faced with the prospect of a medical sequencing test: "The week that I worried I had a rare genetic disease". What’s really striking to me is that the price...
View ArticleThe great world CT-scanning tour
Synopsis: Der Spiegel profiles the Max-Planck CT-scanning trek to Israel, raising the politics of data access.The international version of Der Spiegel is running an English-language profile of the...
View ArticleShellfish gathering, paleoanthropological strawman
Synopsis: Why do archaeologists always make shellfish gathering sound like news, when we know it's not surprising?We have known for many years that Lower Paleolithic people were using shellfish, fish,...
View ArticleHawks lecture at University of Birmingham Sept. 22
I'll be in the U.K. the rest of this week. The University of Birmingham has invited me to give a lecture for their "Great Read" event as they begin the new academic year. If you're in the area, the...
View ArticleCan Watson navigate the medical literature?
Last week, Computerworld reported that IBM's famous "Watson" supercomputer is moving to its next challenge: prescribing cancer treatments for the WellPoint health plan. For example, Watson's analytics...
View ArticleNeolithic discontinuity in Hungary
Dienekes comments on a new paper finding another strange mixture of haplotypes in Neolithic-era sample of mtDNA from central Europe ("Unexpected ancient mtDNA from Neolithic Hungary"). I don't think...
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Denisovan DNA in the islands, and an Australian genome
Synopsis: The hypothesis of a single out-of-Africa dispersal is rejected by new data about Denisovan mixture and whole-genome sequencing of an Aboriginal Australian.David Reich and colleagues today...
View ArticleAn anthropologist invades NPR
Anthropologist Barbara J. King has begun a stint as a writer at the NPR science and culture blog, 13.7. In her introductory post, she gives a prècis of the field for the readers: Anthropology asks some...
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A trip to Darwin's home
Synopsis: Randal Keynes gives a small group of us a wonderful tour of Down House.Today I visited Down House, Charles Darwin's home southeast of London. Mark Pallen, my gracious host from the University...
View ArticleAn arsenical profile
Popular Science writer Tom Clynes gives us a long profile of Felisa Wolfe-Simon, who became a lightning rod for criticism after she authored an article claiming some bacteria were using arsenic in the...
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Kindle Fire
If you're going to check out a Kindle Fire anyway, you can use my link, which gives me 6 percent of the purchase, with no additional cost to you. I love my Kindle and I'm going to investigate this new...
View ArticlePaying for advice on the job market
Must read: former anthropologist Karen Kelsky's article in the Chronicle of Higher Education (To Professors; Re: Your Advisees). Kelsky chucked her career in anthropology to start a consulting business...
View ArticleWill monographs arise from the dead, or eat our brains?
Synopsis: Making academic writing relevant means abandoning the monograph, says a specialist. Inside Higher Ed reviews and interviews an author who argues that the scholarly monograph shackles...
View Article(someone else's) Tips on finding an audience
Consultant and former humanities student James Mulvey offers advice for how to make your online writing have more impact: "Expand your blog's reach". Yes, I've been linking several...
View ArticleHow to blog for your lab
Christie Wilcox makes a case that every lab should be doing science outreach on social media: "Social media for scientists Part 1: It's our job, and Part 2: You do have time. Her rationale is worth...
View ArticleThe box isn't nearly as big, either
I saw this: "India launches Aakash tablet computer priced at $35" on Slashdot, which notes: The Aakash computer runs Android 2.2 (Froyo), has a 7-inch touch screen, 256MB of RAM, 32GB expandable...
View ArticleWhat's wrong with anthropology?
Synopsis: I link to my essay in Anthropologies, which calls for greater engagement by anthropologists.Anthropologies is an online project organized by Ryan Anderson that brings together voices...
View ArticleKids leave their traces in caves with art
Several stories last week related the story (from a conference talk by Jessica Cooney) about evidence that very young children had left finger grooves in the Grotte de Rouffignac. Alan Boyle's gives...
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