CARTA - Anthropogeny (Video)

This talk by Michael Sawka of Georgia Tech examines the role of skin in human thermoregulation as a potentially important evolutionary factor for modern man. Two strong selective factors for survival in early hominins were the ability to forage during peak daily heat when their predators were not a threat, and the capability for persistence hunting (track and pursue prey to cause hyperthermia-induced exhaustion of prey).

Series: "CARTA - Center for Academic Research and Training in Anthropogeny" [Science] [Show ID: 30214]

This presentation by UC San Diego’s Richard Gallo provides an overview of the multiple cell types, both human and microbial, that comprise the human skin super-organism. Understanding their relationship changes how we think about evolution, gene transfer, and the impact of current hygiene and antibiotic therapies. Series: "CARTA - Center for Academic Research and Training in Anthropogeny" [Science] [Show ID: 30213]

Welcome remarks to symposium on human skin in an evolutionary framework. Series: "CARTA - Center for Academic Research and Training in Anthropogeny" [Science] [Show ID: 30208]

Closing remarks to symposium on human skin in an evolutionary framework. Series: "CARTA - Center for Academic Research and Training in Anthropogeny" [Science] [Show ID: 30219]

Opening remarks to symposium on human skin in an evolutionary framework. Series: "CARTA - Center for Academic Research and Training in Anthropogeny" [Science] [Show ID: 30209]

Mark Stoneking of the Max Planck Institute explains in this talk how studying the molecular evolution of the three types of human lice (head louse, body louse, pubic louse) can reflect important developments of human evolution. Series: "CARTA - Center for Academic Research and Training in Anthropogeny" [Science] [Show ID: 30217]

Mark Shriver of Pennsylvania State University explains in this talk how evolutionary approaches to understanding which genes affect pigmentation can provide important insights into both normal development and pathophysiology. Likewise, genetic and genomic investigations can help illuminate where and when the genes that affect contemporary skin color levels changed and, ultimately, which evolutionary forces shaped the wide range of skin colors we see today. Series: "CARTA - Center for Academic Research and Training in Anthropogeny" [Science] [Show ID: 30210]

Sarah Millar of the University of Pennsylvania summarizes our current state of knowledge of the molecular events that control hair follicle, mammary gland and sweat gland development. She also highlights major questions still remaining. Using the mammary gland as an example, she discusses how evolutionary pressures may have driven specific changes in molecular pathways to permit organ diversification, and further refinements in glandular number and location that permitted efficient feeding of newborn mammals including humans. Series: "CARTA - Center for Academic Research and Training in Anthropogeny" [Science] [Show ID: 30215]

In this talk, Chris Kuzawa (Northwestern Uni) argues that human body fat co-evolved not just with the energetically-demanding and vulnerable brain, but also with the cultural strategies that humans use to buffer offspring intake. The human infant’s need for ample baby fat traces to the fact that the main causes of nutritional stress at this age are infections, which force a reliance on onboard energy by reducing appetite and impairing digestion. However, by early childhood, we are less reliant upon this resource as a result of another uniquely human buffering system: food sharing and our cooperative strategy of caring for and feeding our young. Series: "CARTA - Center for Academic Research and Training in Anthropogeny" [Science] [Show ID: 30218]

All humans have the capacity for aggression and reconciliation. However, it is cultural institutions that harness aggression by shaping cognition, corresponding emotions and defining appropriate responses. In this talk, Polly Wiessner (Univ of Utah) compares the cultural institutions related to aggression and violence and their outcomes in two different societies: Ju/’hoan hunter-gatherers of the Kalahari and Enga horticulturists of Papua New Guinea. She tries to show “what culture has to do with it” and demonstrate real consequences. Series: "CARTA - Center for Academic Research and Training in Anthropogeny" [Humanities] [Science] [Show ID: 28353]