Evolution

Myths symbolize ideas, values, history and other issues that are important to a people. They may be true or false, mundane or fantastic; their significance is their meaning, not their narrative content. Science is a way of knowing about the natural world. Its conclusions tentatively may be true or false, but its significance is its explanatory power: one has confidence in the process of science, even though some explanations change over time. Myth and science thus seem very different, but each has been utilized by proponents of both sides of the Christian creationism and evolution controversy. Eugenie Scott, Founding Executive Director, National Center for Science Education Understanding, explores how this role is essential in comprehending (much less mediating) this persistent conflict. Series: "UC Berkeley Graduate Lectures" [Science] [Show ID: 34011]

Conversations host Harry Kreisler welcomes Eugenie C. Scott, Founding Executive Director of the National Center for Science Education, for a discussion of the attack on science especially in the debate on teaching evolution in public schools. Reflecting on the trajectory of her career, she discusses the work of the National Center and its role in supporting the teaching of science through mobilizing supporters in local communities and defending scientific curricula in the courts. She then compares the assumptions of scientists and creationists. The conversation includes her reflections on lessons to be learned from the Scopes trial and its aftermath and the importance of myth and social history in understanding public debates on issues affecting science and implicating religion. Series: "Conversations with History" [Science] [Show ID: 34156]

Most people are part-Neanderthal, the closest extinct human relative. Svante Pääbo explores human genetic evolution by analyzing preserved genetic material from the remains of ancient organisms, including Neanderthals. What can we learn from the genomes of our closest evolutionary relatives? Pääbo is an evolutionary anthropologist and pioneer of paleogenetics and the director of the Max Plank Institute of Evolutionary Genetics. He was awarded the 2018 Nierenberg Award for Science in the Public Interest. Series: "Frontiers of Knowledge" [Humanities] [Science] [Show ID: 34037]

Hunting is considered a key human adaptation and is thought to have influenced our anatomy, physiology and behavior over time. This symposium explores the evidence pertaining to the origins of hominin hunting. Series: "CARTA - Center for Academic Research and Training in Anthropogeny" [Science] [Show ID: 33575]

Across the tree of life, we can trace cancer vulnerabilities back to the origins of multicellularity. Cancer is observed in almost all multicellular phyla, including lineages leading to plants, fungi, and animals. However, species vary remarkably in their susceptibility to cancer. Amy Boddy (UCSB Integrated Anthropological Sciences Unit) discusses how this variation in cancer susceptibility is characterized by life history trade-offs, as cancer defense mechanisms are a major component of a body's maintenance. She also looks at how understanding these trade-offs in the context of evolution may help explain the variability we see in cancer susceptibility across human populations. Series: "GRIT Talks" [Health and Medicine] [Science] [Show ID: 34028]

Over hundreds if not thousands of years, a group of Southeast Asian sea nomads known for their deep-diving prowess has evolved a solution to increasing their underwater time: larger spleens. Series: "UC Berkeley News" [Science] [Show ID: 34023]

Hunting is considered a key human adaptation and is thought to have influenced our anatomy, physiology and behavior over time. This symposium explores the evidence pertaining to the origins of hominin hunting. Chimpanzees living at the Fongoli, Senegal site are the only nonhuman apes thus far that routinely hunt vertebrate prey with tools. Jill Pruetz, Texas State University. Series: "CARTA - Center for Academic Research and Training in Anthropogeny" [Science] [Show ID: 33574]

How it is possible for imagination to have practical social effects? The great potential size of human societies, in contrast to those of other primates, is due to a kind of shared imagination of which kinship and religion are important examples, says Maurice Bloch, Emeritus Professor of Anthropology at the London School of Economics. Bloch says that the shared imaginary emerges in normal life at certain moments yet is still governed by the potential of imagination. The lecture is illustrated by Bloch’s experience of an isolated village in Madagascar. [Humanities] [Science] [Show ID: 33941]

By measuring patterns of species diversity in ecosystems that differ in age and human impact, insect ecologist Rosemary Gillespie says we can start to understand what features of a natural community provide stability in the face of intrusions driven by climate change and other threats from our own species. Series: "Cal Future Forum: Our Changing World" [Science] [Show ID: 33075]

A fascinating look at how the Kennis brothers combine science and imagination to reconstruct ancient hominins.

Series: "CARTA - Center for Academic Research and Training in Anthropogeny" [Science] [Show ID: 33814]