Beyond bones & stones
Almost every biological anthropology text-book I've ever looked at has described the adaptations of human populations to the environments they occupy. Examples they give are the short stalky Inuit adapted to conserving heat in cold environments, the long lanky East African nomads adapted to far distant travels, and the barrel chested Peruvian and Tibetans living... Continue Reading →
Razib has chimed in on the latest piece of research to come from John Lukacs, "Fertility and Agriculture Accentuate Sex Differences in Dental Caries Rates," published in Current Anthropology. Throughout time, women have had more cavities on average than men. I've explained how cavities are formed in a previous post. Diet change and sexual division... Continue Reading →
Razib shares with us an overview of a new PLoS One paper which investigated the selection of an allele of alcohol dehydrogenase found in high frequency in some East Asian peoples. I gotta hand it to him for the snarky title of his post. Alcohol dehydrogenase is an enzyme that functions to break down alcohols... Continue Reading →
Dopamine is a fundamental neurotransmitter and hormone. You may know it as one of the neurotransmitters associated with the limbic system, being released during eating and sex, which causes a sensation of pleasure. But it is more than just a hedonistic chemical, actually many of the functions of the brain are dependent on dopamine. Memory,... Continue Reading →
