Sausage Of Science

Special guest hosts Cristina and Miguel Ochoa unpack the nutritional ecology with Dr. Hugo Azcorra-Pérez, a human biologist at Centro de Investigaciones Silvio Zavala, Universidad Modelo, Mérida, Yucatán, Mexico. He is interested in the biology of populations during the early stages of growth and development and how environmental factors and intergenerational influences shape biological conditions. Born in Yucatán, México, he holds a Master of Sciences in Human Ecology and a Ph.D. in Human Biology (Loughborough University, UK). His research focuses on human growth and its variation according to economic and sociocultural variables. In his Ph.D. work, he assessed how intergenerational factors influence Maya families' development and nutritional status, particularly the phenomenon of nutritional dual-burden (i.e., the coexistence of undernutrition and overweight within the same family or individual). These interests have continued through his current work, which focuses on how the chronic adverse living conditi

Chris and Courtney host Claire Gold, a Ph.D. candidate in the Department of Anthropology at The University of Massachusetts, Amherst, where she studies the life histories and diet of the women and children from a Medieval Italian population. Claire received her MA in Biological Anthropology from the State University of New York, Binghamton, where she focused on the reproductive correlates of reproductive cancers. Since then, she has raised three children with her husband. In 2019, Claire decided to pursue her PhD at 45 to continue contributing to relevant research on women's and children’s health. She is interested in early life events in modern humans and archaeological populations. Claire is a member of the Society for American Archaeology, the American Association of Biological Anthropologists, the Human Biology Association, the American Investigative Society of Cold Cases, and the International Society for Evolution, Medicine, and Public Health. ------------------------------ Find the works discussed in

Chris and Cristina interview Taiye Winful, a PhD Candidate at Vanderbilt University, who studies stress and embodiment in African and other Black populations. Taiye completed her bachelor's degree in Molecular Biology from Loyola University Chicago and MA degree in Anthropology from The University of North Carolina at Charlotte. Taiye’s Master’s thesis was titled “Reconstructing Africa’s Evolutionary Histories: DNA Collection, Coding, Analysis, and Interpretation.” Her thesis focused on generating a comprehensive bio-culturally informed set of African DNA databases that reflected continental and diasporic African genomic diversity. Taiye’s current research interests include genetics, race, health, embodiment, and health disparities. Her dissertation focuses on understanding how life experiences translate into physiological systems via stress in Black populations. She explores the biological mechanisms that connect stress and health, specifically focusing on how social and environmental factors can lead to ep

How can marmosets inform human birth experiences? Are there really four types of human pelvises? What happens when primates birth litters? Prof. Julienne Rutherford joins Chris and Eric to answer these questions and more! Find the articles discussed on this episode via the following citations: Rutherford, J.N., Ross, C.N., Ziegler, T., Burke, L.A., Steffen, A.D., Sills, A., Layne Colon, D., Demartelly, V.A., Narapareddy, L.R. and Tardif, S.D., 2021. Womb to womb: Maternal litter size and birth weight but not adult characteristics predict early neonatal death of offspring in the common marmoset monkey. Plos one, 16(6), p.e0252093. VanSickle, C., Liese, K.L. and Rutherford, J.N., 2022. Textbook typologies: challenging the myth of the perfect obstetric pelvis. The Anatomical Record, 305(4), pp.952-967. ---------------------------------------------------- Dr. Julienne Rutherford is Professor and John & Nell Mitchell Endowed Chair for Pediatric Nursing in the University of Arizona College of Nursing. She is

Prof. Lesley Gregoricka joins Chris and Eric to explain her work in the field of bioarchaeology. Topics include everything from strontium isotope analysis to the ethics of legacy collections of human remains. Stick around for a diversion to King Cakes and Mardis Gras. The article discussed on this episode can be found via this citation: Gregoricka, L. A. (2023). The ethics of excavating: bioarchaeology and the case for rehabilitating legacy human skeletal collections in the Near East. Levant, 55(3), 294-303. ------------------------------------------------------------- Bioarchaeologist Dr. Lesley Gregoricka is a Professor of Anthropology in the Department of Sociology, Anthropology, and Social Work at the University of South Alabama. Her research focuses on prehistoric mortuary practices and the chemistry of ancient human teeth and bones to examine changing patterns of mobility and the evolution of social complexity in Arabia and the broader Middle East. -------------------------------------------------

Chris and Eric catch up with Dr. Melanie Martin, an Associate Professor in the University of Washington Department of Anthropology, whose research examines biocultural influences on health, growth, and development across the life course. In addition to being the Co-PI of the Biodemography Lab at the University of Washington Center for Studies in Demography and Ecology, she conducts field research with two international projects on Indigenous community health and well-being: the Chaco Area Reproductive Ecology Program (Co-Director) and the Tsimane Health and Life History Project (Affiliate). In this episode, Dr. Martin breaks down two of her papers, one looking at COVID-19 transmission in mothers and infants and another examining sleep health in undergraduates before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. ------------------------------ Find the papers discussed in this episode: Martin MA, Keith M, Pace RM, Williams JE, Ley SH, Barbosa-Leiker C, Caffé B, Smith CB, Kunkle A, Lackey KA, Navarrete AD, Pace CDW, Gogel

Listeners, please welcome Prof. Ben Trumble to the show! Prof. Trumble joins us to talk about his fascinating research on how oral health can affect cardiovascular disease risk and cognitive health later in life. Find the publication discussed in today’s episode via this citation: Benjamin C Trumble, Matthew Schwartz, Andrew T Ozga, Gary T Schwartz, Christopher M Stojanowski, Carrie L Jenkins, Thomas S Kraft, Angela R Garcia, Daniel K Cummings, Paul L Hooper, Daniel Eid Rodriguez, Kenneth Buetow, Bret Beheim, Andrei Irimia, Gregory S Thomas, Randall C Thompson, HORUS Team, Margaret Gatz, Jonathan Stieglitz, Caleb E Finch, Michael Gurven, Hillard Kaplan. Poor oral health is associated with inflammation, aortic valve calcification, and brain volume among forager-farmers, The Journals of Gerontology: Series A, 2024;, glae013, https://doi-org.proxy.lib.duke.edu/10.1093/gerona/glae013 ------------------------------------------------------------ Benjamin Trumble is an associate professor in the School of Human

Cara and guest co-host Cristina sit down with Dr. Chris Kuzawa, the John D. MacArthur Professor & Faculty Fellow at the Institute for Policy Research at Northwestern University. He uses principles from anthropology and evolutionary biology to gain insights into the biological and health impacts of human developmental plasticity. His primary field research is conducted in Cebu, the Philippines, where he and his colleagues work with a large birth cohort study that enrolled more than 3,000 pregnant women in 1983 and has since followed their offspring into adulthood (now 30 years old). They use the nearly 3 decades of data available for each study participant, and recruitment of generation 3 (the grand offspring of the original mothers), to gain a better understanding of the long-term and intergenerational impacts of early life environments on adult biology, life history, reproduction, and health. A theme of much of his work is the application of principles of developmental plasticity and evolutionary biology to

Listeners, please welcome Dr. Eric Griffith to the show ...as a guest! In this episode, Eric takes a break from producing to talk about his research regarding human variation in dementia. Find the publication discussed in today’s episode via this citation: Griffith EE. (2023). “Recruiting Participants for Dementia Research Without Saying ‘Dementia’: A Site Study in Central Mexico.” In: Anthropological Perspectives on Aging, BM Howell & RP Harrod eds., University of Press of Florida. ------------------------------------------------------------ Dr. Eric Griffith received his Ph.D. in anthropology from the University of Massachusetts Amherst, as well as an MA in psychology from Boston University. He completed his dissertation fieldwork in central Mexico, focusing on the experiences of familial caregivers for people living with Alzheimer’s disease. Eric’s research interests include biocultural anthropology, dementia, cognitive aging, health disparities, and mixed methods research. Eric is currently a T32 pos

Listeners, please welcome Dr. Sheina Lew-Levy to the show! In this episode Prof. Lew-Levy discusses the importance of social learning among children to the study of evolution. Stick around for some gardening tips! Find the publication discussed in today’s episode via these citations: Pretelli, Ilaria, Alyssa N. Crittenden, Edmond Dounias, Sagan Friant, Jeremy Koster, Karen L. Kramer, Shani M. Mangola, Almudena Mari Saez, and Sheina Lew‐Levy. "Child and adolescent foraging: New directions in evolutionary research." Evolutionary Anthropology: Issues, News, and Reviews (2023): e22020. Lew‐Levy, Sheina, Wouter van den Bos, Kathleen Corriveau, Natália Dutra, Emma Flynn, Eoin O'Sullivan, Sarah Pope‐Caldwell et al. "Peer learning and cultural evolution." Child Development Perspectives (2023). ------------------------------------------------------------ Using methods from anthropology and psychology, Prof. Lew-Levy conducts research in hunter-gatherer societies to understand the cultural diversity in, and evol

Special Edition HBA Fellow take-over! HBA Junior Fellows Eric Griffith and Courtney Manthey-Pierce co-host this season's final episode with Dr. Meradeth Snow. Dr. Snow is an Associate Professor and Co-Chair of Anthropology at the University of Montana. There, she and her research team analyze ancient and degraded DNA for anthropological and forensic purposes. Her lab focuses primarily on the northern region of prehistoric Mexico. She is here to talk to us today about her most recent paper (currently in review) titled “A Reanalysis of Population Dynamics in the Casas Grandes Region of Northern Mexico Using Mitochondrial DNA.” ------------------------------ Contact Meradeth: meradeth.snow@umontana.edu Website: meradethhouston.com; Twitter: @MeradethHouston ------------------------------ Contact the Sausage of Science Podcast and Human Biology Association: Facebook: facebook.com/groups/humanbiologyassociation/, Website: humbio.org, Twitter: @HumBioAssoc Courtney Manthey-Pierce, Guest-Co-Host, Website: courtney

Cara is solo hosting this episode! She is joined by Dr. Charles Roseman to discuss the finer points of why/how "adaptionist" thinking can lead us all down scientific dead ends. Bonus fun: We also learn a little bit about squirrels and nicotine withdrawal. You know Chris was sorry to miss this episode! ******************************* The Scientific American article "To Understand Sex, We Need to Ask the Right Questions," co-authored by Profs. Roseman and Ocobock can be found here: https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/to-understand-sex-we-need-to-ask-the-right-questions/ Dr. Roseman's video demonstration will be uploaded to the HBA youtube page soon: https://www.youtube.com/@HumanBiologyAssociation ******************************* Dr. Roseman is an Associate Professor in Evolution, Ecology and Behavior and Anthropology in the School of Integrative Biology at the University of Illinois. His work broadly focuses on genotype phenotype map structure, and the evolution of complex traits. You can view his

Chris and special guest co-host Courtney Manthey-Peirce interview Dimitris Xygalatas, author of Ritual: How Seemingly Senseless Acts Make Life Worth Living. Associate Professor in Anthropology and Psychological Sciences at the University of Connecticut and head of the Experimental Anthropology Lab, Dimitris is an anthropologist and cognitive scientist who studies some things that make us human – but not the obvious ones. He is interested in some of the more peculiar aspects of human nature: ritual, music, sports fanship, and other things that help people connect, cope, and live meaningful lives. Dimitris’ research combines experimental methods with ethnographic fieldwork to study human culture holistically over the last several years in Southern Europe and Mauritius. ------------------------------ Contact Dimitris: xygalatas@uconn.edu Website: xygalatas.com; Twitter: @xygalatas ------------------------------ Contact the Sausage of Science Podcast and Human Biology Association: Facebook: facebook.com/groups/h

Listeners, please welcome Ed Hagen to the show! In this episode Prof. Hagen discusses his research on self medication and parasites. Prof. Hagen joins our regular host, Prof. Chris Lynn, as well as returning guest host Cristina Gildee. Find the publication discussed in today’s episode via this citation: Hagen, E. H., Blackwell, A. D., Lightner, A. D., & Sullivan, R. J. (2023). Homo medicus: The transition to meat eating increased pathogen pressure and the use of pharmacological plants in Homo. American Journal of Biological Anthropology, 180(4), 589-617. ------------------------------------------------------------ Prof. Hagen investigates tobacco use in the larger context of human use of plant secondary compounds. He investigates depression, suicide, and deliberate self-harm as potential signaling strategies. Child growth and development is a research theme that grew out of his work on postpartum depression. Prof. Hagen also recently begun testing evolutionary models of leadership and knowledge specializat

Listeners, please welcome Achsah Dorsey to the show! In this episode Prof. Dorsey discusses her research on childhood anemia in Peru and casually tosses in an excellent airplane turbulence metaphor to describe human physiology. Stick around for the ABBA shout-out. Prof. Dorsey joins our regular host, Prof. Chris Lynn, as well as returning guest host Prof. Theresa Gildner. Find the publication discussed in today’s episode via this citation: Dorsey, A. (2023). Biological and Ecological Impacts on Recovery from Anemia Among Peri-Urban Peruvian Children. In Human Growth and Nutrition in Latin American and Caribbean Countries (pp. 397-419). Cham: Springer International Publishing. ------------------------------------------------------------ Prof. Achsah Dorsey’s research utilizes life-history and evolutionary medicine perspectives to investigate the relationships between immune activation, body size and growth, and nutritional status in women and children. Her recent research explores the biological, environm

This week, Chris and guest co-host Cristina catch up with Georgia Scott, a master's student studying bioarchaeology at the University of Nevada, Reno. Her research interests focus on mortuary practices and treatment of the deceased, both past and present. Georgia received her Bachelor of Science in Anthropology from Montana State University and has a background in vertebrate paleontology, zooarchaeology, and museum studies. She is passionate about collaborative methodologies and improving engagement with descendant communities. Her most recent work explores the ethical considerations in bioarchaeological research and publications regarding the use and treatment of human remains. ------------------------------ Contact Georgia: georgiascott@nevada.unr.edu ------------------------------ Contact the Sausage of Science Podcast and Human Biology Association: Facebook: facebook.com/groups/humanbiologyassociation/, Website: humbio.org, Twitter: @HumBioAssoc Chris Lynn, HBA Public Relations Committee Chair, Website

Chris and Cristina sit down with Dr. Molly Fox, Associate Professor of Anthropology and of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences at UCLA. She studies the evolutionary context of chronic disease and the biosocial relationships between grandmothers, mothers, and children. Her current research projects investigate (1) the biological embedding of immigration and acculturation experiences in Mexican-American women and how this process influences aspects of gestational physiology that are implicated in shaping fetal developmental trajectories, thereby affecting health across generations; (2) psychobiological profiles of postpartum depression risk, etiology, and manifestation; (3) how the human newborn intestinal ecology (microbiome) affects infant cognitive and emotional development, with implications for vulnerability to mental illness; (4) how gestational and lactational (pregnancy and breastfeeding) physiology impose long-term alterations to biophysiology in ways that affect later-life risk of Alzheimer’s and o

Dee Jolly, PhD student in anthropology at the University of Oregon, joins Cara and Courtney to discuss how stigma affects the health of trans and gender diverse people. Dee is currently a 2nd year PhD student, working with Prof. Zachary DuBois. They finished their undergraduate studies at the University of Florida in 2016 and then earned a Master's degree in Medical Anthropology and Cross-Cultural Practice from Boston University in 2018. Contact the Sausage of Science Podcast and Human Biology Association: Facebook: www.facebook.com/groups/humanbiologyassociation Website: humbio.org/, Twitter: @HumBioAssoc Cara Ocobock, Co-Host, Website: sites.nd.edu/cara-ocobock/, Email:cocobock@nd.edu, Twitter:@CaraOcobock Courtney Manthey-Pierce, HBA webmaster, SoS co-host Website: courtneymanthey-pierce.godaddysites.com/ Eric Griffith, HBA Junior Fellow, SoS producer E-mail: eric.griffith@duke.edu

Cara and Chris chat with Dr. Rob Tennyson, a Postdoctoral scholar in the Department of Biobehavioral Health at Penn State University and a Postdoctoral Fellow in the Sociology Department at the University of Utah, who received his PhD in Biological Anthropology from the University of Washington in 2022. His research focuses on psychosocial stress, aging, and student-athlete mental health and well-being. His research program leverages diversity within and between populations to tease apart how differences in social environments, physical environments, and behavior influence human biological aging, connecting lived experiences to molecular, immunological, and demographic processes. Find the work discussed in today’s episode here: Analyzing COVID-19 Related Disruptions and Psychosocial Stress in Collegiate Student-Athletes https://osf.io/25f4h/ 'Legs Feed the Wolf': An Evolutionary Perspective on Psychosocial Stress, Physical Activity, and Telomere Length in NCAA Student-Athletes https://osf.io/s2cuj/ -------

Welcome to Bizarro World, Sausage of Science listeners! Cara is on the show today ...as a guest! She is joined by Sarah Lacy to discuss their recent American Anthropologist articles "Woman the hunter: The physiological evidence" and "Woman the hunter: The archaeological evidence." Also, please welcome guest host, and HBA webmaster, Courtney Manthey-Pierce. Find the publications discussed in today’s episode here: Ocobock, C., & Lacy, S. (2023). Woman the hunter: The physiological evidence. American Anthropologist. https://doi.org/10.1111/aman.13915 Lacy, S., & Ocobock, C. (2023). Woman the hunter: The archaeological evidence. American Anthropologist. https://doi.org/10.1111/aman.13914 And here is a link to their article in the Nov. 2023 issue of Scientific American: https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/the-theory-that-men-evolved-to-hunt-and-women-evolved-to-gather-is-wrong/ ------------------------------------------------------------ ​Sarah A. Lacy is a biological anthropologist specializing in