Socioeconomic Contexts of Primate Conservation

Socioeconomic Contexts of Primate Conservation: Population, Poverty, Global Economic Demands, and Sustainable Land Use
In many of the readings for this week, I was interested in how genome sequencing efforts have led to an increase in conservation efforts - both of primate diversity and their environments.  This article, from the American Journal of Primatology, begins with an alarming statistic: over 50% of primate species are currently at risk of extinction as a result of human activity.  The author, Alejandro Estrada, explores the causes and trends of deforestation and its consequences for primate diversity and population.  Towards the end, the author proposes several potential routes to alleviate these negative consequences of human development.

ANTH 420 Week 3 -- Genome studies and evolutionary history

Given our focus this week on some of the more prominent published primate genomes, I thought this article might be of interest: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/ajpa.22159/abstract. In this article, Dr. Disotell demonstrates how genome studies of the Neanderthal and a group of Siberian hominins have succeeded in demonstrating a degree of gene flow between two populations of early hominins that were previously thought to be isolated. These results potentially contradict some of the most widely accepted models of hominin dispersal out of Africa and are highly relevant to many sub disciplines of physical anthropology.

ANTH420 Pot Luck (Week 3 - Jan 30)

Similar to Rebecca's post,  I think this NY Times article is an example of the real-life application of some of the processes we quickly reviewed in last week's class.  The article discusses the mutation that causes some types of melanoma that exist in the control region of the genes as opposed to the expressive parts of genes.

This Week in Nature Journal

Hey ANTH420,

In this week's issue of Nature weekly journal there are two pieces related to genomics.  Not highly applicable to non-human primates necessarily, but still pretty interesting in terms of the broader implications of genomics.


First is an editorial that approaches the ethics of genome sequencing in individuals.  This piece raises the privacy issues that occur when this practice is used on humans and then published in public databases.  Here's the link:

http://www.nature.com/news/genetic-privacy-1.12238


Second piece is a "Research Highlight" that features 2 genomics studies that found a gene linked to Alzheimer's.  A study performed on 2000+ Icelanders uncovered a mutation in the TREM2 gene that increases the risk of Alzheimer's threefold.  It is suggested that the mutation regulates immune cells in the brain that would normally engulf the cell debris and plaques that are the hallmarks of this disease.  Link here:

http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v493/n7433/full/493454d.html

Tracing behavior to DNA

Since last week we were discussing some of Professor Bradley's research using DNA to decipher behavioral patterns of gorillas when they could not be observed directly, I though this article might be of interest.  Dr. Hoekstra is studying the underlying genetic causes of mouse burrowing behaviors and recently was able to link certain phenotypes of behavior to stretches of DNA.  It's interesting to imagine that one day much more complex behaviors might be similarly studied and linked to DNA!

An Interesting Take on Personalized Genetic Testing... For Dogs

Science Article on DTC Genetic Testing For Dogs

An interesting idea...

Dog Domestication Tied To Starch

Dog Domestication Tied To Starch

This is a really interesting quick Science News piece about the role of the human agricultural revolution in dog domestication.  Interesting use of non-human species to give insights into human cultural phenomena.