Surviving with culture: From fire to pharmaceuticals

Medicare abuses aren't just at the hospice

2011-06-28T15:36:00.000-07:00

The New York Times reported today that hospice care in the U.S. is getting abused at an increasing rate. The government dished out $12 billion in 2009 for hospice care compared to $2.9 billion in 2000. Four out of 10 Medicare patients now use hospice for end-of-life treatment, which is what hospice is there for. But what's largely going overlooked, or rather underreported, is why this abuse has been increasing and how to actually fix it.

Briefly, the NY Times reporter cites that patients are deciding to avoid life-support treatments in the hospital for pain-relieving medication through hospice care, which can be at a nursing home or privately in your own home. This still doesn't answer why, however. Hospice is for patients who are expected to live no more than six months, but with mental diseases and autoimmune diseases increasing in the American population -- where often proper lifestyle changes and reduced stress can increase life expectancy -- many of these patients are living longer than the six months expected.

In other topics on Medicare and Medicaid, the abuse doesn't stop at hospice care. Recently, I reported in Automative Fleet magazine on how Medicaid van services can largely go overlooked, despite the hustle of contractors to oversee these services. When picking up Medicaid riders is a main source of income for a service fleet, it might be easy to report a higher number, as reported by some fleet contractors.

While the health care reform will work to curb some of these abuses, legislators aren't necessarily informed and educated enough on all these gaps to make effective change. What America needs is a nonpartisan committee to find these holes in government medical services to help prevent waste. As well, this could open other questions for legislation, such as why more and more people are bypassing life-prolongment treatment for a more peaceful end through hospice care. And also this raises questions to the medical community: What defines a terminally ill patient? Maybe the attention and personal services given through hospice care were all that were needed to make the illness not so terminal.

FIFA needs to let groups hand out condoms at World Cup stadiums

2010-06-06T11:02:00.000-07:00

Participating at the World Cup in South Africa, HIV/AIDS awareness groups will be located at health centers where condoms and other sex education materials will be available. Originally, however, these South African AIDS organization asked to dispense the condoms and goods at the stadiums, according to VOA News. FIFA, the International Federation of Association Football, refuses to let these groups into the stadiums and has isolated them to the health centers that will be located with other vendors.

Rhulani Lehloka, communications manager for the AIDS Consortium in Braamfontein, told VOA News that, “The (HIV) prevalence rate in our country is the highest in the world. And we have the interests of the visitors at heart, but we’re also having the interests of the people of South Africa at heart.” All of the groups consider the passing out of condoms to be a “holistic” approach to HIV/AIDS awareness and prevention.

According to the World Health Organization, in 2008, the latest solid statistics, approximately 33.4 million people are currently living with HIV, 2.7 million of which were newly infected in 2008. Deaths in 2008 alone attributed to AIDS/HIV, was around 2 million people worldwide.

While the yearly number of people infected with HIV is decreasing, and has by almost 1 million in the last 10 years, transmission is still easy on continents like Africa where socioeconomics, poor health access and malnutrition all play an underlying role in the transmission of HIV/AIDS. The prevalence of AIDS is not lowering in Africa, but is rising. Of the 33.4 million living with AIDS, about 23 million of those live in Africa. As of 2009, in South Africa, 16.9 percent of the population is living with AIDS, the fifth highest percentage in all of Africa (Swaziland, 25.9 percent; Botswana, 25 percent; Lesotho, 23.4 percent; and Zimbabwe, 19.1 percent).

Apparently, FIFA needs HIV awareness, and should allow these groups to distribute condoms and information. What is the harm?

Land important in studying economics and culture, but not only factor

2010-05-30T13:57:00.000-07:00

Ancient centres of origin of plant and animal domestication — the nine homelands of food production — are indicated by the orange-shaded areas on the map. The most agriculturally productive areas of the modern world, as judged by cereals and major staples, are indicated by the yellow-shaded areas. Note that there is almost no overlap between the areas highlighted, except that China appears on both distributions, and that the most productive areas of the central United States today approach areas of the eastern United States where domestication originated. The reason why the two distributions are so different is that agriculture arose in areas to which the wild ancestors of the most valuable domesticable crops and animals were native, but other areas proved much more productive when those valuable domesticates reached them.

Source: "Evolution, consequences and future of plant and animal domestication"

Jared Diamond. Nature 418, 700-707(8 August 2002) doi:10.1038/nature01019

In studying humans, a variation of aspects is used to understand behavior and the empirical world we’ve created. In a recent article by ScienceNOW, information originally used to track moth development was refined and retooled to see how humans used the land. Looking at several aspects of climate and soil, the simulation looked at how the four main subsistence types (farming, sedentary animal husbandry, nomadic wandering, and hunting and gathering) had played out in reality to what the soil and climate could supposedly bear. The study had an error of about one-third, with modern day culture coinciding with a majority of their findings.

This plays along with many theories about the development of agriculture and its effect on human “advancement.” Jared Diamond, for example, in “Guns, Germs and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies,” describes the importance of geography in cultural and even genetic change. Lands on the East-West axis (i.e. Eurasia) versus the North-South axis (i.e. Africa) would have quicker advancements and population booms because of the availability of domesticable plants and animals. This holds true when compared to how many plants and animals have been domesticated in these regions historically. These areas have shifted slightly to other more hospitable climates as it has changed, such as from eastern United States to western. But it does show an implication of why we see technological, economical and agricultural development in the patterns that we do.

One large problem, however, is that the article claims the finding, “may help explain why some regions are more prone to violence than others.” It is one thing to assert that the environment was a large contributing factor to how cultures developed their subsistence strategies and technologies across the world. However, in no way does this assert that violence would occur less on the East-West axis – a formidable study would need to be done because this assumes geography is a superior factor to the formation of culture. This is called geographical determinism. Violence cannot be understood from geography alone or as the determining device, and it would absurd to think competition for resources can be reduced to the sole reason for the world’s problems. Backing up to the fact that the study failed to present current land uses with what the model projected one-third of the time is evidence that biology, culture and psychology are also triggering reasons for human behavior.

Thankfully, the researchers of the study acknowledged this in their study, however, headlines led readers a different direction. At the very end of the study, the researchers write: “[W]e know that human societies and economies went through historical development, so ignoring history may not always be the best strategy to understand causalities. … Nevertheless, our ‘null model’ will be a useful tool in identifying regions that require further investigation to understand additional processes that shape the distribution and performance of human economic traits.

Many parts of the world still lack toilets

2010-03-16T13:55:00.000-07:00

Gorakpur, India: "Open Air Toilet" /rpd1001 on Flickr

Public restrooms are a luxury developed countries don't think twice about. In fact, we wouldn't even think to consider public restrooms, or a working toilet in general, as a luxury, but a necessity. Well, world leaders are beginning to realize how necessary proper sanitation is still needed in many parts of the world. In an article by The New York Times, the World Health Organization and UNICEF do say the problem is lessening, however, 1.1 billion people are still defecating in public.

When I traveled to Brasil, the same issues were encountered. (See blog entry here.) It was even to the point that when it rains everyone knows to avoid the "piss puddles" that gather from rain runoff on the streets, and to always wash your feet once you get home. A 20-year-old student, who after telling him how the U.S. deals with people who defecate in public, had a different reaction than expected. He said he wishes the Brasilian government dealt with it just as harshly, so that people would actually be deterred and find a public restroom.

Sign on the dangers of open defecation. / Ajay Tallam on Flickr (and below)

The solution, however, isn't as simple as "finding a public restroom." This is actually the very problem -- these restrooms largely do not exist in developing nations. In more urbanized nations like India, Pakistan, Nepal and Afghanistan, the report released says that 44 percent of residents in these countries engage in "open defecation."

In 2001, a nonprofit organization, World Toilet Organization, was founded in order to improve "sanitation conditions worldwide." Nov. 19 is World Toilet Day.

They estimate that 2.5 billion people do not have access to basic sanitation facilities, from clean water to running toilets. They hope to reduce this number in half by 2015 (Millennium Development Goal).

There are no plans developed for action in California, but you can click here to organize your own event on World Toilet Day.

Mental illness and epigenetics

2010-03-07T13:40:00.000-08:00

Marcus Bockman / Daily 49er

Steve Lopez speaking at the Karl Anatol Center at CSULB March 3, 2010.

In light of Steven Lopez, author of "The Soloist" and columnist for the Los Angeles Times (photo at right), visiting Cal State Long Beach to discuss what it was like to help a mentally ill, homeless man with extraordinary talents as a musician, I decided to look at current news on the mentally ill.

In the weekly journal Science, on March 4 the article "Mental illness multiplied in children," a new discovery in genetics came to mind--epigenetics. Epigenetics examines "the study of heritable changes in gene function that occur without a change in the DNA sequence." Epigenetics allows for the passing on of characteristics that may not have been in the original been expressing a certain way.

This is because different genes respond to our physiology. For example, a study done in part with the documentary "The Ghost in Your Genes," examined pregnant mothers living in New York City who witnessed the falling of the World Trade Centers. Stress hormones affect the functioning of a gene and issues like post-traumatic stress disorder while exhibit low levels of cortisone, which is the chemical that deals with stress in humans.

These women's children, were born and continued to exhibit low levels of cortisone, and at around 9 years old, these children are showing discreet characteristics in dealing with stress in comparison to their peers. This brings me back to the article on mental illnesses being hyperbolized in children when the parent suffers from a mental illness. The article states:

"The team analyzed the records of all psychiatric admissions in the country between 1970 and 2007 and found 196 pairs of parents in which both had been diagnosed with schizophrenia. Of the 270 offspring, 27% had been admitted with a diagnosis of schizophrenia by the age of 52. And for all psychiatric diagnoses, hospitalization for this group was a whopping 67.5%. In contrast, among 8000 couples in which one spouse had schizophrenia, only 7% of the offspring were schizophrenic."

These numbers are significant and can help family management programs, and also understand homelessness and how it can be induced from mental illnesses.

And did you know that the city of Long Beach has a plan to end homelessness in a 10-year-plan? Check it out here.

Malaria activism in the U.S. for Africa

2010-02-28T12:09:00.000-08:00

After watching the film "When the Night Comes" (trailer above) at the Long Beach Art Theatre on Thursday, it came as a surprise to me as to how bad the malaria epidemic had been in the United States (see the video below).

The World Health Organization had planned to end malaria worldwide in the early 1900s, however, due to insufficient funding from some of the top nations -- because most had already rid malaria in their regions -- the plan was halted. Well now, with the help of President Barack Obama's initiative to end malaria by 2015, malaria is getting the media attention it deserves. Killing 1 million people a year, malaria-related deaths outnumber the death tolls of any world war and any disease to hit this planet. It is also one of oldest parasites, and is said to have evolved with humans and our primate ancestors. Some research suggest malaria-infected mosquitos have been around for more than 50,000 years.

April 25 has been declared Malaria Awareness Day and thousands of people all of the world will be camping outside with their mosquito nets, which will be donated to those in need in Africa, as it is the No. 1 way to prevent transmission. Click here to find out about how to participate in the campout on April 25.

Health care costs cooked up by overeating

2009-11-29T16:30:00.000-08:00

In debates on health care reform, one that doesn't seem to come up too often, is why health care costs have become exceedingly expensive.

In a recent article from The New York Times cutting costs on health care is examined through food and habits of Americans -- one aspect of many that could potentially help reduce health care costs nationwide. According to a study from the journal Health Affairs: The Policy Journal of the Health Sphere, 75 percent of the United State's annual health care spending of $2.5 trillion is related to four chronic illnesses: heart disease, cancer, obesity and Type 2 diabetes. All of these are loosely related to diet, exercise and habits like smoking cigarettes.

Health care costs directly due from obesity illnesses account for 9 percent of health care spending. The article speculates that this will increase to 20 percent by 2018 if Americans don't start re-evaluating the foods they buy and their lack of exercise.

One of the most overlooked pieces of advice for healthy eating habits, is acknowledging when you're full. Studies show that even Americans who eat healthy have a difficult time not stuffing themselves when eating a food that's most enjoyable to them. Changes in food availability in schools, the workplace and community markets are playing a role in keeping obesity from rising in some areas. For example, according to Centers of Disease Control and Prevention, in states like Arkansas obesity rates in children have been leveling out instead of increasing like they have been in the last few decades.

Since the '80s, obesity rates have doubled in adults and tripled in children. A stagnant rate of obesity is the first sign to a healthier America, medically and maybe even financially.

In looking at how much medical costs have increased between 1987 and 2001, 27 percent of the increases were directly related to disease associated with obesity. Also according to the CDC, employers spend anywhere between 29- to 117- percent more on obese workers in health care costs compared to employees with regular weight. While healthy eating and getting some exercise seems like an oversimplified argument in the economic world, when looking at the figures for employers, insurance agencies and government-run insurances, if less people were walking into doctor's offices for obesity-related health issues, these institutions could focus on better wages, more coverage, program investments, etc.

Below is the new food pyramid (graphic from The Washington Post) recommended by most doctors and the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

The CDC has listed the following as health consequences of obesity:

Coronary heart disease
Type 2 diabetes
Cancer (endometrial, breast, and colon)
Hypertension (high blood pressure)
Dyslipidemia (high total cholesterol or high levels of triglycerides)
Stroke
Liver and gallbladder disease
Sleep apnea and respiratory problems
Osteoarthritis (degeneration of cartilage and underlying bone within a joint)
Gynecological problems (abnormal menses, infertility)

The government Web site: Fruits and Veggies Matter serves as a great site for easy-to-follow tips and misconceptions about what's considered healthy for your body.

Here again: World overpopulation still an issue

2009-11-20T18:00:00.000-08:00

In revisiting my blog from 2008, and breathing life back into this discussion on current issues related to the study of anthropology, I noticed my last post was on overpopulation. In a recent article from The Associated Press, the United Nations is contemplating a free condom and family planning global campaign. Their supposed goals, however, aren't for the sake of humans, but for the Earth.

Critics are arguing that global warming and overpopulation aren't connected, but industrialization is the real culprit. Critics have a good point. While the report states that "The linkages between population and climate change are in most cases complex and indirect," it doesn't make clear that some of the most highly populated areas make the least amount of pollution. It's also important to remember how much child bearing and rearing of large families, is pertinent to many cultures, where "overpopulation" exists. Some are even saying that the U.N. Population Fund, which released the report in an attempt to get policies made within global warming strategies in a couple of weeks at the Kyoto Protocol conference, may have ulterior motives -- white, elitist motives, in fact.

However, UNFPA's mission: "is an international development agency that promotes the right of every woman, man and child to enjoy a life of health and equal opportunity. UNFPA supports countries in using population data for policies and programmes to reduce poverty and to ensure that every pregnancy is wanted, every birth is safe, every young person is free of HIV/AIDS, and every girl and woman is treated with dignity and respect."

It's good to note that if these policies were to be implemented, it would be like Planned Parenthood here in the U.S. -- up to the user's discretion. You don't have to walk into Planned Parenthood to get a free condom if you don't want to; you don't have to get an abortion, pap smear, std testing, etc. It all comes down to the power of choice. But, maybe the UNFPA should stick to their mission statement and maybe shouldn't have used the warming climate as a ploy for family planning awareness ... though it was a good try.

Here's the dissuasive video. Notice there are no pictures of Hummer-driving Americans.

Stop procreating, please, for the sake of the human species

2008-12-09T13:45:00.000-08:00

The Earth is 29.2 percent land at a surface area of is 148,940,000 km2. Not all of this, keep in mind, is inhabitable by humans (i.e. rocky landscapes, deserts, etc.) Yet, the human population keeps growing in a time when the Earth and its resources cannot necessarily support the human population and the rest of the animal kingdom.

According to the CIA World Factbook, as of July 2008 the world population was estimated at about 6.7 billion people. The echo effect, however, will be taking a toll on the world’s population here soon. The echo effect will be seen in the reproductive rates of the soon-to be-reproducing Generation Y, which roughly consists of those from their mid-20s down to young teenagers, though this can vary by source. The echo effect simply means that though there was a decline in birth rates after that of the Baby Boomer generation, all of the children had by the Baby Boomers will be reproducing soon, and some have already started. This means that a large influx of people will start having consuming children of their own all at once, causing for a large increase in birth rates beyond the average steady increase.

One major factor in the world’s population is that rural populations exceeded those of urban communities. According to the 2007 revision of the World Urbanization Prospects of the United Nations, 2008 marked the first year the urban population rivals that of the rural population. From this point on, the urban population is only expected to increase at a faster rate. This does not suggest, however, that rural and urban populations are evenly distributed throughout different continents. In Asia and Africa, for example, six out of 10 people live in a rural community, and approximately 75- to 78- percent of the world’s population live in a developing or less developed country.

The revised report also says the world’s population will increase by 2.5 billion people by 2050, which some argue is an extremely underestimated figure. Other sources, such as the World Population Awareness non-profit organization (WPA), say the population will double by 2035. Regardless of which estimate most accurately predicts the future of the world’s population, overpopulation hangs over the head of every individual.

What resources are we going to exacerbate with such a large increase? Where are these people going to live and work? While I do not condone or agree with genocide and other non-humanitarian forms of “controlling” the population, the effects of overpopulation on the Earth’s resources, the amount of disease, available food surpluses and poverty all must be examined and evaluated for tactful ways to deter the population growth.
WPA suggests some of the following for every individual/nation:
• Have less children
• Decrease the consumption of all resources
• Recycle more, have better production/disposal of toxic and human waste
• Less urbanization of farmland and depletion of soil
• Less urbanization where water is scarce

If only we were all made up of balanced polymorphisms

2008-10-14T16:35:00.000-07:00

Sickle cell disease is present in about 80,000 Americans. It is the most common inherited blood disorder in the United States, though many are only carriers. Being a carrier, however, doesn’t mean there will be the presence of the sickle cell trait.

The sickle cell trait means, in simple terms, the production of abnormal hemoglobin on red blood cells. Hemoglobin distributes oxygen from the lungs to the rest of the body; a means of existence. The red blood cells, if affected by the sickle cell disease become constricted and sickle-like, making it difficult to travel through blood vessels, especially because many can clump together forming clots.

The physical expression of the disease only happens when a person is homozygous for the trait, meaning they have the same two alleles present for the trait. Those who are carriers, are heterozygous for the trait, meaning they only have one allele for the disease that is paired with a normal allele.

In malaria conceiving parts of the world, however, the presence of a sickle cell allele can mean saving their life if they contract malaria.

Malaria lives off of the hemoglobin on red blood cells. A person that has the sickle cell trait (that is, the homozygous form of the trait) will most definitely not be able to get malaria because of the abnormal hemoglobin. However, their chances of survival decreases anyway because the outcomes of expressing the sickle cell trait are lung tissue damage causing acute chest syndrome, stroke, damages to the spleen, kidney and liver, all of which can lower immune system health making the person vulnerable to bacterial infections. A person with the expressed sickle cell trait is therefore selected against in natural selection because of the detrimental affects of the disease.

Because a person is born with it, if homozygous for the disease, many die during childhood. Due to technology, research and preventative drug treatments, some sickle patients have been known to live past the age of 50.

In malarial areas, if a person does not have any alleles for sickle cell disease, then they have no natural way to fight it off, and are therefore selected against via malaria.

In the best of both worlds, however, there is the balanced polymorphism of the trait. A balanced polymorphism is the maintenance of a trait due to the selective advantage of a heterozygote.

The heterozygote for sickle cell disease (again a person who is a carrier) displays a balanced polymorphism. This is because the person does express the trait for sickle cell disease, and are therefore not affected by the trait.

The coolest part of this balanced polymorphism, though, is its ability to still protect people from malaria. If malaria is found in the body, the one allele present for sickle cell disease switches producing the abnormal hemoglobin. Well, if the hemoglobin on red blood cells isn’t available for malaria to support itself and spread throughout the body, then it will die out and rid itself of the body. As soon as it is gone, the allele for the sickle cell trait turns off, and the production of hemoglobin returns to normal.

The carrier is therefore well protected if living in a malarial environment. However, they can pass it on to their offspring, and if two people carrying an allele for sickle cell disease mate, there is a 25 percent chance they will have a child born expressing the sickle cell trait.

African Americans and Hispanic Americans are the most frequent carriers in the United States at one and 12 and one in 100, respectively.

The heterozygous form of sickle cell disease is just one example of a balanced polymorphism displaying the many marvels of human evolution.

More men need the "Good Husband Gene"

2008-09-09T08:45:00.000-07:00

Some men are more apt to stay with their wives or girlfriends, or maybe even less likely to engage in a one-night stand. This characteristic brings up the old argument of nature versus nurture. Which one shapes us? Which one makes us who are? Most anthropologists argue it is a combination of both.

Different "love" types have been studied since the days of the Romans. Never before, however, was a love type attributed to human biology — our genetics. It has been assumed that love type was primarily learned through the environment, or through nurture.

A recent study found what might assist biologically what is taught through life in deciding a man's love style.

At the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, Sweden the department of medical epidemiology and biostatistics did a study on two Swedish twin brothers, according to a Sept. 1 article in the Washington Post. The study found a gene present in males that adjusts and oversees the hormone vasopressin.

Vasopressin is attributed to social motivation. After sexual intercourse vasopressin is released. The hormone activates the brain's reward system, and, according to the study, the more that is present the more the male desires to stick around his mate after ejaculation. The less amount of the hormone present, the less the male is going to want to socialize with his mate after the dirty deed is done.

Differences in the gene between the twin brothers studied in Sweden displayed a connection to how well each one did in their relationships and marriage.

According to Hasse Walum, the lead researcher in the study, a direct relationship was shown in a situation where a man and woman reported they had a "poor bond" with their partner and a certain allele (or variant) of the vasopressin receptor 1a gene was present. The presence of the variant, allele 334, was directly connected to men most unlikely to marry and scored very low on a standard psychological test called the Partner Bonding Scale.

Even worse is for those men carrying two copies of allele 334. These men are twice as likely to encounter a marital crisis or relationship crisis, such as a divorce.

Psychological and relationship tests were given to the males and female partners of the males studied. The women who reported low marital quality, were the same women married to men with the gene variant.

Men in monogamous relationships that do not carry 334 allele see an even more pronounced effect in wanting to be a part of their mate's life long after sexual relations with them. It is not a sexual motivation, but a social motivation.

The study was based on voles that carry the same type of gene and even the 334 variant. Again, the gene was only found in male voles, and no similar gene has yet to be found in females.
"Studies in voles have shown that the hormone vasopressin is released in the brain of males during mating," Walum said to the Washington Post.

The same behavior was displayed in the voles, which prompted researchers to look for the gene in humans, and sure enough there it was, the "good husband gene."

Like all other biological findings, allele 334 is not directly to blame for all the marital problems in this world, though I'm sure men would like this to be the case. Human biology sets out a blueprint for every being, or the nature side of things, but there are always influencing factors once we are born into this world.

Walum also believes this to be true. "Taken together, the effect of the gene variant that we have studied on human pair-bonding behavior is rather small, and it can not, with any real accuracy, be used to predict how someone will behave in a future relationship," Walum said, according to the Washington Post.

So, when hearing about the good husband gene, don't think a pair of good husband jeans can be bought for your slacking, uncommitted partner. DNA can't be changed, and chances are, regardless of whether or not your partner has allele 334 or not, don't expect them to settle down with you too soon. Men are unchangeable.

The findings of the study were published in the "Proceedings of the National Academies of Science."

Revisions made to Neanderthal existence

2008-08-20T08:00:00.000-07:00

Neanderthals, mistaken frequently as a direct ancestor to modern humans, diverged from our ancestors long before first theorized. For years it has been said that Neanderthals separated from anatomically modern humans around 400,000 years ago, however, now scientists are agreeing (after years of debate) that the species, Homo neanderthalensis, definitely split 520,000 to as long as 800,000 years ago.

A team of German, American, Croatian and Finnish researchers have been studying remains of 38,000 year old Neanderthal for two years. The bone was found in a Croatian cave.

The evidence is from using mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA), which allows scientists to look much further at the ancestry background than nuclear DNA because it goes practically unchanged generation through generation by the mother. Nuclear DNA is a variation of several sets of DNA, and is what makes each of us individual from the other.

Well, evidence has been surmounting for years that Neanderthals split from anatomically modern humans later than believed, and with increasing advances in using mtDNA this has been easier to prove.

It is still clear that Neanderthals and modern humans could not breed, even during their temporal period of the 10,000-20,000 years that they lived contemporaneously to each other in Europe and parts of Western Asia. If they did breed (which there is evidence of some Neanderthal characteristics mixed with anatomically modern characteristics in other research being done) they could not produce fertile offspring, such as a horse and donkey producing a mule.

It is also still clear that Neanderthals became extinct about 30,000 years ago, which many believe was only due to the sweeping tribes of Homo sapiens. In fact, there is evidence of warfare between the two species, and remains of Neanderthals have been found in living sites of modern humans, often amongst rabbit bone and other midden, suggesting moderns ate them for supper.

Their interaction with anatomically modern humans did not stop at warfare, however, they even traded technology. For example, a Neanderthal tool, the Mousterian tool made "arrowheads" by using soft material, such as bone and antler, whereas years later, not too long before the disappearance of the robust species, moderns came up up with the Chatelperronian tool technique using hard substances, such as stone hammers.

The most mystifying evidence with Neanderthals, however, is their cranial capacity. Anatomically modern humans averaged, at the time of Neanderthals, around 1,100 to 1,200 cm³ while the very robust species' average brain size grew around 1,500 to 1,700 cm³.

The species is suggested by some researchers to have red hair on top of their naturally hairy bodies. The species was somewhat shorter than moderns averaging 5 feet 5 inches for males and 5 feet 1 inch for females. They also had rather large noses and generally robust features selected for cold weather, which can be seen in the picture (from Valley Anatomical Preparations, Inc.).

Some researchers argue that the two species could breed and produce fertile offspring, however, there is not enough Neanderthal genes present in the mtDNA of humans today to theorize that this is true.

Believe it or not ... things change

2008-07-23T12:38:00.000-07:00

As an anthropology major one question or subject that people bring up to me the most is the question of evolution occurring today ... is it or is it not?

Just recently I had someone try their hardest to convince me that evolution cannot be real because if it was true then we would see evolution occurring today. Well, this is just a silly statement. The earth is 4.5 billion years old, evolution cannot simply stop – what an anthropocentric idea.

As John Morley a British politician, writer and newspaper editor almost a century ago said, “Evolution is not a force but a process. Not a cause but a law.”

A large portion of human evolution has been, well, a human process. This does not mean that we are undermining the natural process of things, but throughout the entire history of human evolution, most frontal lobe developments can be attributed to human inventions.

We have not been forcing this, but enthusiastically trotting along. We made tools, which lead to the evolution of labor specialization and culture. Cultures lead us to technological advances.

Computer technology is rapidly rewiring our brains. For example, today most people don’t have excellent or innate wildlife survival skills compared to even a thousand years ago. And now, we have to remember less and less information such as a simple phone number, allowing room and time for other knowledge and even more creative inventions that change the way humans live.

All of these are signs of evolution; human induced, yes, compared to what one normally thinks about upon hearing natural selection, but evolution at its best and more rapid than ever.

The most obvious sign of evolution still occurring, however, is modern medicine ... we’re creating powerful diseases and microbes because of our innovative medicines. Antibacterial soap is an excellent example as described by the Center of Disease Control and Prevention website on the effects of overusing antibacterial products and antibiotics. (image from CDC)

" ... after years of overuse and misuse of these drugs, bacteria have developed antibiotic resistance, which has become a global health crisis."

If certain medicines and vaccines weren’t available today natural selection would have had the better of many people that survived only because of the medicine. Look at birth control.

The Pill, introduced in the 60s offered a completely revolutionized role for women. No longer was she expected to be pregnant at a young age, but women could take the Pill, go to college, and do virtually everything that held her back from being truly equal to man.

This has opened up for an entirely different gene pool and way of life.

As Terry Pratchett, an English writer said, “Most species do their own evolving, making it up as they go along, which is the way Nature intended.”

Don't forget the "short" tales

2008-06-18T17:28:00.000-07:00

At the other end of the spectrum are the pygmies. Pygmies are not to be confused with dwarfs. Pygmies "are properly a member of one of certain

(photo: Batwa tribe in Uganda by Graham Rachner)

small-sized peoples of Africa and Asia, but the word is often used imprecisely to mean dwarf or midget," according to dictionary.com. The word dwarf actually means, "someone checked in growth or stunted, or in some way not normally formed."

Many pygmy cultures in Africa and Asia are completely unheard of. The average adult pygmy height is 4 feet and 11 inches. Most pygmy cultures, however prefer their ethnic name, such as the Aka pygmy group. The Aka group is a nomadic tribe, like pygmy cultures are traditionally. Many live in the areas of Cameroon, Gabon, Republic of the Congo, Central African Republic, Equatorial Guinea and have market relationships with nearby tribes.

They usually live in small huts made of branches and leaves, typically called a mongulu. Most pygmies are hunting and gathering tribes and many hunting techniques have symbolic meaning or traditions attached to them, such as the big elephant hunt. As well, pygmies do have language, usually it specifically relates to that of the rain forest.

The origins of pygmies is constantly at debate by researchers. Some point to food and resource competition or malnutrition, such as a lack of calcium. Another reaso

n may be simple evolution; adapting the the dense forests and high heat and humidity.

Below is a map of general locations of pygmy tribes.

Gigantopithecus--possible explanation for bigfoot "tall" tale

2008-06-10T16:52:00.000-07:00

These ancient species could be found where China, India and Vietnam stand presently and date possibly all the way back to seven million years ago until 300,000 years ago.

Their long reign, though impressive, doesn't compare to its infamous height. The genus, Gigantopithecus, stood on average from seven to 12 feet tall, such as pictured at right, a reconstruction at the Museum of Man in San Diego, CA. This giant ape weighed anywhere from 1,200 pounds to one ton.

The genus is a hominoid, meaning it is grouped as a great ape as well as a hominid, which includes strictly bipedal species, or humans. The species is considered a great ape and close relative to modern humans. (These definitions are constantly at debate, but I use them here traditionally.)

It then includes three species of Gigantopithecus, though details of their differences have not yet been discovered. Its closest relative, it is believed, is the orangutan (note there is no 'g' at the end of orangutan, please pronounce it with diligence).

Gigantopithecus blacki is the most known species and is possibly the largest ape species that ever knuckle-walked this earth. Several jawbones have been found, mandibles, and many teeth.

Due to all the teeth found, scientists believe that Gigantopithecus had the same appetite as that of a giant panda. Cavities present in their molars, as they are found in the panda, suggest they ate bamboo, certain vegetables, and because of other wear and tear, seeds and fruits.

The extinction of the species is not quite known. Many suggest simple evolutionary terms and agreements as the reason, meaning as the climate and world changed over the course of their history, other species who were well-adapted to the newer surroundings out ran them in the race for resources. One large contributing factor may have been due to their contemporaneous relatives, Homo.

Homo erectus, dating to two million years ago to 200,000 years ago, had continuous occupation in China and east Asia areas 800,000 to 250,000 years ago (dates are approximate). It is suggested, like many other large mammal species that have lived alongside humans, that Homo erectus hunted the species and may be partly to blame for its extinction.

Critics believe that this species could be the explanation of stories/claims like that of Bigfoot and the Yeti, and may even be an explanation of "dragon bone" use in Chinese apothecaries. However, as folklore goes, even with surmountable evidence, its virtually impossible to clarify or prove it wrong ... as is intelligent design.

Welcome!

2008-06-04T18:39:00.000-07:00

As technological advances allow us to learn more about the past, and as more schools are sure to keep theories of evolution in the classroom and creation theories out, there are many misconceptions about human evolution. There are many theories faught over by scientists just as religions have been fighting for centuries. The only thing not disputed however, is what Charles Darwin first claimed in the 19th century: we all come from the same source of life through a process of natural selection.

This blog will be a weekly update on new theories in the world of human evolution and the natural history of humans. Yes, we evolved from a similar ancestor to chimpanzees, and yes, before that our ancestors can be traced to some of the smallest mammals - such as the ancestors of squirrels.