The Human Nature Daily Review |
| Home | Archive: February 2001 | Editor: Ian Pitchford || SEARCH KEY: A = Author | S = Subject | G = Group archive | W = Web | B = Books | |
|
New Books |
News and Views | Papers and Commentary | Reviews and Discussion | |
|
Subscribe to our weekly newsletter of developments in brain, behaviour, and evolution by clicking here. US Books UK Books Anthropology: Theoretical Practice
in Culture and Society by Michael Herzfeld Biology, Evolution, and Human Nature
by Timothy H. Goldsmith, William F. Zimmerman Rivals: Conflict as the Fuel of
Science by Michael White
The Book of Life: An Illustrated History of the Evolution of Life on
Earth, Second Edition by Stephen Jay Gould (Editor), et al The Ape and the Sushi Master: Cultural Reflections of a Primatologist by Frans De Waal Beyond Human: The New World of
Cyborgs and Androids by Gregory Benford The Bride of Science: Romance,
Reason, and Byron's Daughter by Benjamin Wooley Redesigning Life: The Worldwide
Challenge to Genetic Engineering by Brian Tokar Transducing the Genome: Information,
Anarchy, and Revolution in the Biomedical The Mind's I: Fantasies and Reflections on Self
and Soul by Douglas Hofstadter (Ed), et al A History of the Wife by Marilyn Yalom Body Bazaar: The Market for Human
Tissue in the Biotechnology Age by Lori Andrews and Dorothy Nelkin Executive Instinct: Managing the
Human Animal in the Information Age by Nigel
Nicholson Sparks of Life: Darwinism and the
Victorian Debates over Spontaneous Generation by James Edgar Strick In Mendel's Footnotes (US: The
Impact of the Gene: From Mendel's Peas to Designer Babies) by Colin
Tudge
Can a Darwinian be a Christian?
The Relationship Between Science and Religion by Michael
Ruse PC, M.D.: How Political Correctness
Is Corrupting Medicine by Sally Satel, MD Looking Good: Male Body Image
in Modern America. By Lynne Luciano The
Dream of Reason: A History of Western Philosophy From the Greeks to the Renaissance
by Anthony Gottlieb The Quest for Immortality: Science at the Frontiers of Aging by S. Jay Olshansky and Bruce A. Carnes Under Deadman's Skin: Discovering
the Meaning of Children's Violent Play by Jane Katch A. J. Ayer: A Life by Ben Rogers Rocks of Ages: Science and Religion in the Fullness
of Life (Library of Contemporary Thought) by Stephen Jay Gould Killer Woman Blues: Why Americans Can't Think
Straight About Gender and Power by Benjamin DeMott. Her Way: Young Women Remake the Sexual Revolution
by Paula Kamen A Visitor Within: The Science of Pregnancy by
David Bainbridge Epistasis and the Evolutionary Process by
Jason B. Wolf (Editor), Edmund D. Brodie III (Editor), Michael J. Wade
(Editor) An Odd Kind of Fame: Stories of Phineas Gage
by Malcolm Macmillan Why God Won't Go Away: Brain Science and the
Biology of Belief by Andrew Newberg, Eugene G. D'Aquili, Vince
Rause The Undergrowth of Science : Delusion,
Self-Deception and Human Frailty by Walter Gratzer Victorian Sensation: The Extraordinary
Publication, Reception, and Secret Strong Imagination: Madness, Creativity and Human
Nature by Daniel Nettle Religion Explained, or The Mental Instincts that
Fashion Gods, Ghosts and Ancestors by Pascal Boyer Phenomenal Consciousness: A Naturalistic Theory
by Peter Carruthers Folk Physics for Apes: The Chimpanzees Theory of
How the World Works by Daniel J. Povinelli The Imitation Factor: Evolution Beyond the Gene
by Lee Alan Dugatkin The Man Who Found the Missing Link: Eugene Dubois
and His Lifelong Quest to Prove Darwin Right by Pat Shipman Writings on an Ethical Life by Peter Singer Animal Behavior Desk Reference, Second Edition: A
Dictionary of Animal Behavior, Ecology, and Evolution by Edward M.
Barrows Darwin and Fundamentalism by Merryl Wyn
Davies Minds, Brains, Computers the Foundations of
Cognitive Science: An Historical Introduction by Robert M. Harnish Environmental Effects on Cognitive Abilities
by Robert J. Sternberg (Editor), Elena L. Grigorenko (Editor) Cosmic Evolution: The Rise of Complexity in
Nature by Eric J. Chaisson Laughter: A Scientific Investigation by
Robert R. Provine Science and Poetry by Mary Midgley The Extended Organism: The Physiology of
Animal-Built Structures by J. Scott Turner The Century of the Gene Meritocracy and Economic Inequality by
Kenneth Joseph Arrow (Editor), Samuel Bowles (Editor), Steven N.
Durlauf (Editor) Human Natures: Genes, Cultures, & the Human
Prospect by Paul R. Ehrlich Science and Selection: Essays on Biological
Evolution and the Philosophy of Science by David L. Hull Human Nature After Darwin: A Philosophical
Introduction by Janet Radcliffe Richards Human Paleobiology (Cambridge Studies in
Biological and Evolutionary Anthropology, 26) by Robert B.
Eckhardt The Evolutionary Emergence of Language: Social
Function and the Origins of Linguistic Form by Michael
Studdert-Kennedy (Editor), James R. Hurford (Editor), Chris Knight Karl Popper--The Formative Years, 1902-1945:
Politics and Philosophy in Interwar Vienna by Malachi Haim Hacohen Engineering the Human Germline: An Exploration of
the Science and Ethics of Altering the Genes We Pass to Our Children
by Gregory Stock (Editor), John Campbell Brain Evolution and Cognition by Gerhard Roth
(Editor), Mario F. Wullimann Truth About Dogs: An Inquiry into the Ancestry,
Social Proclivities, Mental Habits, and Moral Fiber of Canis
Familiaris by Stephen Budiansky Humanity: A Moral History of the Twentieth
Century by Jonathan Glover Is Economics an Evolutionary Science? The Legacy
of Thorstein Veblen by Francisco Louca (Editor), Mark Perlman
(Editor) Evolutionary Paleoecology
Promiscuity: An Evolutionary History of Sperm
Competition and Sexual Conflict by Tim R. Birkhead The Balance Within: The Science Connecting Health
and Emotions by Esther M. Sternberg Biology, Evolution, and Human Nature by
Timothy H. Goldsmith, William F. Zimmerman |
Economics
- Richard Thaler has led a revolution in the study of economics by
understanding the strange ways people behave with their money. [more] Obituary
- Claude Elwood Shannon, the mathematician who laid the foundation of modern information theory while working at
Bell Labs in the 1940s, died on Saturday. He was 84. [more]
and [more] Rorschach test
- Fad or indispensable tool? Correspondence in the New York Times provides
a range of opinion. [more] Autism
- The Autism Research Unit at the University of Sunderland claims that
autism has increased ten-fold over the last decade. [more] Eugenics
- The Myths of the Nobel Sperm Bank - The truth about who gave
sperm, how they gave it, and who used it by David Plotz, writing in Slate.
[more].
"Eugenics - including "genetic enhancement" - will not be
fretted about or debated, it will just be done", according to John
Derbyshire. [more] Archaeology
- Dance probably developed early in human cultural evolution, according
to Yosef Garfinkel. [more] Longevity - Being born in the autumn may extend a person's lifespan by a few months [more] Pheromones
- Swedish scientists find that babies smell appealing, and speculate on
a method to pacify aggressive men. [more] Development of science - A band of influential scientists is warning that genius is being stifled by populism. Nobody seems to be listening. [more] Obituary
- Arnold Jerome Friedhoff who explored the biological contribution to
mental disorders has died in New York, aged 77. [more] Human genome - Tom Siegfried looks at arrival of the "Encylopedia Genetica". [more] Neuroscience - U.S. researchers have produced laboratory mice with human brain cells. [more] Education - An anthropology professor fails to "integrate faith and learning". [more] Evolutionary psychology - Chris Horrie of BBC News Online provides a confused, but amusing critique. [more] Psychoanalysis
- Wynne Godley recalls a disastrous encounter. [more] Attention
deficit hyperactivity disorder - Research suggests a
surprising strategy: video games linked to brain-wave biofeedback help kids train their minds to tune in and settle down. [more]
An NIH seminar on November 18, 1998 looked at Diagnosis and Treatment
of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. [video] Schizophrenia - Two biomedical companies predict a new era for research and treatment. [more] Michael Miller urges caution. [more] Genetics - Tom Hollon, writing in The Scientist, wonders whose gene pool hides gold. [more] Comparative psychology - Euan Macphail argues that we can't tell whether animals dream or not. [more] Matthew Wilson contends that animals do have complex dreams. [more] Human genome project - The headlines should have read 'Darwin vindicated'. [more] Neuroscience
- The Los Angeles Times reports on the role of glia in the
formation of synapses. [more] Anthropology
- Queue here to join the human race: Joseph Henrich and Robert Boyd have
developed a mathematical model to measure human co-operation. [more] History
- How do women exercise power? Just like men. [more] Sleep - David Newnham visits the mysterious land of nod. [more] Artificial intelligence - Clay Shirky on new software agents that evolve language. [more] Astrobiology - A new name for repackaged goods? [more] Artificial intelligence - Does the future of research lie in human-computer collaboration? [more] Science and
religion - James H. Austin investigates the brain processes
that underlie spiritual or mystical encounters [more] Human
evolution - Australian and Chinese scientists find further
evidence for the multiregional view of human evolution. [more] Body image - Most young women are unhappy with their body shape. [more] Abiogenesis - The key ingredients for life have been detected in the dust and gas around stars. [more] Human genome - New findings wont effect the way biology is taught. [more] The Christian Science Monitor believes that "how society perceives the Creator will depend on how broadly the new genetics explains creation in years to come". [more] The Mercury News reports on Craig Venter's view of the implications of genetic research for the concept of "race". [more] Rorschach test
- Do inkblots reveal anything of
consequence? [more] Antisocial personality
disorder - Three out of seven is good enough for a
retrospective diagnosis of the Biblical Samson. [more] Evolution/physiology
- People in Tibet and the Andes have
evolved different strategies of coping with altitude. [more] Early puberty
- Did a single study about the early
onset of puberty in girls generate widespread beliefs with dire medical
consequences? [more] Darwinism - James Perloff finds Darwinism to be the source of all ills, and calls on the authority of someone called "Sir Frances Crick" to cast doubt on evolution by natural selection. [more] One mother is convinced. [more] Human genome - Stephen Jay Gould is humbled by the mysteries of the genome. [more] Obituary
- A pioneer in the scientific study
of sexuality, William H. Masters has died in Tucson at 85. [more] Sex addiction
- is about preoccupation
rather than frequency. [more] Psychiatry/politics - China incarcerates dissenters in psychiatric hospitals. [more] Science, evolution, history - Henry Porter reflects on these "days of wonder" [more] Human genome - Francis Collins worries about the impact of the HGP on our notions of free will [more]. Helena Cronin chastises The Observer for implying that such matters can be resolved by "gene-counting" machines. [more] The Vatican remains calm. [more] Human genome - At a joint conference in April the rival human genome teams are to outline a cooperative future. [more] Sociobiology
- The Guardian profiles
"Darwin's natural heir" Edward O. Wilson. [more] Psychotherapy
- The American Psychiatric Association
finds data confirming the efficacy of psychotherapy [more],
though some patients are petting their way to mental health. [more] Freud - Jared Diamond finds Darwin and Freud irreplaceable. [more] Psychiatric News considers how much Vienna influenced Freud's intellectual achievements. [more] Human genome - A German philosopher encounters the increasingly enigmatic Craig Venter. [more] Earlier this week (12 February) the NIH released its videocast of Insights from the DNA Sequence of the Human Genome [video] and hosted a lengthy press conference. [video] Public
understanding of science - Kansas State's school board reverses an
action widely interpreted as a resounding victory for fundamentalist
religious groups who desire to inject creationism into the science
curriculum. [more]
The Pratt Board of Education probably will take another look at its
biology standards after the state decided to restore evolution as a
central theory in science classes. [more] Human genome - scientists say that the entire human race is so similar that race is no longer a scientific issue. One critic says it's still high on his list of worries. [more] BioMedNet's HMS Beagle provides a more conventional overview. [more] Human genome - The Economist finds reasons to be cheerful after a "a huge step towards a proper understanding of how humans work". [more] The Guardian also reports "the good news: we have more genes than nematodes. The bad news: most of them are junk" [more] Genetic
determinism - Matt Ridley agrees that "it's not
all in the genes". [more] Atheism - A community college in Chicago cancels a class on famous atheists after charges of bias. [more] A course on the spiritual struggles of Darwin and Huxley is not "academically sound". [more] Behavioural
genomics - James Butcher looks at the prospects
for the discipline. [more] Human genome - The Lancet commends Craig Venter for counseling "against the twin "fallacies" of determinism and reductionism" [more]. Celera did use the HGP database, [more] and now the competition for the Nobel Prize begins. [more] David Sharp charts the milestones 1865-2001. [more] Human genome - The British Medical Journal also reports on the dispute between Celera and the HGP. [more] Mate choice
- Does the pill destroy a woman's ability
to pick the right man? Alison Motluk reports on research by Claus
Wedekind. [more] Anthropology
- Venezuelan
and Brazilian
scientists express their dismay over Patrick Tierney's Darkness in El
Dorado. The Federal University of Rio de Janeiro offers a
"definitive report" [more]
which is also available as a WORD document with footnotes and
references. [more] Human genome - The Telegraph reports on the Human Genome Project as a giant leap for humility, its main findings, the possibility of GM humans, the role of bacteria in evolution, and scientific rivalry. John Sulston calls on scientists to explain why the work is important. Public
understanding of science - The Kansas State Board of Education
votes 7-3 to restore the teaching of evolution in public schools. [more]
Rumours of threats to the Board are a cyber-myth. [more] Sex research
- Discovery Canada explores the science
of love in its new series of webcasts [more]
[video]
In an NIH seminar on 18 December, 2000 Russell D. Fernald of
Stanford University considered Sex and Social Regulation of the Brain
[video] Ethics - Catholic bishops gather for a workshop on bioethics. [more] Placebo effect - Sometimes placebos work, but how? [more] On November 19, 2000 an NIH seminar considered The Science of the Placebo: Toward An Interdisciplinary Research Agenda. [video] Neurosurgery - Are lobotomies making a comeback? [more] Schizophrenia -
Cannabis can exacerbate schizophrenia,
[more]
but do cats cause it? [more] Genetic determinism - 'We should no longer be identifying ourselves by "what's in our genes."' - but who ever did that anyway? [more] C. Loring Brace looks at problems with gene counting. Darwinism - Darwin visits Kansas and hopes to stay. [more] Adolescence - Falling in love is pretty depressing for adolescents. [more] Genetics and free will - The Independent joins in the confusion over the implication for free will of the number of genes. The Times, John McCrone and Juliet Tizzard offer advice. Sir John Sulston puts the genome project into perspective. [video] Neuroscience - Using our brains for good or evil - an overview of contemporary neuroscience [more] Human genome/religion - Religious leaders ponder the significance of the human genome project. [more] Evolution - The editor of Scientific American looks at the future of human evolution. [more] Neuroscience - How do cells on the tongue register the sensations of sweet, salty, sour and bitter? Scientists are finding out--and discovering how the brain interprets these signals as various tastes [more] Genetics - At a lecture in San Francisco James Watson talks about DNA research since 1953. [more] Watson honoured [more]. James Mackintosh approves of Watson's metaphor. [more] Psychiatry
- Eric R. Kandel, winner of the 2000 Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine, predicts that
psychiatry and neurology will merge. [more] Palaeontology - Human hunting did drive the "megafaunal menagerie to extinction" [more] Economics - The Reykjavik Commercial Workers Union claims that blondes earn less. [more] Nature or nature - Various commentators draw strange conclusions from the early results of the human genome project - BBC, The Observer, and again, and yet again - Ursula W. Goodenough tries to clear up the confusion and Bert Gold wonders what all the fuss is about... Human genome - Males and mutations, biodiversity and race - making sense of the human genome. [more] Human genome - The Times looks at disputes between the human genome teams, as do The Guardian and the BBC. Obituary
- Herbert A. Simon, founder of artificial
intelligence and winner of the Nobel Prize, is mourned by The
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette and The
New York Times. Artificial selection - Francis Collins speculates on the implications of designer babies and germ line therapy for human evolution. The Telegraph, The Times, The Guardian and The Independent. Language - The United Nations warns that thousands of languages face extinction. [more] plus [audio] Darwinism
- The State Board of Education in Alabama
finds evolution 'controversial'! [more] Evolutionary psychology - Women will always love a hero, according to a study that found females value bravery above altruism when selecting men, whether it is for marriage, an affair, or a platonic relationship. [more] Eugenics - Slate journalist David Plotz asks for help in finding out what happened to a project designed to halt "genetic decay". [more] Plotz' editor explains why. [more] The Telegraph interviews one of America's first designer babies Doron Blake. [more] One donor to the Repository tells his story. Human evolution - A Franco-Kenyan team finds the oldest ape-man fossils. [more] and [video] Cloning - Is cloning an assault on human dignity? [more] Are we becoming desensitized to the idea? [more] Palaeoanthropology
and politics
- Norman Levitt reflects on the Kennewick
Man affair. [more] Eugenics - The Virginia House regrets policies on selective breeding (85-10). [more] Artificial intelligence - Will "affective computing" solve problems of human-computer interaction? [more] Eugenics - Johnjoe McFadden believes that we must embrace genetic engineering to avoid becoming a sickly species, but do our problem really lie with "defective gene carriers". Bayesianism - A long-dead clergyman enters the race to make computers think for themselves. [more] Animal consciousness - Donald Griffin dared to say that animals think. [more] Philosophy - Is New York the new capital of philosophy? [more] Evolution - A blind spot for female beauty - In the animal kingdom, the males got all the looks – or so the story goes. But many females are also winners in the beauty stakes. Why do we ignore them? [more] Human genome - Alex Mauron wonders if the genome is the secular equivalent of the soul. [more] Evolution - All placental mammals belong to one of four “great groups”, each of which has evolved separately since the days of the dinosaurs, geneticists have concluded. [more] and [more] Cognitive science - The tetrachromat sees a vivid world unavailable to most of us. [more]
|
Neuroscience
- Stephen M. Rao and colleagues have identified areas in the brain
responsible for perceiving the passage of time in order to carry out
critical everyday functions, and hope to find insights into
Parkinson's disease and Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder [more] Evolution -
A new study by Willie J. Swanson and colleagues provides evidence of sperm
competition and sexual conflict. [more] Evolution and
human behaviour - What is the relationship between spatial ability,
finger length, and sporting prowess? [more] Psychiatry
- David Rosen reports that eating disorders kill more people than all
other psychiatric disorders combined. [more] Human genetics
- Ann-Christine Syvänen and colleagues from the National Public Health
Institute in Finland report an efficient method for 'gene-typing'
individuals, which reveals that two separate groups settled Finland, and
points to shared genetic structure between the Finns and the Saami. [more] Primatology - The orangutan - the only great ape found in Asia - may vanish from the wild within a decade, unless illegal logging of its habitat and poaching can be greatly reduced. [more] Cognitive
development - Justin Barrett finds that "children are not
bound to anthropomorphize, but they often do". [more] Cognitive
science - Neurobiology of laughter - Vinod Goel and Raymond
Dolan publish an imaging study of the brain's response to semantic jokes
and phonetic jokes (puns). [more]
Other reports: BBC News Online [more],
The Independent [more]
and [more],
New Scientist [more],
The New York Times [more] Emotion
- Jaak Panksepp investigates the origin of laughter [more],
and Dacher Keltner looks at the function of embarrassment [more]
in a fascinating issue of Current Directions in Psychological Science.
[more] Psychiatry
- David A. Wolfe reveals findings that teenage boys abused as children are
three times as likely to harm their dating partner. [more] Neuroscience
- Robert Desimone, Pascal Fries, and colleagues suggest that synchronous neuronal firing may be a fundamental
mechanism for boosting the volume of brain signals representing
behaviorally relevant stimuli. [more] Psychosis
- The American Society for Microbiology publishes a Japanese study
showing no link between Borna virus and psychosis. [more] Neuropsychology
- Andrea D. Rowe and colleagues evaluate "theory of mind"
impairments and their relationship to executive functioning following
frontal lobe excisions. [more] Depression
- How valid are WHO diagnostic criteria in developing countries? [more] Psychiatry
- The British Medical Journal hosts a debate on the value of St.
John's wort in treating depression. [more] Palaeoanthropology - Science covers the controversy surrounding the discovery of the "earliest human ancestor". [more] Neuroscience - Philippe Kahane and colleagues report on the role of the anterior cingulate sulcus (the "grasping centre") in action. [more] Leonardo Fogassi and colleagues release a study on the cortical mechanism for the visual guidance of hand grasping movements. [more] Psychiatry
- Peter Liddle claims his artificial brain can detect schizophrenia. [more].
BBC News Online reports. [more].
Michael Miller is skeptical. [more] Primatology
- Mother-infant bonding has not been investigated in non-human primates. [more] Aggression - Violence is seasonal, peaking in late summer and at its lowest ebb in spring, shows an audit published in the Emergency Medicine Journal. [more] and [more] Genetics - DNA's protein-building instructions may be able to combine in an unexpected way, increasing the number of possible proteins that can be generated from a given number of genes, according to a report in this week's Nature. [more] and [more]. BioMedNet also reports. [more] Post-traumatic
stress disorder - Robert Rosenheck's research shows that the
overall success rate for patients is not cut by reduced in-patient care. [more] Gesture and
communication - Martha Alibali and colleagues find that
gestures serve "speaker internal and communicative functions". [more] Language
acquisition - Michael Brent and Jeffrey Siskind suspect
that parents' instinctive use of isolated words may help babies learn
language - 9 percent of all utterances mothers spoke to their children
were isolated words. [more]
An NIH seminar November 4, 1998 looked at Words and Rules - The
Ingredients of Language. [video] |