New Books
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
Amazon
US | Amazon
UK
Rivals: Conflict as the Fuel of
Science by Michael White
Amazon
UK
The Book of Life: An Illustrated History of the Evolution of Life on
Earth, Second Edition by Stephen Jay Gould (Editor), et al
Amazon
US | Amazon
UK
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
Amazon
US | Interview
The Bride of Science: Romance,
Reason, and Byron's Daughter by Benjamin Wooley
Amazon
US | Amazon
UK
Redesigning Life: The Worldwide
Challenge to Genetic Engineering by Brian Tokar
Amazon
US | Amazon
UK
Transducing the Genome: Information,
Anarchy, and Revolution in the Biomedical
Sciences by Gary Zweiger
Amazon
US | Amazon
UK
The Mind's I: Fantasies and Reflections on Self
and Soul by Douglas Hofstadter (Ed), et al
Amazon
US | Amazon
UK
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
Amazon
US | Amazon
UK
Executive Instinct: Managing the
Human Animal in the Information Age by Nigel
Nicholson
Amazon
US | Amazon
UK
Sparks of Life: Darwinism and the
Victorian Debates over Spontaneous Generation by James Edgar Strick
Amazon
US | Amazon
UK
In Mendel's Footnotes (US: The
Impact of the Gene: From Mendel's Peas to Designer Babies) by Colin
Tudge
Amazon
US | Amazon
UK
|
Tell your friends and colleagues about The Human Nature Daily Review |
Can a Darwinian be a Christian?
The Relationship Between Science and Religion by Michael
Ruse
Amazon
US | Amazon
UK
| Read
the first chapter |
PC, M.D.: How Political Correctness
Is Corrupting Medicine by Sally Satel, MD
Amazon
US | Amazon
UK
Looking Good: Male Body Image
in Modern America. By Lynne Luciano
Amazon
US | Amazon
UK
| Read
the first chapter |
The
Dream of Reason: A History of Western Philosophy From the Greeks to the Renaissance
by Anthony Gottlieb
Amazon
US | Amazon
UK
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
Amazon
US | Amazon
UK
| Read the
first chapter |
A. J. Ayer: A Life by Ben Rogers
Amazon US |
Amazon
UK
Rocks of Ages: Science and Religion in the Fullness
of Life (Library of Contemporary Thought) by Stephen Jay Gould
Amazon
US | Amazon
UK
Killer Woman Blues: Why Americans Can't Think
Straight About Gender and Power by Benjamin DeMott.
Amazon
US | Amazon
UK
| Read
the first chapter |
Her Way: Young Women Remake the Sexual Revolution
by Paula Kamen
Amazon
US | Amazon
UK
| Read
the first chapter |
A Visitor Within: The Science of Pregnancy by
David Bainbridge
Amazon
UK
Epistasis and the Evolutionary Process by
Jason B. Wolf (Editor), Edmund D. Brodie III (Editor), Michael J. Wade
(Editor)
Amazon
US | Amazon
UK
An Odd Kind of Fame: Stories of Phineas Gage
by Malcolm Macmillan
Amazon
US | Amazon
UK
Why God Won't Go Away: Brain Science and the
Biology of Belief by Andrew Newberg, Eugene G. D'Aquili, Vince
Rause
Amazon
US | Amazon
UK
The Undergrowth of Science : Delusion,
Self-Deception and Human Frailty by Walter Gratzer
Amazon
US | Amazon
UK
Victorian Sensation: The Extraordinary
Publication, Reception, and Secret
Authorship of Vestiges of the Natural History of Creation by James
A. Secord
Amazon
US
Strong Imagination: Madness, Creativity and Human
Nature by Daniel Nettle
Amazon
UK
Religion Explained, or The Mental Instincts that
Fashion Gods, Ghosts and Ancestors by Pascal Boyer
Amazon
US | Amazon
UK
Phenomenal Consciousness: A Naturalistic Theory
by Peter Carruthers
Amazon
US | Amazon
UK
Folk Physics for Apes: The Chimpanzees Theory of
How the World Works by Daniel J. Povinelli
Amazon
US | Amazon
UK
The Imitation Factor: Evolution Beyond the Gene
by Lee Alan Dugatkin
Amazon
US | Amazon
UK
The Man Who Found the Missing Link: Eugene Dubois
and His Lifelong Quest to Prove Darwin Right by Pat Shipman
Amazon
US | Amazon
UK
Writings on an Ethical Life by Peter Singer
Amazon
US | Amazon
UK
Animal Behavior Desk Reference, Second Edition: A
Dictionary of Animal Behavior, Ecology, and Evolution by Edward M.
Barrows
Amazon
US | Amazon
UK
Darwin and Fundamentalism by Merryl Wyn
Davies
Amazon
US | Amazon
UK
Minds, Brains, Computers the Foundations of
Cognitive Science: An Historical Introduction by Robert M. Harnish
Amazon
US | Amazon
UK
Environmental Effects on Cognitive Abilities
by Robert J. Sternberg (Editor), Elena L. Grigorenko (Editor)
Amazon
US | Amazon
UK
Cosmic Evolution: The Rise of Complexity in
Nature by Eric J. Chaisson
Amazon
US | Amazon
UK
Laughter: A Scientific Investigation by
Robert R. Provine
Amazon
US | Amazon
UK
Science and Poetry by Mary Midgley
Amazon
US | Amazon
UK
The Extended Organism: The Physiology of
Animal-Built Structures by J. Scott Turner
Amazon
US | Amazon
UK
The Century of the Gene
by Evelyn Fox Keller
Amazon
US | Amazon
UK
| Read
the first chapter |
Meritocracy and Economic Inequality by
Kenneth Joseph Arrow (Editor), Samuel Bowles (Editor), Steven N.
Durlauf (Editor)
Amazon
US | Amazon
UK
Human Natures: Genes, Cultures, & the Human
Prospect by Paul R. Ehrlich
Amazon
US
| Amazon
UK
| Radio
Interview |
Science and Selection: Essays on Biological
Evolution and the Philosophy of Science by David L. Hull
Amazon
US | Amazon
UK
Human Nature After Darwin: A Philosophical
Introduction by Janet Radcliffe Richards
Amazon
US | Amazon
UK
Human Paleobiology (Cambridge Studies in
Biological and Evolutionary Anthropology, 26) by Robert B.
Eckhardt
Amazon
US | Amazon
UK
The Evolutionary Emergence of Language: Social
Function and the Origins of Linguistic Form by Michael
Studdert-Kennedy (Editor), James R. Hurford (Editor), Chris Knight
Amazon
US | Amazon
UK
Karl Popper--The Formative Years, 1902-1945:
Politics and Philosophy in Interwar Vienna by Malachi Haim Hacohen
Amazon
US | Amazon
UK
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
Amazon
US | Amazon
UK
Brain Evolution and Cognition by Gerhard Roth
(Editor), Mario F. Wullimann
Amazon
US | Amazon
UK
Truth About Dogs: An Inquiry into the Ancestry,
Social Proclivities, Mental Habits, and Moral Fiber of Canis
Familiaris by Stephen Budiansky
Amazon
US | Amazon
UK
| Read
the first chapter |
Humanity: A Moral History of the Twentieth
Century by Jonathan Glover
Amazon
US | Amazon
UK
| Read
the first chapter |
Is Economics an Evolutionary Science? The Legacy
of Thorstein Veblen by Francisco Louca (Editor), Mark Perlman
(Editor)
Amazon
US | Amazon
UK
Evolutionary Paleoecology
by Warren Allmon (Editor), David J. Bottjer (Editor)
Amazon
US | Amazon
UK
|
Tell your friends and colleagues about The Human Nature Daily Review |
Promiscuity: An Evolutionary History of Sperm
Competition and Sexual Conflict by Tim R. Birkhead
Amazon
US | Amazon
UK
The Balance Within: The Science Connecting Health
and Emotions by Esther M. Sternberg
Amazon
US | Amazon
UK
Biology, Evolution, and Human Nature by
Timothy H. Goldsmith, William F. Zimmerman
Amazon
US | Amazon
UK
Economics
- Richard Thaler has led a revolution in the study of economics by
understanding the strange ways people behave with their money. [more]
[Search: A
| S
| W
| B]
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]
[Search: A
| W
| B]
Rorschach test
- Fad or indispensable tool? Correspondence in the New York Times provides
a range of opinion. [more]
[Search: A
| S
| W
| B]
Autism
- The Autism Research Unit at the University of Sunderland claims that
autism has increased ten-fold over the last decade. [more]
[Search: S
| G
| W
| B]
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]
[Search: S
| G
| W
| B]
Archaeology
- Dance probably developed early in human cultural evolution, according
to Yosef Garfinkel. [more]
[Search: A
| W
| B]
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]
[Search: S
| G
| W
| B]
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]
[Search: A
| W
| B]
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]
[Search: S
| W
| B]
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]
[Search: A
| S
| G
| W
| B]
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]
[Search: A
| S
| W
| B]
Anthropology
- Queue here to join the human race: Joseph Henrich and Robert Boyd have
developed a mathematical model to measure human co-operation. [more]
[Search: A
| G
| W
| B]
History
- How do women exercise power? Just like men. [more]
[Search: A
| W
| B]
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]
[Search: W
| B]
Human
evolution - Australian and Chinese scientists find further
evidence for the multiregional view of human evolution. [more]
[Search: S
| G
| W
| B]
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]
[Search: A
| S
| W
| B]
Antisocial personality
disorder - Three out of seven is good enough for a
retrospective diagnosis of the Biblical Samson. [more]
[Search: A
| S
| G
| W
| B]
Evolution/physiology
- People in Tibet and the Andes have
evolved different strategies of coping with altitude. [more]
[Search: A
| S
| W
| B]
Early puberty
- Did a single study about the early
onset of puberty in girls generate widespread beliefs with dire medical
consequences? [more]
[Search: A
| S
| G
| W
| B]
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]
[Search: A
| W
| B]
Sex addiction
- is about preoccupation
rather than frequency. [more]
[Search: S
| W
| B]
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]
[Search: A
| S
| G
| W
| B]
Psychotherapy
- The American Psychiatric Association
finds data confirming the efficacy of psychotherapy [more],
though some patients are petting their way to mental health. [more]
[Search: A
| S
| G
| W | B]
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]
[Search: S
| W
| B]
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]
[Search: A
| G
| W
| B]
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]
[Search: A
| S
| W]
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]
[Search: A
| S
| G
| W]
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]
[Search: A
| S
| G
| W
| B]
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]
[Search: S
| W
| B]
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]
[Search: A
| S
| G
| W]
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]
[Search: S
| G
| W]
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]
[Search: A
| S
| G
| W
| B]
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.
[Search: A
| S
| W]
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]
[Search:
W
| B]
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]
[Search: S
| W
| B]
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]
[Search: A
| S
| W
| B]
Evolution -
A new study by Willie J. Swanson and colleagues provides evidence of sperm
competition and sexual conflict. [more]
[Search: A
| S
| G
| W
| B]
Evolution and
human behaviour - What is the relationship between spatial ability,
finger length, and sporting prowess? [more]
[Search: A
| W]
Psychiatry
- David Rosen reports that eating disorders kill more people than all
other psychiatric disorders combined. [more]
[Search: A
| S
| G
| W
| B]
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]
[Search: S
| W]
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]
[Search: A
| W]
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]
[Search: A
| S
| G
| W
| B]
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]
[Search: A
| S
| W
| B]
Psychiatry
- David A. Wolfe reveals findings that teenage boys abused as children are
three times as likely to harm their dating partner. [more]
[Search: A
| S
| W
| B]
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]
[Search: A
| S
| W]
Psychosis
- The American Society for Microbiology publishes a Japanese study
showing no link between Borna virus and psychosis. [more]
[Search: S
| G
| W]
Neuropsychology
- Andrea D. Rowe and colleagues evaluate "theory of mind"
impairments and their relationship to executive functioning following
frontal lobe excisions. [more]
[Search: S
| W
| B]
Depression
- How valid are WHO diagnostic criteria in developing countries? [more]
[Search: S
| W
| B]
Psychiatry
- The British Medical Journal hosts a debate on the value of St.
John's wort in treating depression. [more]
[Search: A
| S
| G
| W]
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]
[Search: A
| S
| W]
Primatology
- Mother-infant bonding has not been investigated in non-human primates. [more]
[Search: A
| W
| B]
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]
[Search: A
| S
| G
| W
| B]
Gesture and
communication - Martha Alibali and colleagues find that
gestures serve "speaker internal and communicative functions". [more]
[Search: A
| S
| G
| W
| B]
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]
[Search: A
| S
| W
| B]
Language
acquisition - Rebecca Gomez investigates two learning
mechanisms, known respectively as adjacent dependencies and
long-distance dependencies, that children deploy in language learning. [more]
[Search: A
| W]
Language
acquisition - Jenny Saffran discusses findings that children are
little statisticians with perfect pitch - talents that help them learn to
speak. [more]
and [more]
New Scientist reports. [more]
Nature reports. [more]
The Times reports. [more]
[Search: A
| W]
Diet and
cognitive function - High-fat diets may
impair concentration and memory through the influence of fatty acids on
glucose metabolism. [more]
and [more]
[Search: A
| S
| W]
Longevity
- Jay Olshansky doubts that living to 100
is a realistic goal. [more]
and [more].
Tom Kirkwood comments. [audio]
New Scientist also reports. [more]
The Times reports. [more]
[Search: A
| S
| W
| B]
Longevity - In contrast, Danish epidemiologist Kaare Christensen doubts there is evidence that human life span is approaching a limit, and George Martin is sure that life span is plastic. [more]
Neurobiology of
stress - Robert Sapolsky finds that social
complexities cause stress-related illness whether you're a Westerner, or a
baboon. [more]
and [more].
The San Francisco Chronicle reports [more]
[Search: A
| S
| G
| W
| B]
Neuroscience - Keith Thulborn: "Functional MRI [magnetic resonance imaging] indicates that the dogma that some areas of the brain are not important for normal function is clearly fallacious" [more]
Addiction
- Do imaging studies identify addiction as
a brain disorder? Nora Volkow and Alan Leshner report to the AAAS. [more]
[Search: A
| S
| G
| W
| B]
Pharmacogenetics
- Wendell Weber believes that the human
genome sequence will allow tailor-made pharmacotherapy. [more]
and [more]
[Search: A
| S
| W
| B]
Public
understanding of science - Fewer than one-third of all Americans
understand the term "DNA" and only about 50 percent know that
humans didn't live at the time of the dinosaurs. At the AAAS meeting
Michael Riordan and Lucy Shapiro call for "civic scientists" to
combat scientific illiteracy. [more]
[Search:
S
| W
| B]
Primatology - Gregory M. Sulkowski and Marc D. Hauser
assess the arithmetical competence of rhesus monkeys. [more]
[Search: A
| S
| W
| B]
Expression of
emotion - When it comes to emotions men and women
are equally expressive, but men display most of their joy, disgust or
other sentiments in the lower left quadrant of their face. Women, on the
other hand, show their emotions across their entire countenance. [more]
[Search:
S
| W
| B]
Mate selection
- Karl Grammer discovers that women chat
happily, send sexually explicit signals and encourage the man's attention,
even if they have absolutely no interest in him. [more]
[Search: A
| S
| G
| W
| B]
Human genome - A small team of researchers from the Ohio State University today posted a new annotation of the human genome in Genome Biology. [more]
Human genome - Nature offers free copies of its issue on the Human Genome Project together with a free CD ROM of animations, diagrams and timelines, and a poster of the geography of the genome. [register]
Depression - Gavin Andrews finds that depression "seems to be a chronic recurring disorder, seldom well managed if one simply waits for the patient to initiate further consultations". [more]
Psychiatry
- Simon M. Gilbody and colleagues "examine
the effect of routinely administered psychiatric questionnaires on the
recognition, management, and outcome of psychiatric disorders in non-psychiatric settings". [more]
[Search: A
| S
| G
| W]
Amnesia - Bryan J Corridan and colleagues report a case of Transient Epileptic Amnesia [more]
Antisocial personality
disorder - Eric
Altschuler and colleagues claim that Samson, the celebrated Biblical
strongman, suffered from the earliest recorded case of antisocial
personality disorder. [more] and
[more]
John Riskind advises caution when "applying 21st century diagnostic
criteria to people who lived thousands of years ago". [more]
After all, the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders
is revised rather frequently. [more]
[Search: A
| S
| G
| W
| B]
Biology - In today's Nature Horace Freeland Judson insists that biologists must take responsibility for the correct use of language in genetics. "Pleiotropy. Polygeny. Perhaps these terms will not easily become common parlance; but the critical point never to omit is that genes act in concert with one another — collectively with the environment. Again, all this has long been understood by biologists, when they break free of habitual careless words. [more]
Suicide and income – is the risk greater in rich
people who develop serious mental illness? [more]
and [commentary].
A report at BBC
News Online. Riadh Abed argues that the finding is in keeping with
"selfish gene formulations. [more]
[Search: A
| S
| G
| W]
Human genome - The DNA sequence of the Human Genome is now freely accessible to all, for public or private use, from the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI). [more]
Hominid diet - Early hominids from southern Africa maintained a behavioral pattern involving a bone tool material culture that may have persisted for a long period and strongly supports the role of insectivory in the early hominid diet [more], but Neanderthal's were predators. [more]
Evolution - J. F. Y. Brookfield considers the evolvability enigma. [more]
Theory of mind - Sometimes chimpanzees do know what others know. [more]
[Search: A
| S
| G
| W
| B]
Human genome - University of Chicago researchers confirm the very high percentage of repetitive elements in the human genome. [more] Svante Pääbo claims that "From a genetic perspective, all humans are Africans, either residing in Africa or in recent exile" [more] and Craig Venter confirms that the genome was full of surprises. [audio]. Other commentary from Harvard Medical School, The University of Pennsylvania Medical Center, and The Howard Hughes Medical Institute, here and here
Behavioural economics - a serious look at "skewed reasoning, self-indulgence, self-destructive behavior and a host of other human frailties and strengths". [more]
Racial theories - What motivates the segregation of human groups into racial hierarchies? [more]
Palaeoanthropology - Gaining the upper hand? Why did Neanderthals disappear. The Economist investigates. Reports also appeared in New Scientist, BBC News Online, and Nature Science Update; the paper is in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
Evolution of
skin colour - Discover
takes a look at enlightening new work.
[Search: A
| S
| W]
Neurobiology/alcoholism - Women's brains may be more vulnerable to the effects of alcoholism. [more]
Psychological needs - Kennon M. Sheldon and colleagues find out what makes people happiest. [more]
Behavioural neuroscience - Why are extraverts positive and neurotics negative - clues from neuroscience. [more]. BBC News Online also reports and provides and audio interview with John Gabrieli co-author of the article.
Evolution - Parasites can contribute to speciation - at least in wasps. [more]
Theory of mind
- Evidence accumulates for the role of the
prefrontal cortex in "theory of mind" - our ability to
understand behaviour in mentalistic terms. [more]
BBC News Online reports
- audio interview with Donald
Stuss.
[Search: A
| S
| G
| W]
Human biodiversity - Great ape DNA sequences reveal a reduced diversity and an expansion in humans [more]
Artificial intelligence - Computer programs, known as autonomous agents, can evolve their own language and talk with one another, but also can use communication to improve their performance in solving the classic predator-prey problem. [more]
Neurobiology of memory - The amygdala initiates memory storing in other brain regions. [more]
Evolution - Sexual selection and sexual dimorphism in the fruit fly. [more]
Neuroecology - Rich social networks help to prevent dementia [more], but there is also a link between early intellect and dementia. [more]
Evolution/immunology - The extensive polymorphism revealed in non-coding gene-regulatory sequences, particularly in the immune system, suggests that this type of genetic variation is functionally and evolutionarily far more important than has been suspected. [more]
Addiction - New findings imply that obese people may eat more to try to stimulate the dopamine "pleasure" circuits in their brains, just as addicts do by taking drugs. [more]
Symbiosis - Microorganisms in the gut influence the expression of a number of genes that are important to intestinal development and function. [more] and [abstract]
Cognitive science - Gavin Huntley-Fenner finds that children's understanding of number is similar to adults' and rats.' [more]
Consciousness
- Some of the leading theorists consider
how far cognitive science has progressed in explaining consciousness. [more]
[contents]
An NIH seminar on May 10, 2000 evaluated Scientific Approaches to
Consciousness. [video]
[Search: A
| S
| W
| B]
Cognitive science - How do you recognize your own face? [more]
Anthropology
- In Ishi's brain, Ishi's ashes, Nancy Scheper-Hughes argues
for anthropology "as a tool and practice of human
freedom" [more]
[Search: A
| S
| W
| B]
Human genome - Gail Vines reviews Kevin Davies' The Sequence, and examines the world of science journalism. [more]
Evolution - Don Smith, Clinical Professor of Neurology at the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center, Denver, assesses Robert Wright's Nonzero. [more]
Human genome - Kenan Malik reviews Kevin Davies' account of the race to sequence the genome. [more]
Public understanding of science - Colin Tudge on "why science should warm our hearts" [more]
Creation vs. evolution - What is the evidence for and against the modern theory of evolution?" A debate between Jonathan Wells and Massimo Pigliucci. [more] and [video]
Anthropology - C. Loring Brace comments on bias and inaccuracy in Patrick Tierney's Darkness in El Dorado. [more] Raymond Hames offers an "excellent example of one of the truly sleazy techniques chronically used by Tierney". [more]
Anthropology
- Patrick Tierney's Darkness in El Dorado has "far-reaching
implications" - but for whom? [more]
William Irons wonders how a "medical report" became a
"definitive report" [more]
[Search: A
| S
| G
| W
| B]
Sociology - John H. McWhorter argues that black attitudes impede achievement. [more] Roger Masters comments on the role of neurotoxins. [more]
History of science - John Cornwell reviews Rivals: Conflict as the Fuel of Science by Michael White. [more]
Education - Charles Twardy reports the Kansas Board's wealth of support in restoring evolution to the curriculum. [more] Jack Parsons adds his voice. [more]
|
Tell your friends and colleagues about The Human Nature Daily Review |
Creationism
- William Dembski weaves a tangled web in defence of "intelligent
design theory". [more]
[Search: A
| S
| G
| W
| B]
History - Rosemary Ashton reads a scientific whodunit. [more]
Evolutionary psychology - Oliver Curry eliminates "self-interest". [more] William M. Brown objects. [more]
Public understanding of science - Billy Grassie reports on the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. [more]
Human evolution - Michel Treisman offers an account of human evolution that is compatible with the evidence that is supposed to support both the multiregional and out-of-Africa views. [more]
Free will - David Wolpert is sure that genetics has no bearing on the question of free will. [more]. David K. Hill disagrees. [more] Paul Gross notes that "brain organization must be epigenetic. Which does NOT, of course, emphasizing NOT, suggest that genes have nothing to do with behavior, or that nothing behavioral is inherited". [more]
Cognitive science - Kevin Johnson recounts an explanation for the "missing letter effect". [more] Gary Brase looks at another solution. [more]
Science and religion - Kenan Malik regrets that Stephen Jay Gould has made "a wrong-headed attempt to equate religion with morality" in his most disappointing book so far. [more]
Human genome and politics - Ziauddin Sardar believes that the number of genes in the human genome is welcome news for the left and a blow for "biological determinists". [more]
Ethics - A neuroscientist and a philosopher argue about ethics, human nature, and the brain. [more]
Jurisprudence - Tor Lezemore ponders the potential impact of genetic knowledge on our notions of justice. [more]
Philosophy - Douglas B. Meehan believes that Dennett's Philosophy "demonstrates the cohesive mechanism of Dennett's contributions to philosophy, evolutionary theory, and cognitive science in general, assessing his neo-Darwinist view of evolution, the ontological commitments of his theory of content, his radical anti-Cartesian view of consciousness, and his naturalistic approach to morality". [more]
Feminism - Jill Nelson investigates the efficacy and origins of stealth, and of communicating indirectly, for feminists of colour. [more]
History of ideas - The Sunday Times explores the advanced views expressed by the author of Vestiges of the Natural History of Creation. [more]
Pathological
gambling - Any bets on whether it really is a problem? [more]
[Search: S
| W
| B]
The Bell Curve
- Leigh Van Valen concludes the debate on
The Bell Curve with a critique of the book's critical error. [more]
and [more],
whilst Herbert Gintis finds evidence of "sweeping claims". [more]
[Search: A
| S
| G
| W
| B]
|
Tell your friends and colleagues about The Human Nature Daily Review |
History of neuroscience
- Paul Crichton reads Malcolm Macmillan's
account of the story of Phineas Gage. [more]
[Search: A
| S
| G
| W
| B]
The Bell Curve
- In the ongoing debate Catherine Reason still finds the arguments for psychometrics
uncompelling [more],
but Herbert Gintis perceives progress derived from black box and
correlational methodologies. [more]
Science is not a matter of subjective interpretation. [more]
However, many in "the field of labor economics/income
determination theory" are unconvinced by The Bell Curve. [more]
Charles Murray suggests an exercise. [more]
[Search: S
| G
| W
| B]
Brain
development - Michael Meaney discusses his work on
maternal care, gene expression, and neural development. [more]
and [video]
[Search: A
| S
| W]
History - Alexandra Jacobs evaluates A History of the Wife by Marilyn Yalom of the Institute for Research on Women and Gender. [more]
Psychiatry - Steven S. Sharfstein reviews Tanya Luhrmann's account of the divide in psychiatry. [more]
Human genome - Paul Gross discusses the role of scientists in misinformation about the human genome. Larry Arnhart discerns hype, and John McCrone detects non-scientific forces at work.
Evolutionary
psychology - Keith Harris evaluates an introductory
text by Gaulin and McBurney. [more]
[Search: A
| S
| G
| W
| B]
The Bell Curve - Charles Murray responds to claims about Latinos and the manipulation of data in The Bell Curve. [more] Michael Commons comments. Catherine Reason doubts that data manipulation is the issue.
Anthropology
- Napoleon Chagnon answers charges that
"he incited and exaggerated" the violence of the Yanomamö. [more]
The news doesn't make it to Ohio.
[Search: A
| S
| G
| W
| B]
Evolution and creationism - Eugenie Scott of the National Center for Science Education wonders whether Intelligent Design theorists go beyond the claim that "evolution is bad science". [more]
Pheromones, fathers, and puberty - What does cause girls to experience earlier puberty? [more] and more here, here, and here.
Evolutionary psychology - Dylan Evans looks at whether evolutionary psychology can become a practical tool for management. [more]
Critical thinking - The Institute of Ideas has emerged in the vacuum created by a retreat from ideas. We live in an age when debate is too often sidelined in deference to consensus; when the cutting edge of academia appears to have been blunted; when politics is more about style than content. Those who believe in the importance of intellect need to find a new arena for critical thinking. [more]
Medicine
- Daniel M. Fox finds flaws in Sally
Satel's PC, M.D.: How Political Correctness Is Corrupting Medicine. [more]
The National Review Online finds flaws in Fox. [more]
[Search: A
| S
| G
| W
| B]
Evolutionary
psychology - Is evolutionary psychology simply an
abuse of Darwinism? The authors of Alas, Poor Darwin have no
doubt. [more]
[Search: A
| G
| W
| B]
Palaeoanthropology - Eugene Dubois - The man who found the missing link. [more]
Anthropology
- Judith Shulevitz hopes that Patrick
Tierney's "unrigorous" book on controversies in anthropology
will prompt a search for facts [more],
but the Yanomamö have other worries. [more]
[Search: A
| S
| G
| W
| B]
Science and religion - In his latest book, the leading scientific writer Stephen Jay Gould asks why religion and science cannot get along together. [more]
Anthropology
- Nicholas
Nicastro finds Terence Turner's defence of his role in the Darkness
in El Dorado affair unconvincing. Turner
responds.
[Search: A
| S
| G
| W
| B]
Creationism - Charles Colson attempts to boost the reputation of the latest anti-evolution diatribe from a member of the Center for the Renewal of Science and Culture. [more] David E. Thomas and M. Kim Johnson provide a different viewpoint.
Creationism - The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette explains that fellow of the Center for the Renewal of Science and Culture Michael Behe is "no crackpot". [more]
Violent play - A game called suicide. Teacher and author Jane Katch talks about the value -- and necessity -- of violent play. [more]
History of
neuroscience - "The story of Phineas Gage is one
of the oldest, most intriguing, and most told tales in the history of
neuroscience. The key events occurred in rural Vermont more than 150 years ago". [more]
[Search: A
| S
| G
| W
| B]
Philosophy - Simon Blackburn looks at a sympathetic biography of Sir Alfred Jules Ayer [more]
|
Tell your friends and colleagues about The Human Nature Daily Review |
Anthropology - Paul Gross traces the origins of intellectual exorcisms provoked by Darkness in El Dorado to the dissolution of the difference between technical disagreements and moral-political warfare. [more]
Sociobiology - Tom Bethell wonders what future generations will make of the sociobiology wars [more]
Evolutionary psychology - The term "evolutionary psychology" has been in use for over a century. [more]
Science and
religion - Karen Armstrong welcomes Stephen Jay
Gould's way to end the war between faith and reason. [more]
[Search: A
| S
| G
| W
| B]
Human nature
- Francis Fukuyama finds the concept of
"human nature" unscathed by Paul Ehrlich's assault. [more]
[Search: A
| S
| W
| B]
Anthropology - Thomas Gregor is disturbed by the "by the lack of proper evidence, the vitriol and the rush to judgment" in Marshall Sahlins' review of Darkness in El Dorado. [more] William Irons concurs.
Neurotheology - A Christian takes issue with a book claiming that religion is merely a trick of evolution [more]
Psychometrics - "The variables which are heavily loaded with radicalism are attitudes favorable to evolutionary doctrines, favorable to birth control, favorable to easy divorce, favorable to communism, and it is of interest to note that intelligence is positively correlated with these radical or liberal attitudes" - or so Thurstone thought in 1933. [more]