All posts by medical

Genetics

Genetics and gaming, a strategist’s dream – Geektime – Geektime

Niche Animal Genes Image Credit: Niche

Warrior, hunter, gatherer, or breeder? What does your tribe lack? Theres a delicate balance to maintain in this game of survival

Too few gatherers and your hunters starve as they stalk their prey. Warriors who cant move quickly might not reach enemies in time to protect the tribe. Your gatherers must have the proper skill to acquire as much food as quickly as possible. Breeders can pass on the best or the worst genes to their brood, so being selective about who mates with whom is imperative. And dont forget, even your best specimens will eventually grow old and die, so you have to always keep the line going!

This is Niche: a genetics survival game. In this turn-based strategy game, you must strategically breed the best animals for the survival of the community. The objectives for your furry wards are to explore your island, find food, kill predators, and grow your tribe. Climate change and illness can wipe out your best specimens if youre not careful, and resource management is always at the forefront of your best strategies. If your animals cant eat, they cant do their jobs!

Where the game gets especially interesting is its genetics features. Animals can be good at picking berries, be able to move quickly, have a strong attack, be able to smell predators and prey, as well as have physically attractive characteristics, like different fur color, eye color, spots, stripes, antlers, etc. You have to worry about dominate and recessive genes, mutation, and even the problems that arise from incest.

Though it may sound complicated, Niches in-game menu makes it simple. You can always open an animals traits and genetics and see what they have you might want to pass on to a new spawn or what animals you may want to avoid letting others mate with so they dont pass on something detrimental to the group.

The game lends itself to a few different playstyles. There are those who want to explore the unknown, build the biggest tribe, breed the strongest or fastest animals, or want to do all of the above. There are several different biomes the animals can explore, such as grass, jungle, and water biomes. The islands in the game also have varying difficulties and complexities, so players can challenge themselves as much as they like.

Niche isnt only about being the strongest or the fastest, but having your tribe adapt to new opportunities, threats, and environments in order to survive. The game is truly unique and is one using a great combination of attractive game design and interesting biology. When I talked to Philomena Schwab, game designer, and marketing lead at Niche, she explained that she couldnt decide if she wanted to study biology or game design. This juxtaposition of seemingly incongruous interests blended beautifully into the creation of Niche.

Schwab doesnt work alone, though, and has explained that around this prototype, a crowd of biology nerds gathered and have been hard at work ever since. Their expertise and input are conspicuous as the team aimed to create a world that inspired its players not only to survive, but to create their own species, adapt them to their environment, and to base all their decisions on real genetics. As explained in the game description on Steam, players are introduced to the scientific mechanics of genetics (featuring dominant-recessive, co-dominant inheritance, etc). The game also features the five pillars of population genetics (genetic drift, genetic flow, mutation, natural selection, sexual selection). What sounds complicated is surprisingly user friendly. All knowledge is interwoven with the game-mechanics. This creates the effect of learning by playing.

Image Credit: Niche

What has stood out to me about the game throughout its development (other than the innovative gameplay experience itself) is the devotion of its fans already. On the Niche Facebook group, (which is closed to supporters and early-access players), there is an outpouring of praise and support of the game already. Niche has already inspired player artwork from sketches to digital paintings to sculptures. Additionally, the developers are also very engaged with the Facebook group, responding to and even sometimes implementing player suggestions, which just gets fans more excited to play and share strategies and discuss what theyd like to see come next. With such a solid following already, its exciting to imagine where this game will go.

Niche Family Tree Image Credit: Niche

This game got started on Kickstarter, and some of the many promises made to backers are the inclusion of prehistoric genes and interspecies breeding, so those updates are still on the horizon, along with streamlining of the game itself and scores of new features as production and development continues. They succeeded in pulling in nearly 5X of their $15,000 ask, raising $72,375 from 2,838 backers.

The game is available in its current form through Steam Early Access and full release is slated for July.

Read more here:
Genetics and gaming, a strategist's dream - Geektime - Geektime

Embryology

Yes, abortion is a human rights violation – Eagle News

Everyone would agree that abortion kills something. That much is clear.

But given that abortion does kill something, shouldnt we determine just what it is that were killing before we advocate for the right to kill it? It would be reckless for a hunter to shoot at a rustling in the bushes without knowing what he is shooting at. In the same way, the right to choose isnt the right to choose anything. Before we talk about whether one is entitled to make a certain choice, we must first know what is being chosen.

We all want people to have all of the liberties that they are entitled to have. At the same time, even the most ardent defender of choice would agree that some choices are wrong and should be restricted. Sound public policy decisions must discriminate between those choices that are good and those that are bad.

If the unborn are as pro-lifers claim human persons, then the choice to have an abortion is tantamount to murder. On the other hand, if the unborn are not human persons, then women ought to be allowed to do what they want with their own bodies. The entire abortion debate hinges on the identity of the unborn, not choice.

So whats the right answer? One might be tempted to think that there is no way to resolve this question. Not so. It might surprise many people to learn that the science of embryology overwhelmingly supports the claim that the unborn are human beings. This is affirmed in numerous embryology textbooks. There is a clear scientific consensus that conception results in the existence of a living, distinct and whole human being. True, the unborn arent able to think like us or do many of the things that an adult can do, but our value as human persons doesnt depend on how were currently able to function. All human beings possess equal moral value in spite of inequalities in size, development, intelligence and dependency. An embryo cannot actually reason, but neither can newborns or those in a deep sleep. A fetus may not be able to survive outside of its mothers womb, but neither can those on dialysis or life support survive apart from sophisticated machines. Our equal value must be rooted in our common humanity, not the unequal expressions of our humanity.

If the unborn are in fact human which the scientific evidence suggests then abortion simply is a human rights violation.

There are, of course, hard cases. In tackling these cases, we must take seriously the humanity of the unborn. Procuring an abortion in response to rape or incest only adds another victim to an already tragic crime: the unborn child. We ought to punish the criminal, not an innocent third-party who has perpetrated no wrong. The unborn are just as innocent as their mothers.

Appeals to bodily autonomy, liberty and the right to choose are mistaken. If, as I have argued, abortion takes the life of a human person, then the scope of liberty simply does not extend to abortion anymore than it extends to murder. There is no right to have an abortion, period. To argue that abortion needs to be safe, legal and rare in order to minimize harm from illegal back-alley abortions is like saying that we need to make bank robbery safe, legal and rare in order to minimize harm to bank robbers. Neither practice should be legal to begin with. Speaking of safe abortions makes as much sense as speaking of safe murder.

The images displayed are indeed shocking and horrific. That is the reality of abortion. It is an inherently violent procedure, one that needs to be brought out into the light and exposed for what it truly is.

Youll notice that I havent appealed to any religious teaching in this article. Thats because abortion isnt inherently a religious issue, but a human rights issue. A strong case for the pro-life position can (and has) be made on the basis of science and moral philosophy. What I have offered here is only a very rough sketch of what such an approach might look like, but it is enough to dispel the myth that opposition to abortion can only be religiously motivated.

The Center for Bio-Ethical Reform should be commended for bringing to light one of the worst human rights violations of all time.

Timothy Hsiao

Department of Communication and Philosophy

Continue reading here:
Yes, abortion is a human rights violation - Eagle News

Immunology

Immunology in perspective – OUPblog (blog)

Among students of science, in contrast to those who do science, the dominant discussion revolves around the degree to which scientific interpretations are subject to extra-curricular influences, specifically, to what extent are facts independent of the larger political context in which science resides. (Political refers to the economic costs and benefits measured as improved health, productivity, military defense, etc.; promotion of ideological commitments; corporate advancement; social flourishing, and the like.) The question is not just applicable to understanding how science makes its truth claims, but represents a general quandary: Scientists, historians, lawyersall citizensconstantly face the task of drawing the line around credible disputes over the standing of facts and their meaning, which ultimately determines their status as true. This matter is posed throughout our culture. Indeed, in whatever endeavor we engage, assumptions are made about the reality of our perceptions and the comprehension of our understanding. This question is the basic philosophical challenge that under-girds all forms of knowledge.

In regards to science, I will unpack this matter in two parts. First, a dictum: facts assume their meaning only within the theory or model in which they are placed. The movement of the stars have one understanding in a Ptolemaic universe and a very different one in a Copernican. This point places the foundation of the factual in a tentative position. This is not a weakness, for such skepticism is the basis of acknowledging the fallibility of scientific pursuits and the basis for the never-ending search for truth. The second dimension of this issue concerns the more ill-defined problem of how the social context in which science is embedded influences truth claims. In some sense this is a trivial point: Funding of research is determined by the economic costs and benefits measured as improved health, productivity, military defense, etc.; promotion of ideological commitments; corporate advancement; social flourishing, etc. But the question is the degree to which science is subject to less well-defined extra-curricular influences, i.e., how does science refract its larger political contextpolitical in its broadest connotations.

Putting aside the most egregious examples (Nazi racial science, Lysenko genetics, creationism), immunology illustrates this problem quite clearly: First, the self/nonself distinction that governs contemporary immune theory draws directly from commonly held notions of personal identity. Immunologists configure such identity in diverse ways, but, most obviously, immunity has been conceived as a discriminatory function. Given its historical development as a clinical science and the persistent demands of treating disease, immunologists have focused their study of the immune reaction in terms of its most activated staterejection of the other (which in turn defines the self). After all, the response to pathogens, if successful, by-and-large requires immune assault. The very language of warfare percolated into immune-talk with the discovery of infectious diseases. And the same terminology was then applied to autoimmune phenomena and immune tumor surveillance. Only in the context of evaluating the control mechanisms of this prominent arm of immunity was immune tolerance considered. And the notions of personal identity have been extended to the language of cognition (e.g. lymphocytes see antigens, possess memory, and learn), which makes the most direct reference to human being.

However, another subtle human orientation structures modern immunology, one less dominant than that marshaled by host defense, but nevertheless growing in influence. If we step outside the clinic, we recognize how immunity serves as the critical mediator of the organisms interactions within its environment. The immune system is basically a cognitive faculty, an information processor: The immune system perceives the world essentially as do animals employing olfactory and taste sensors, i.e., through molecular coupling of substances to specific receptors. The signals of such interactions are then processed in an ascending hierarchy of controls, and like the nervous system, the immune system responds to, or ignores, the universe it perceives. Simply stated, the immune system is like a mobile brain, and most of its work deals with mediating the animals intercourse with its environment, external and internal. And those interactions must invoke mechanisms to tolerate assimilative exchange.

About 20 years ago, those interested in this domain of immune function began calling their research, eco-immunology. The field is growing in many directions, but because of funding priorities such investigations are still largely tied to the defensive orientation of immunologys origins. But we require a more expansive view, for the immune system serves both to differentiate the self from the other,and to provide the gateway for assimilative, co-operative environmental relationships. The current interest in the microbiome, the holobiont, and symbiosis more generally is an expression of a biology that is moving from an insular organism-centered science to an ecological orientation, subordinating individuality to the communal.

Just as immunologists responded to the immediate problem of treating infectious diseases, the turn towards ecology is a response to a complex medley of challenges that have shifted focus from the individual patient to his larger environmental context. Although immunology is, in fact, a member of the environmental sciences viewed strictly with scientific criteria, that focus has remained subordinate to the clinical scenario. And in drawing away from an insular orientation, contextual immunology has asserted a compelling theoretical re-orientation. On this view, immunology is again reflecting broader cultural influences about personal identity, namely, immune theory (in part) derives its current ecological concerns from the larger political and social milieu in which individuality has been re-conceived. When considering immunologys Zeitgeist, immunologists who have joined, what I call the ecological imperative, have developed a heightened sense of the world defined not in terms of insular individualism, but rather in terms of a more global perspective. The focus on identity remains, but it has undergone a significant modification with deep repercussions for immune theory.

Two pervasive forces stimulating this re-alignment are at play: 1) the environmental crisis (if not a catastrophe) has placed us in a collective mind-set, and 2) the massive socio-political challenges arising from economic globalization and mass capitalism have displaced our private identities based on liberal political precepts with a growing cultural compass. The political consequences (e.g., the traumas of social-religious xenophobia, populism, resurgent nationalism, fundamentalism) and economic disruptions are obvious. These reactions to the blurring and redefining of identities testify to the power of these influences.

So, I see these pervasive forces insinuating their effects in the fundamental ways we conceive the world and our own identities. To the extent that immunology is the science of identity, the heretofore governing precepts of defining and protecting individuality are undergoing a shift to an ecological or contextual perspective. Recognizing how these social forces impact on our orientation to the world, our ways of understanding notions of selfhood, has become a constituent of immunologys theoretical orientation: comprehending the establishment and maintenance of symbiosis; discerning the organization and regulation of the resting immune system; discovering the mechanisms of tolerance that govern normal surveillance and exchange each reflect a contextual orientation and are commanding increasing attention.

Shedding notions of autonomy has deep repercussive effects, and the ecological imperative that has seeped into immunology reveals much about our thought collective. Simply, because of globalization and the growing environmental crisis, we have become more aware of the larger context in which we live. This is true not only in politics or economics, but also in science. Immunology is a vivid case in point of science and its supporting culture in dialogue.

Featured image:Applied immunology. Public domain via Wikimedia Commons.

Continue reading here:
Immunology in perspective - OUPblog (blog)

Genetics

Genetics and gaming, a strategist’s dream – Geektime

Niche Animal Genes Image Credit: Niche

Warrior, hunter, gatherer, or breeder? What does your tribe lack? Theres a delicate balance to maintain in this game of survival

Too few gatherers and your hunters starve as they stalk their prey. Warriors who cant move quickly might not reach enemies in time to protect the tribe. Your gatherers must have the proper skill to acquire as much food as quickly as possible. Breeders can pass on the best or the worst genes to their brood, so being selective about who mates with whom is imperative. And dont forget, even your best specimens will eventually grow old and die, so you have to always keep the line going!

This is Niche: a genetics survival game. In this turn-based strategy game, you must strategically breed the best animals for the survival of the community. The objectives for your furry wards are to explore your island, find food, kill predators, and grow your tribe. Climate change and illness can wipe out your best specimens if youre not careful, and resource management is always at the forefront of your best strategies. If your animals cant eat, they cant do their jobs!

Where the game gets especially interesting is its genetics features. Animals can be good at picking berries, be able to move quickly, have a strong attack, be able to smell predators and prey, as well as have physically attractive characteristics, like different fur color, eye color, spots, stripes, antlers, etc. You have to worry about dominate and recessive genes, mutation, and even the problems that arise from incest.

Though it may sound complicated, Niches in-game menu makes it simple. You can always open an animals traits and genetics and see what they have you might want to pass on to a new spawn or what animals you may want to avoid letting others mate with so they dont pass on something detrimental to the group.

The game lends itself to a few different playstyles. There are those who want to explore the unknown, build the biggest tribe, breed the strongest or fastest animals, or want to do all of the above. There are several different biomes the animals can explore, such as grass, jungle, and water biomes. The islands in the game also have varying difficulties and complexities, so players can challenge themselves as much as they like.

Niche isnt only about being the strongest or the fastest, but having your tribe adapt to new opportunities, threats, and environments in order to survive. The game is truly unique and is one using a great combination of attractive game design and interesting biology. When I talked to Philomena Schwab, game designer, and marketing lead at Niche, she explained that she couldnt decide if she wanted to study biology or game design. This juxtaposition of seemingly incongruous interests blended beautifully into the creation of Niche.

Schwab doesnt work alone, though, and has explained that around this prototype, a crowd of biology nerds gathered and have been hard at work ever since. Their expertise and input are conspicuous as the team aimed to create a world that inspired its players not only to survive, but to create their own species, adapt them to their environment, and to base all their decisions on real genetics. As explained in the game description on Steam, players are introduced to the scientific mechanics of genetics (featuring dominant-recessive, co-dominant inheritance, etc). The game also features the five pillars of population genetics (genetic drift, genetic flow, mutation, natural selection, sexual selection). What sounds complicated is surprisingly user friendly. All knowledge is interwoven with the game-mechanics. This creates the effect of learning by playing.

Image Credit: Niche

What has stood out to me about the game throughout its development (other than the innovative gameplay experience itself) is the devotion of its fans already. On the Niche Facebook group, (which is closed to supporters and early-access players), there is an outpouring of praise and support of the game already. Niche has already inspired player artwork from sketches to digital paintings to sculptures. Additionally, the developers are also very engaged with the Facebook group, responding to and even sometimes implementing player suggestions, which just gets fans more excited to play and share strategies and discuss what theyd like to see come next. With such a solid following already, its exciting to imagine where this game will go.

Niche Family Tree Image Credit: Niche

This game got started on Kickstarter, and some of the many promises made to backers are the inclusion of prehistoric genes and interspecies breeding, so those updates are still on the horizon, along with streamlining of the game itself and scores of new features as production and development continues. They succeeded in pulling in nearly 5X of their $15,000 ask, raising $72,375 from 2,838 backers.

The game is available in its current form through Steam Early Access and full release is slated for July.

See the rest here:
Genetics and gaming, a strategist's dream - Geektime

Biochemistry

Dr. Richard McCann Appointed Assistant Dean of Faculty Affairs and Professional Development – Mercer News

MACON Dr. Jean R. Sumner, dean of Mercer University School of Medicine (MUSM), recently announced the appointment of Dr. Richard McCann as assistant dean of faculty affairs and professional development.

Working with Dr. Marie Dent, associate dean of faculty affairs and professional development, Dr. McCann will continue providing guidance and professional development opportunities for faculty, said Dr. Sumner. Dr. McCann is a proven leader, scientist and outstanding teacher who embodies a commitment to students, colleagues and the mission of Mercer University School of Medicine.

Dr. McCann, a native of Brunswick, graduated from Glynn Academy and earned his B.S. in biochemistry and Ph.D. in biochemistry and molecular biology from the University of Georgia. He was an American Heart Association Postdoctoral Research Fellow at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in the Department of Biological Chemistry.

Prior to joining Mercers faculty in 2008, Dr. McCann was an assistant professor of biochemistry at the University of Kentucky College of Medicine in Lexington.

He currently serves MUSM as an associate professor of biochemistry.

Throughout his career, Dr. McCann has combined a research program on cell adhesion withteaching. He advised three Ph.D. students and one M.D./Ph.D. student at the University of Kentucky. He also taught cell biology, genetics and biochemistry in the Master of Science in Biotechnology Program at Johns Hopkins and in the Integrated Biomedical Sciences Program at Kentucky.

At Mercer, Dr. McCann has served as a tutor in the first-year medical curriculum, and from 2011-2015, he was phase coordinator for the cellular basis of medicine in the Biomedical Problems Program curriculum. He is currently Block 1 co-chair for the Macon Campus in the revised Patient Based Learning curriculum.

Dr. McCann is the founding director of MUSMs Master of Science in Biomedical Sciences, and for the next three years, he will chair the Cell Structure and Survival Review Panel for the American Heart Association.

Link:
Dr. Richard McCann Appointed Assistant Dean of Faculty Affairs and Professional Development - Mercer News

Anatomy

‘Grey’s Anatomy’ Star Rips ‘The Real O’Neals’ For Bisexual Joke – Huffington Post

Sara Ramirez, who is bisexual and played a bisexual surgeon on Greys Anatomy, had a bone to pick with The Real ONeals.

The actress blasted the sitcom Thursday over a Jan. 17 episode in which a gay character played by Noah Galvin likened bisexuality to having webbed toes or money problems, several outlets noted.

The 41-year-old actor, who came out last October, implored network ABC and The Real ONeals on Twitter to own and address the issue and empower LGBTQ youth with accurate positive reflections.

Ramirez said shes disappointed in the network for which she worked for 10 years on the doctor drama. She left the show in May. I will invest my brand where Im respected, she wrote.

Rodin Eckenroth via Getty Images

Galvin and Parents and Friends of Lesbians and Gays, known as PFLAG and which partnered with The Real ONeals on the episode, issued apologieslast month for causing offense, the New York Daily News reported. A PFLAG spokeswoman said that the group blew it for not catching the comment earlier.

But in another tweet Ramirez called for a network response.

The actress also encouraged followers to sign a change.org petition protesting the show.

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'Grey's Anatomy' Star Rips 'The Real O'Neals' For Bisexual Joke - Huffington Post

Physiology

Human Anatomy Coloring Study Muscular System Physiology Learning Book Launched – Satellite PR News (press release)

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Students, scientists and people working on the human body can now memorize muscle location and names through a new coloring book. The book helps to build a better understanding of muscle location and the human anatomy.

Colorado Springs, United States February 14, 2017

A new human body coloring book has launched, aimed at those in the medical field or working with the human body on a professional or educational basis. Students who have to take anatomy and physiology tests will know that the muscular system is one of the most difficult sections to learn, and its because of this that the new coloring book has been launched.

More information can be found at: https://youtube.com/watch?v=5Wr32A1oJB0.

One of the things that makes the anatomy and physiology test so hard is that people have to learn the location and names of between 640 to 850 muscles in the human body. Using the new coloring book, customers can master the muscular and benefit from realistic medical anatomy.

The realism behind the drawings in the book can help the reader to master the muscular system while they are enjoying coloring the different detailed sections of the human body. Once the drawings have been colored in, they can then be compared with the labeled version, which is also available to color.

This means that people using the coloring book can learn the human anatomy and physiology of the body while coloring to boost their knowledge and gain a better understanding of the muscular system.

Because each customer will spend a while on each section of the human body, the repetitive and methodical nature of coloring in the book helps to promote learning and allow the names and muscles to stick in the mind.

Coloring will improve the study ability of each customer, as well as helping to improve reference recall by fixating the anatomical images in their mind for easy visual recall later on simply through coloring the body parts in the book.

Through coloring the book, customers can imprint the different shapes and the location of each muscle on their mind, helping them to recall them later on when they need to. This interactive approach means people dont have to spend hours memorizing muscles on their own.

Full details can be found by visiting the URL above.

Contact Info: Name: Lloyd Organization: Human Body Coloring Books Address: 7518 Banner Court, Colorado Springs, CO 80920, United States

For more information, please visit https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Wr32A1oJB0

Source: PressCable

Release ID: 169642

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Human Anatomy Coloring Study Muscular System Physiology Learning Book Launched - Satellite PR News (press release)

Neuroscience

Yale study: Early exposure to neuropsychiatry in college could attract more neuroscience majors to psychiatry – Yale News

February 16, 2017

Brain-based specialties like neurology are attracting more undergraduate neuroscience majors than psychiatry in medical school, a trend two Yale researchers say could be improved with more early exposure to neuropsychiatry in college.

Matthew N. Goldenberg, MD, Assistant Professor of Psychiatry, and John H. Krystal, MD, Robert L. McNeil, Jr. Professor of Neuroscience and Chair of the Yale Department of Psychiatry analyzed U.S. medical school matriculation and graduation data from 2013 and 2014. They found that medical students with an undergraduate neuroscience major showed a preference for neurology (21.5 percent) at the start of medical school compared to 13.1 percent for neurosurgery and 11 percent for internal medicine. Only 2.3 percent preferred psychiatry.

Psychiatry generated more interest by the time medical students graduated, with 5.1 percent of undergraduate neuroscience majors choosing the specialty. Interest in neurology and neurosurgery showed a slight decline by graduation, according to the study, published online in the journal Academic Psychiatry.

Psychiatry struggles to attract neuroscience majors to the specialty, the authors wrote. This missed opportunity is an obstacle to developing the neuroscience literacy of the workforce and jeopardizes the neuroscientific future of our field.

They said communicating advances in psychiatric neuroscience to college students and providing more early training and exposure to neuropsychiatry might spark more interest in the specialty.

Having psychiatric medical school faculty members partner with undergraduate neuroscience course leaders to serve as visiting lecturers or otherwise assist in embuing clinical neuroscience into curricula may be one approach, they wrote. There is evidence that scientists visits to undergraduate classrooms improve student attitudes toward neuroscience.

Efforts should be made to have college neuroscience students visit psychiatry training programs or work in laboratories that focus on psychiatric neuroscience, the researchers wrote.

Data indicates neuroscience majors show more interest in psychiatry over the course of medical school. This trend mirrors the growing interest in psychiatry among all students during medical school and suggests that certain aspect (s) of the medical school experience make psychiatry more appealing, the authors wrote. The increase further suggests that initial ignorance about the field is a major stumbling block to recruiting students into psychiatry.

The researchers did not determine why some neuroscience majors switched to psychiatry, but they wrote that a positive experience with their clerkship and placing a high value on work-life balance might be factors.

This article was submitted by Christopher S Gardner on February 16, 2017.

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Yale study: Early exposure to neuropsychiatry in college could attract more neuroscience majors to psychiatry - Yale News

Human Behavior

Anthropology Department hosts third annual Anthropology Day – MSU Reporter

The Anthropology Department is celebrating the third annual Anthropology Day today. Anthropology Day is a global event hosted by the American Anthropological Association (AAA) as a way for anthropologists to celebrate our discipline while sharing it with the world around us, according to the AAAs website, http://www.americananthro.org. The AAA notes that it will be celebrated by over 150 colleges and universities this year, in addition to K-12 schools and other organizations. One of the original planners of the AAAs inaugural Anthropology Day in 2015 was MNSU alumnus Joshua Anderson.

Todays celebration at MNSU will be held at the Anthropology Department office, Trafton North 359 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. It will feature prizes, a trivia contest, cake, snacks, and tours of the department at 10, 11, and noon. Community service is an important part of Anthropology Day and this year the departments goal is to collect $150 in donations and 150 pounds of food for the ECHO Food Shelf. Food donations can still be dropped off today and tomorrow outside Trafton North 359. This years Anthropology Day is being celebrated as part of MNSUs sesquicentennial celebrations.

Last years event featured a talk entitled Women and Power in African Communities: The Case of Tanzania by Dr. Rosemarie Mwaipopo.

Anthropology Day is aimed at creating awareness for the study of anthropology. Dr. Chelsea Mead says that a lot of times students [and] people in the general community have never heard of anthropology before. The point of the day is to share what anthropology is, get people to have an awareness of what the discipline is about, have some fun, share what we do, and celebrate our discipline.

Dr. Kathleen Blue explains that anthropology is the study of all humans in all times and places.

Almost anything has a human component, she says.

She notes that anthropology is divided into four subdisciplines: archaeological, cultural, biological, and linguistic. Archaeological anthropologists try to understand how humans lived in the past by analyzing the physical clues they left behind. Cultural anthropologists study contemporary human culture. Biological anthropologists, says Blue, study the biological aspects of the human. Linguistic anthropologists are concerned with how humans use language.

Dr. J. Heath Anderson puts anthropology this way: [It is] the most scientific of the humanities and the most humanistic of the social sciences.

Dr. Anderson, who has a focus in archaeology, is working on a site in central Mexico to understand the ancient Toltecs, a civilization that predated the Aztecs. His research focuses on how complex societies reorganize following collapse. He says that one of [his] favorite things [he] gets to do is speak at high schools about his research and the study of anthropology in general.

What distinguishes anthropology from other social sciences is that it is holistic, he says. Were not just interested in economic behavior like economists, were not just interested in whats going on in peoples heads like psychologists, were not just interested in things that are written down and things about the past like historians. We are interested in all aspects of human behavior, all aspects of humanity, and, crucially, we dont think you can understand human beings unless you take all of that into account.

More information on MNSUs celebration of Anthropology Day can be found at the Anthropology Departments webpage, http://www.sbs.mnsu.edu/anthropology.

Excerpt from:
Anthropology Department hosts third annual Anthropology Day - MSU Reporter

Human Behavior

Thumbs Up for Science – Stanford Social Innovation Review (subscription)

All too often, people use intuition, along with trial and error, to devise social programs. Sometimes they guess right and the programs are effective. But many times they guess wrong and the programs fail to meet their goals.

Some fields, such as education, are fairly advanced in their knowledge about human behavior and have devised ways to incorporate that knowledge into their work (think schools and teacher education).

But most fields are not as sophisticated. They either havent taken the time to understand how knowledge of human behavior might impact their work. Or they are sloppy and inconsistent in applying that knowledge in the programs that they run. Consider some anti-drug campaigns. If it were really as easy as getting people to Just Say No, the United States wouldnt have the opioid epidemic that it now has.

In recent years, however, the behavioral sciencespsychology, cognitive science, neurology, behavioral economics, and other disciplineshave advanced significantly. We now have a large and growing body of knowledge about how people interact with their environment and with each other in a wide variety of settings. And its time we begin applying that knowledge more consistently in the social sector.

The spring 2017 issue of Stanford Social Innovation Review has several feature articles that do just that. The first is our cover story, The New Science of Designing for Humans, by Piyush Tantia, the co-executive director of ideas42, arguably the leading consultancy on how to use behavioral economics to solve social problems. Tantia argues that organizations should adopt a scientific approach to designing social programs. Byputting behavioral science and impact evaluation together we can design more like engineers than like artists, writes Tantia. He goes on to propose an approachdubbed behavioral designto help create programs in a variety of settings.

The second feature article on behavioral science is Stop Raising Awareness Already, written by two University of Florida scholars. The authors argue that all too often organizations focus their eff orts on raising awareness about an issue, with little thought about how to get people to then act on that awareness. If the goal were to raise awareness among new parents of the importance of immunizing children, you wouldnt be satisfied if parents were simply aware, write the authors. Youd want to be sure that they were also having their children immunized for the right diseases at the right age.

The third article that addresses this subject is Embedding Education in Everyday Life, by three Harvard University scholars. They propose embedding education in everyday experiences, such as having barbers who cater to African-American men provide customers with information on hypertension. Embedded education, they argue, is a more reliable way to reach certain groups of people, and its more effective because the education takes place between people who have a pre-existing relationship and capitalizes on what we know about lifelong learning and behavior change.

But it takes time to learn about behavioral science and then more time to incorporate that knowledge into a program. Its hard work, and not as fun as brainstorming with Post-it Notes. But it is time well spent because the difference between a program that is well-designed and one that isnt can be significant.

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