Genetics

Climate, not just genetics, shaped your nose, study says – wtkr.com

Though you undoubtedly inherited your distinctive nose from your parents, its shape was sculpted over time by adaptations to your ancestors local climate, suggests a study published in the journal PLOS Genetics on Thursday.

Theres a great variety in nose variation from person to person, yet if you look at different ethnic populations, you will see differences across groups. For example, the distance between the wings of the nose, also known as nasal alare, are larger in people of West African, South Asian and East Asian ancestry than in people of European ancestry.

So its easy to understand why many people, past and present, have this sense that human populations are very distinct and have been separated for a long time, said Mark D. Shriver, lead author of the study and a professor of anthropology at Penn State University. Still, he noted, human populations have always split and come back together, split and come back together, so theres no separate origin.

In fact, genetic differences between various population groups is not that great. Using noses as just one example, said Shriver, the surface, the appearance of people in different populations is much greater than what the genetic differences show on average.

So what accounts for the differences in nose shape across population groups?

Comparison of four separate populations

To answer this question, Shriver and his colleagues selected 2,637 individuals from a database of about 10,000.

They selected people from four populations: North Europeans, South Asians, East Asians and West Africans. Shriver and his team looked at 3-D photos of each individual and examined the width of the nostrils, the distance between nostrils, the height of the nose, nose ridge length, nose protrusion, external area of the nose and area of the nostrils.

So we have multiple cameras that image a persons face, either simultaneously or in a carefully constructed series, and from those multiple angles, you can derive the shape of a face as a point cloud, Shriver said. The resulting 3-D image allows you to take careful measurements usually calibrated down to a tenth of a millimeter, he said.

Through complex analysis of the data, the researchers learned that the width of the nostrils and the base of the nose measurements differed across populations more than could be accounted for by genetic drift.

Genetic drift refers to the fact that some people leave behind more descendants (and therefore more genes) than others just by chance and not necessarily because they are healthier or better survivors.

If not genetic drift, then natural selection must have played a hand in the evolution of nose shape in humans. Natural selection refers to the fact that people better adapted to their environment are the ones who survive and reproduce, leaving behind their genes.

Natural selection is usually divided into ecological selection, simple survival and sexual selection aspects of mate choice and competition, Shriver said.

Exploring how local climate might have contributed to differences in nose shape, the researchers looked at the distribution of nasal traits in relation to local temperatures and humidity and found that the width of the nostrils strongly correlated with temperature and absolute humidity.

Your nose and nasal cavity function as your personal air conditioner, warming and moistening air before it reaches your lower respiratory tract. In the late 1800s, British anatomist and anthropologist Arthur Thomson observed that long and thin noses occurred in dry, cold areas, while short and wide noses occurred in hot, humid areas.

Since narrower nostrils allow the nose to humidify and warm the air more efficiently, this was probably essential in cold, dry climates; people with narrower nostrils probably fared better and had more offspring than people with wider nostrils in locations farther from the equator.

Some of the nose variation is really the climate; some of its not, Shriver said, noting that sexual selection played a role, as well, with people choosing mates based on notions of beauty, such as finding a smaller nose more attractive.

The fact that we find such big male-female differences in all of the nose traits is also consistent with sexual selection having a hand, he said. Still ecological selection and sexual selection often reinforce each other, and the study provides evidence that both types of selection have helped shape the nose.

Practical application

The finding might have some practical application, providing important clues in criminal investigations, Shriver said.

We didnt get into it in this paper, but (the research) is highlighting some of the variety of data we have, he said. He and his colleagues have been creating 3-D photos and collecting measurements and other data on thousands of people for over 12 years.

The practical application is something we call forensic molecular photo fitting: making a phenotypic prediction of a person from evidentiary DNA, Shriver said.

In other words, if a crime victims identity isnt known, Shriver can deduce what the person might look like based on DNA from their skeletal remains. The appearance of a perpetrator might be based on DNA from some material left behind at the crime scene.

More than half of my research effort, the end product, will be molecular photo fitting, said Shriver, who offered one example of why there is interest in this application.

A lot of serial rapists, for example, are not in the national database, CODIS, he said of the Combined DNA Index System, a forensic and technological tool for linking violent crimes maintained by the FBI. We can link the rapes together, but (the perpetrators are) not in the database, so you dont have the resources to find them.

If you can make a phenotypic prediction, maybe that face or even that genetic ancestry can be quite helpful in directing the investigation, Shriver said. A lot of good detectives and police officers really understand the range of variation within different populations.

Oversimplification?

Despite grants from the US Department of Defense and other funding sources, some scientists remain skeptical.

Although interesting, I think that the study oversimplifies the possible adaptation that has occurred by simply evaluating the external shape, said Dr. Stella Lee, an assistant professor at University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, who was not involved in the research. The main limitation of this study is that only the external shape of the nose was analyzed rather than actual nasal airflow, humidity and internal nasal measurements.

The inside of the nose is lined by a multitude of cilia (which look like a shag carpet under the microscope) that are constantly providing clearance of mucus, pathogens and inhaled particulates to the back of the nose by beating in a rhythmic motion, Lee said. It is amazing that our noses can differentiate between potentially harmful pathogens and innocuous agents.

Still, Lee noted that the authors themselves acknowledged the possibility of oversimplification.

Seth M. Weinberg, an associate professor at the University of Pittsburgh, said anthropologists have long been interested in the nose as one example of human adaptation.

This study advances our understanding of the complex picture of human facial diversity, said Weinberg, who had no role in this project, though he has collaborated with several of the authors.

The research attempts to connect the shape of the external human nose to geographically relevant ecological factors operating throughout our evolutionary past up to the modern day, he said.

Researchers have only recently begun to uncover the genetic basis of traits like nasal shape in humans, Weinberg said. Studies like this can help us to frame those genetic findings within a broader context.

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Climate, not just genetics, shaped your nose, study says - wtkr.com

Embryology

My all girls’ school: empowering, feminist and sexist – Varsity Online

Michelle Taute busts the myth that all girls schools are free from sexism

One of the myths surrounding all girls schools is that sexism is non-existent. This is, after all, the subliminal message of marketing campaigns by such institutions, whose rhetoric focuses on the idea that girls are only able to reach their full potential through a dearth of their male counterparts. Many parents and students alike are convinced that discrimination based on gender will be prevented by simply excluding the opposite sex. As someone who has attended three all-girls schools in both England and South Africa, I am not convinced.

What we had failed to notice, was that this sexism was not just the misinformed opinion of a few, but was actually an institutional problem.

In many ways, the school I attended prior to Cambridge was at the forefront of battling sexism. Our headmistress was heavily involved in the Girls School Association and advocated the role of single-sex education in enabling the breaking of the glass ceiling. She espoused the belief that being a woman was not a limiting factor but an empowering one. This doctrine pervaded every level of my schools society. One of its most obvious manifestations was in our PSHE sessions. Overwhelmingly, our guest speakers were women who had come to share their experiences on how they had challenged the limitations put on them by virtue of their gender. Two of our most impressive speakers were Baroness Butler-Sloss and Baroness Warnock. The former is famous for being the first female Lord Justice of Appeal, while the latter helped to advise the government on embryo experimentation and chaired the Committee of Inquiry into Human Fertilisation and Embryology. Both are incredibly influential members of society who are testimonies to the capabilities of women. They are the living proof that women are mens equals. Their avowal that it is possible to be a woman and reach the highest echelons of your chosen profession was an axiom my fellow pupils and I embraced whole-heartedly. Ironically, it was one of the incidents of sexism at my school which made me most aware of this fact.

Tired of how our sixth-form kitchen had become a bio-hazard, teachers decided to put up posters saying: Clean up your mess, your mother doesnt work here! While the epigram had a salient point as to the kitchens hygiene, the student body was outraged by the blatant sexism. Overnight, these posters were embellished with pictures of men and were amended to nor does your father or, in some cases, the latter clause was simply replaced with parents. I was never as proud of my fellow students as I was that week.

Unfortunately, this was not the only incident of sexism. One of the male teachers was famous for his saying: An essay should be like a girls skirt. Short enough to be interesting but long enough to have everything covered. He was not the only member of staff to hold such views. Another teacher told his class how he would not marry a woman who would not cook his dinner for him. At the age of 60, you would have thought he had mastered this skill, but evidently not. Pupils, of course, laughed this off as a product of a bygone era. These were all old, white, male teachers. Their opinions seemed immaterial to us. Yet what we had failed to notice was that this sexism was not just the misinformed opinion of a few, but was actually an institutional problem.

Why getting women in STEM is a feminist issue

The educational programme I studied, the International Baccalaureate, promoted diversity. Yet despite this, only one of the 13 texts we studied for English Literature was written by a woman. Furthermore, all of the authors were white. Our teachers were at liberty to choose the works they wanted but clearly female, ethnically diverse, and LGBT writers were not high on their list. Even at Cambridge, the English course is dominated by male works. While each of these signs on their own can appear innocuous, in the bigger picture, they show a worrying trend to value women at a lower rate than men.

While my experiences at all girls schools were largely positive, sexism does remain an issue. More needs to be done to challenge both this everyday sexism and this institutional disregard for female contribution to academic debate in the wider world. I hope Cambridge will be at the forefront of this

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My all girls' school: empowering, feminist and sexist - Varsity Online

Biochemistry

Maria Feeney, Tara Sander Lee and Kathleen M Schmainda: Fetal tissue from abortions is (still) not needed for … – Madison.com

Two bills have recently been introduced in the Wisconsin Legislature to provide a path forward for biomedical research that honors the dignity of the human beings that it is meant to serve. These are the Fetal Remains Respect Act and the Unborn Child Disposition and Anatomical Gift Act, part of the Heal Without Harm Legislative Initiative. Contrary to what some claim, these bills do not stifle research. As scientists, we wholeheartedly support this initiative to support and advocate for biomedical research that benefits all human persons, without sacrificing one for another.

These bills come on the heels of a yearlong investigation of the abortion industry by the U.S. House Select Investigative Panel. The final report corrects many false and misleading statements regarding the role of fetal tissue in science and medicine. In nearly 100 years of unrestricted research, the panel investigation confirms, not a single clinical treatment has been developed from human fetal tissue. Vaccines for polio, measles, and mumps were never produced using human fetal tissue but rather used monkey cells, chicken eggs, and nonfetal human cells. None of the 75 vaccines available in the U.S. is produced using fresh fetal tissue. The continued use of certain cell lines derived from aborted fetal tissue to produce a small portion of vaccines (less than 15 percent) is due more to the high cost of switching than to any scientific reason. In regard to development of new vaccines, greater than 98 percent of research articles published on Zika do not use fetal tissue. Conversely, adult blood cells recently led to a breakthrough in vaccine development for Cytomegalovirus (CMV), a virus affecting brain development in a way similar to Zika.

The panel investigation further discredits the claim that fetal tissue plays an indispensable role in life-saving research. Fetal tissues (or byproduct stem cells) are used in only 0.01 percent of clinical trials currently underway and in merely 0.2 percent of grants funded by NIH between 2010-2014 none of which is investigating Alzheimers disease, where many claim fetal tissue is required and the gold standard. In many cases, aborted fetuses are not the most appropriate tissue source, but these tissues are still used because they are cheaper and easier to obtain than adult tissues. These facts suggest that, in practice, even scientists are not convinced that fetal tissue is critical to research.

In stark contrast, people suffering with cancer, diabetes, heart disease, neurological diseases, and others are benefiting now from clinical trials and treatments using adult stem cell therapies. Adult stem cells have saved the lives of over 1 million people worldwide, but not one person is alive today because of stem cells from aborted fetal tissue.

Therefore, as a next step, the panel provides several recommendations to ensure the advancement of research that is superior both scientifically and ethically, followed by a call for increased federal investment in these areas. Wisconsin risks losing time, money and lives if an ethical approach to research is not advocated and supported. It is within Wisconsins best interest to pass these bills. Science and ethics do work together.

Maria Feeney, of West Bend, has a Ph.D. in pharmaceutical chemistry and conducts research in biochemistry. Tara Sander Lee, of Brookfield, has a Ph.D. in biochemistry and researches molecular and cellular biology. Kathleen M. Schmainda, of Elm Grove, has a Ph.D. in biochemistry and conducts brain cancer research.

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Maria Feeney, Tara Sander Lee and Kathleen M Schmainda: Fetal tissue from abortions is (still) not needed for ... - Madison.com

Anatomy

Anatomy of a crisis – The Times of Israel

Barely two years after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahus government was formed, all the papers can talk about on Sunday morning is its apparently imminent demise. A coalition crisis is in full swing, sending Israels preeminent pundits scrambling to find people to blame and issues to make the center of the agenda. With all the attention going to the possibility of fresh elections, relatively little attention is given to the Israeli airstrike on Syria early Friday morning and the rocket fire rupturing southern Israels weekend calm.

To virtually nobodys surprise, the free daily Israel Hayom is sympathetic to Netanyahu, explaining his position on its front page that the existing public broadcaster would cost less than the proposed new one set to be rolled out. What do we need it for? Netanyahu is quoted in the papers headline, setting the tone of the rest of the article. It quotes senior Likud official Yariv Levin saying that with 30 seats, the ruling party can stick to its guns despite pressure from its coalition allies.

The paper exhibits the most balanced manner of reporting by quoting Likud ministers throughout the first five paragraphs of its main report, only getting around to the Kulanu partys counterpoint in paragraph six.

What others perceive as the premiers paranoia is what Mati Tuchfeld calls political sensors on maximum sensitivity, and when Netanyahu detects sparks of non-compliance by one of the coalition partners, he projects [the message] that the master of the house is willing to go all-in, come what may.

Its not just the broadcaster and its not just Kahlon, he writes, arguing that this whole crisis was a brilliant masterstroke by Netanyahu to keep his coalition partners in line. Its also [Jewish Home party leader] Naftali Bennett, who just a couple of days ago said that Netanyahu has neglected religious Zionism. Its also Liberman, who though he appears Netanyahus most trusted partner, nonetheless his comments about closing the yeshiva in [the West Bank settlement of] Eli sent the prime minister down a dead end.

If Israel Hayom takes the defensive stance in Netanyahus favor, Yedioth Ahronoth comes out swinging against the prime minister. It dispenses with any semblance of reportage in the opening pages, leading instead with that fearsome duo of twin op-eds by mainstay pundits Nahum Barnea and Sima Kadmon.

Like Margaret Thatcher and Tony Blair, Netanyahu has solidified his grip on his party in his fourth term in office but is cursed to self-destruct, Barnea expounds. The economy is strong, the country is secure, Likud is joined by right wing parties in ruling the country, and hes welcomed in Moscow, Beijing and Washington with open arms, Barnea says.

Crises like thse are born on WhatsApp and die on WhatsApp, he says. All it needs is intervention by the prime minister. Netanyahus sudden interest in the fates of Israel Broadcasting Authority workers is the most baseless crisis, Barnea says.

Netanyahu was the one who passed the bill through the Knesset to disband the corrupt, bloated and unnecessary IBA that had been under his wing for years. Kahlon stands against him not because the public broadcaster is dear to his heart or pocket, but because theres a limit to his willingness to be a mop.

Kadmon likewise calls out Netanyahu for flipflopping on the public broadcasting corporation issue, but says that the broadcaster isnt the real issue at hand at all. She charges that its his wife, Sara Netanyahu, calling the shots because of a personal dislike of certain journalists hired by the new broadcaster. Its clear to everyone close to the prime minister that something is going on when Netanyahu is susceptible to the influence of his relatives.

Ladies and gentlemen, wake up. This is your prime minister. The man making a list of critical decisions, like which response we should take against Gaza, or what to do about Irans power in Syria. Is this the man you would let make fateful decisions? Wait, would you buy a car from this man?

Haaretzs Chemi Shalev compares Netanyahu to Titus. For destroying Jerusalem? No, because Netanyahu also has a mosquito buzzing in his head driving him crazy in the form of the media, he writes. Netanyahu will found and ruin coalitions until he silences the irritating journalists, he charges.

Some analysts connect the flipflop that Netanyahu did over the weekend to his relatives waverings, he writes. Others are certain that its an initiative aimed at somehow saving him from an approaching indictment. There are still others who say that Netanyahu is simply puffing out his chest with Moshe Kahlon specifically, and his coalition partners in general, to bring them back into line, with no real intention to go to the polls.

All these things are right, he says, but they miss the point: Netanyahus treatment of the press is irrational and its eating him up inside.

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Anatomy of a crisis - The Times of Israel

Anatomy

Grey’s Anatomy’s Sarah Drew Breaks Down the Moment Every Japril … – E! Online

And just like that, it looks like Japril is back on.

All it took was Jackson (Jesse Williams) and April's (Sarah Drew) trip to Montana on tonight's new episode of Grey's Anatomy to get the co-parents and former spouses back between the sheets. Well, that and a run-in with Jackson's long-lost pophey, Eric Roberts!of course. But with the status of their relationship left rather ambiguous by the episode's end, not to mention that pesky Grey Sloan Memorial civil war they've got to return home to, where will the docs go from here?

For some clarity on the subject, E! News got Drew on the phone for her thoughts. What follows is our unedited Q&A, covering the thrilling fling, what it meant for April to be present during Jackson's major life moment, and how she's readying herself for the onslaughtof tweets from Japril fans that she'scertainly about to receive.

ABC

We've got to start right away with the moment that every Japril fan is going to be tweeting about. How are you preparing your Twitter feed for the deluge of tweets coming your way? [Laughs] Oh my gosh, I don't know. I'm actually going to be on set all day tomorrow, so I'm going to have to be just popping back and forth between shots to talk to people, to talk to the fans and stuff. I've got a lot of behind the scenes photos which are kind of fun that I'm going to be posting. But, yeah, I know so many fans have been waiting for this moment and I think it's going to be pretty satisfying for them.

In all seriousness, what do you think this means for them? Is this like a "What happens in Montana, stays in Montana" situation or could this be the beginning of a true reunion for these two? I think it could go in a couple different directions. It could either lead to total confusion about what their status isthey're still living together. They're still roommates and they've got this baby that they love and adore and have made together, you know? So it could either lead to confusion or it could be a solidification of their best friendship, just a reminder that they really have always been each other's person since their time over at Mercy West and it could be very platonic moving forward. Or it could be a total rekindling of their romance. And you'll just have to wait and keep watching to see what happens. But I think any of those is totally justifiable and makes total sense to me. I don't think it's a thing that happened that is never thought about again or discussed again. I think it meant something important, but what exactly that leads to, you'll just have to wait and see.

The episode also holds such huge moments for Jackson Oh my gosh, he's so amazing! Jesse is brilliant. He's absolutely brilliant. It's such beautiful work. it's really exciting to see him just shine in this way. it's really cool.

What do you think it meant to April to be the one there to help him work through this as he confronts his father? You know, what I love the most about our dynamic in this episode is that so often in our history on the show together, April's been the one that's been spinning out of control and Jackson's the one that has to center her and ground her and show up for her. And that has been a pattern over and over and over again. She's the one that runs away and he has to get her back. She's the one that freaks out and he then has to show up for her. In this episode, she is rock solid for him. She shows up for him in a way that he didn't even know he needed or could articulate that he needed. He never thought that he would want to have her there for this. I think he discovers by the end of the episode that she was exactly the only right person to be there with him as he went through this. I love it.

I love that we get to see her be really strong for him and not need anything from him. That's the thing that I love the most about it. There was no moment of neediness for her. She didn't need him to be nicer to her, she didn't need him to get his act together. She knew what he needed, and then she provided that for him.

It was kept under wraps that Eric Roberts was cast as his father. What was it like getting to work with him? He's so great. He's so amazing, so enthusiastic, so talented. Really fun to work with. it was a ball working with Eric Roberts. he was so awesomeand felt so right for this role. He's so charming and likable, but yet at the same time, you're like, "How could someone so charming and likable have completely abandoned all of his responsibilities and his own child?" It's hard. You want to hate him, but then you can't. It's an interesting line he has to walk to play this character and he does it brilliantly.

Aside from the big moment between the sheets, the fans overall have just been thrilled to get a Japril sequel after last season's episode. What did it mean for you and Jesse to get to have this one-off adventure again? We felt a great sense of responsibility. We felt like Shonda [Rhimes] had trusted us with something huge. We felt that way last year, too. When she gave us that episode later year, it was an honor. It was really humbling to have her basically say I believe that these two characters will capture the attention of our Grey's Anatomy audience for an entire episode, you know? That felt very big and meaningful. And to get to do it again, it was even more of an honor.

And Jesse and I have always worked really well together. We've always been really passionate about the material, have always been super invested in our characters' journey and the relationship between April and Jackson. So, for us, this was just such a ball. We had so much fun working on the script and taking it to pieces and really finding and mining all of the inner workings and all the layers that were happening. And we were shooting on location and we were nowhere near the hospital, so it really felt like we ran off to do a little move together. And with Kevin [McKidd,] who we love and is one of out absolute favorite directors and people. So to have him at the helm for this episode was also such a tremendous gift. He's amazing.

What can you tease about what they return to at Grey Sloan next week with this civil war that's still waging on? We pick up back at the hospital right where we left off before running over to Montana. And at this point, really the main focus is what's going on with Bailey, Arizona and Richard because there's a lot of feeling of betrayal and hurt and loyalty questions and all that stuff, so that stuffthere's a lot of be ironed out and healed and sorted through when we get back to the hospital. That's really the focus when we get back.

Before they left, Jackson and April were really on opposing sides in this whole situation. With the trip to Montana and all that they go through, does it sort of heal them or have they come to a different understanding? Or does it affect their positioning at all when they come back? I think that basically what happens in Montana makes everything else feel pretty small and unimportant. This is a pretty big deal, him finding his father, looking for his father, conquering a huge fear that he had about whether he would be a good father or not. And April showing up for him through all of that and assuring him of what a tremendous dad he is, I think that ends up pretty much erasing the tension over hospital politics. So, yeah, I think there's enough that happens in Montana that really does a profound job of healing the two of them.

Grey's Anatomy airs Thursdays at 8 p.m. on ABC.

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Grey's Anatomy's Sarah Drew Breaks Down the Moment Every Japril ... - E! Online

Immunology

‘Bat Pack’ at Duke-NUS allows researchers to study immunology – Duke Chronicle

News By Sarah Haurin | Tuesday, March 14 courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

Researchers atDuke-National University of Singapore Medical School are studying why bats are able to carry diseases.

Bats can carry deadly diseases like Ebola without being infected by them, and scientists want to know how.

A group at the Duke-National University of Singapore Medical School is utilizing a colony of batsnicknamed the "Bat Pack"fortheir immunological research.Led by Linfa Wang, professor and director of the Emerging Infectious Diseases Programme at Duke-NUS, the group conducts research on the evolution and immunology of bats.

"For the past decade or so, bats are increasingly being recognized as one of the most important, if not the most important, natural reservoir hosts for different emerging zoonotic pathogens," research fellow JustinNg said, referring to a host of viruses.

The lab's interest in bats can be traced back to its 2013 paperpublished in "Science," which allowed Wang to secure a multi-million dollar grant through the Singapore National Research Foundation Competitive Research Programme to pursue his research. The paper connected a bat's ability to fly with its immune capabilities.

Bats are able to maintain high-powered flight, but this exerts metabolic and oxidative stress on their bodies that can be damaging to DNA. Despite this, bats display impressive longevity and low rates of cancer.

In ablog post, Bat Pack members noted thatthe evolutionary path of flight that favored mechanisms responsible forgene repair and tumor suppression may have also given bats the ability to carry deadly virusessuch as Ebola and Nipahwithout succumbing to symptoms.

Before tackling how exactly bats are immune to these diseases, the Bat Pack was tasked with creating a habitat that could support nectar-feeding bats, a type of bat that had never beforebeen artificially supported, Ng said. With the help of experts in zoology and bat-rearing, the group started a test colony of five bats to perfect their containment designs and diet formulas.

The colony has now expanded to 20 bats which have fullyacclimated to the habitat, and the group plans to expand their colony to60 bats by the middle of this year.

Since the bats were captured from the wild, the researchers facedpotentially confounding variables because they do not know the exact age or disease history of each bat. Still, Ng said the group is hopeful to piece together the various nuances of bat immune systems that can answer the question of how bats evade illness when infected with these deadly viruses.

Because bats are mammals and evidence exists that the genes contributing to their immunological abilities are similar to human genes, the researchers said they believe that their findings may translate to improvements in the field of human health and immunology.

Ng added that bats possess a unique combination of characteristics that are unlike typical model organisms such asrats or fruit flies.

"[Bats' characteristics]make them make them an ideal model for infectious disease, inflammation, cancer biology and anti-aging studies," he said.

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'Bat Pack' at Duke-NUS allows researchers to study immunology - Duke Chronicle

Human Behavior

Futuristic Robot Helpers Can Influence Human Behavior – Inverse

Hello. My name is Bandit. As you can see, Im a robot.

When we picture robots providing care, we tend to assume it must be physical care. Human illness, however, is hardly constrained to the body. Thus computer scientist Maja Matari is developing socially assistive robots that focus on the psychological.

Bandit, a computerized rolling torso with a gingerbread man-like face, can help with physical therapy by demonstrating the correct movements and performing them right alongside the patient. But it also goes into the realm of emotional support, creativity, and companionship.

Hey, lets do something a little more fun, Bandit tells the man its working with at Mataris University of Southern California laboratory. Lets play the imitation game. Move your arms. Show me what do to.

The man begins to lead, stretching his arms. And Bandit mirrors him.

Im having fun, Bandit says in a cheery voice. I can play this game all day long.

For people with debilitating conditions physical trauma to Alzheimers to autism Matari says that socially responsive robots are uniquely positioned to supplement human caregiving. Their automated nature lends itself to encouraging necessary, repetitive tasks. Coupled with their physical presence, they could prove a vital resource in helping patients manage or recover from their respective conditions. A paper describing her recent research was published Wednesday in the journal Science Robotics.

Perhaps one day a robot like me may help you or someone you know, Bandit says.

Fifteen years ago, Matari created the field of socially assistive robotics (SAR). Its goal is to design robots that are intuitive, supportive, and ultimately able to help people without doing physical work.

So what can [assistive robots] do? Matari tells Inverse. All kinds of other things. Increasing situational awareness, reminding people of things getting them to do repetitive daily tasks that will help them get better and stay better. You dont see that being addressed even though its very badly needed.

We know that screen-based contact can be effective, but not as effective as actual physical presence. Our brains more engage better when we interact with the real thing, and the real thing doesnt have to be a person. It can be an animal; it can be a robot.

SAR is distinct from simple social robotics in that it aims to influence behavior. Its the difference between something that reminds a patient to exercise or take a pill or attend therapy and something that persuades them to do those things when they dont want to.

People say, Oh, why dont you use an app for that? Matari says. Because there are literally a gazillion and almost none are effective. Our brains are wired to interact with other physical creatures. And then once youve got this robot it what does it look like? And how does it behave? That all creates expectations on the part of the user.

People dont feel as embarrassed in front of machines as they do with human caretakers, or as guilty about asking for help. Were better able to process assistive robots for what they are when they look more classically robotic. If a robot looks too realistic too human users tend to perceive it as being smart.

To make patients comfortable, its imperative that the robots pick up on social cues, reading tone and body language and reacting neither too quickly nor too slowly. This is an ongoing challenge in the field, which is why Matari wants future SAR developers to collaborate with experts in social and psychological sciences, as well as with ones for conditions like autism.

All robots are on the autism spectrum, Matari says. They have no idea how to react to social cues appropriately.

Of course, for a child with autism, that may be an asset. Matari, who has worked with many different patient populations over the last 15 years, says that beyond what individual specifications people may need to accommodate their respective disabilities, the common thread is always the humanity the universal desire for dignity, positive feedback, and measurable progress that transcends age or gender or disease.

Matari predicts that the adoption of socially assistive robots will vary by specialty. Companies looking to introduce them to hospital settings will evolve them at a different pace than those suited for special-needs classrooms or Alzheimers homes. She figures the home market will be the most consumer-driven, and so the most profitable, which means that use might take off faster there, even though its arguably the most difficult to do well.

In the meantime, Matari says people who view her work as part of a robots-replacing-people narrative are missing the nuances of these situations. Socially assistive robots can supplement caregivers who are overtaxed, and they can provide a structure and reliability that humans cannot. But there are some things theyll never do.

It doesnt mean were ever looking at replacing human care with machines, she says. Theyre never going to be like people and that should never be the goal.

Photos via USC News Communications

Kastalia grew up in Littleton, Colorado, and has a journalism degree from the University of Southern California. She spent the past year and a half backpacking around the world and recently moved to New York. Her RTs = unwavering personal convictions.

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Futuristic Robot Helpers Can Influence Human Behavior - Inverse

Human Behavior

Author Sharon Begley on why we Can’t. Just. Stop. being compulsive – Salon

Weve become a culture that prides itself on excessive behavior. We boast of being totally OCD about how we arrange our desks, we humblebrag that we check our social media feeds addictively. And in a world of such overload, its hard to tell what truly constitutes overdoing it. Science writer Sharon Begley is here to help. In her new book Cant. Just. Stop: An Investigation of Compulsions, she examines the compulsive mind and she separates disorders from impulses, anxieties from addictions. Its a fascinating history and exploration of a particular bent in the human psyche, and how it can manifest in everything from video-game playing to hoarding. Salon spoke recently to Begley about how technology plays with our brains, and the upsides of anxiety.

This is not just a book about a single kind of mental disorder. Tell us what the impetus for exploring compulsion was.

I looked around at my friends, my colleagues and the world in general and was seeing that a lot of us are engaged in one or another compulsive behavior. Im not surprised, given the industry where I work. A lot of us deal with compulsions. None of us can go anywhere without our phones any more. It wasnt just the ubiquity of that behavior but it was a suspicion about what underlies it that we dont love it. Its not that its making us joyful and satisfied or excited or it instillspositive emotions. But it all has to do with avoiding the negative function.

When youre a reporter and you cant go to the bathroom without your phone, its not because you love your phone. Its because youre terrified that youre going to miss something. That little germ of an insight made me look at other compulsions. It turns out that so many of them indeed are also driven not by, Well, I love this. This is really making me feel good, but by Oh my God, if I dont do this, Im going to feel totally horrible.

It was really interesting for me when I began to understand OCD as an anxiety disorder.

When I started this, I was on the fence about including an OCD chapter partly because I thought that it might be more insightful to look at the compulsions that are not recognized as mental disorders. Of course, so much has been written about OCD. But then as I got into the research, it was clear that OCD provided many insights psychologists and psychiatrists have, and that could be the jumping-off point for a lot of discussion about other stuff. Im glad I included it, but I still think that it should not overshadow everything else just because itsthe one compulsion that I think most people are familiar with.

You also demonstratetwo of the points that are really crucial to your book and make it really special. One is establishing the distinction in our very often fluid conversation between compulsion and addiction: what those both are and how those things really boil down. And you really do keep coming back again and again and again to the fact that with compulsive behaviors, people dont do them because they make them feel good; they do them because its about responding to fear and anxiety. I use the same analogy when I talk about medication, and people who take antidepressants. Theyre not taking them because it makes them feel great. Theyre taking them because it makes them feel not as bad.

Yeah. Theyre just getting you up to the baseline of zero. Getting into positive territory is a wish that we all look for but its just really, really tough. So many of us are just settling for, just please get me out of negative territory.

The other point that you make throughout the book is that concept you hear people say: Were all a little mentally ill. We all have a little bit of mental illness. You talk about the fact that compulsion and compulsive behaviors are very prevalent but you flip it. That doesnt mean that were all mentally ill because it doesnt mean that all compulsive behavior is mentally-ill behavior.

Exactly. I think that was a consequence of covering psychology and psychiatry for a few years and just listening to the conversation and the debate. So many of the things that psychiatrists are really, really quick to try to find the diagnosis on are just, I think, somewhere along the spectrum of human behavior and human quirks and not necessarily mental disorders.

As you point out in the book, there is an ancestral and genetic reason for us to have anxieties and for us to have fears. There is an argument to be made that those are the kinds of genes that get successfully passed down because people who have that enhanced ability to sense danger or to be aware of danger are more likely to survive.

Absolutely. Those who didnt get an adrenaline rush and a sense of fear and anxiety when they heard twigs cracking did not survive to be our ancestors. Theres absolutely an evolutionary case for why anxiety is adaptive.

I think one reason why were seeing so much compulsive behavior now is emblematic of this age. Of course, I wrote thisbook before Jan. 20, beforeNov. 8. When you are living in the time that we are, it really makes sense that people go to any kind of behavior or way of thinking that can drain away just enough of that anxiety so that they can operate.

Its hard to not feel anxiety. Its hard to manage our own level of participation in it. How do we have any measure of control? Sometimes the only measure of control one has is to compulsively keep refreshing the New York Times page.

Talking about this now, many things in the book were not in my original plan but in retrospect Im glad theyre there. There are some benefits to anxiety that are helpful to the individual and the world. We do what we can. Theres only one Steve Bannon or Paul Ryan, and those of us who are mostly on the sidelines are motivated by anxiety to go out and do something. Lets be appreciative of what anxiety can push us to do.

Youre bringing up the point of anxiety as an agent for good and compulsiveness as an agent for good as well. Certainly it bears mentioning that these impulses can be part of a brain that is reaching to make things good.

For many of us, even in these milder forms, its a reaction and its a way of trying to make order and sense of things and trying to make them good and just also trying to alleviate anxiety.

Because this is such a fluid and plastic concept, how does one really know when something is a disorder and when its just your basic, run of the mill, modern life compulsive behavior?

One of the many difficulties that psychiatry has is that it has no blood test. At the end of the day, theres a huge amount of subjectivity involved. However, the basic answer is, in order for something to be a mental disorder, it has to cause either distress or impairment. It has to impair your ability to function in the world, which means relationships, school, job, wherever you are in your mind. It has to cause distress, which again is a subjective thing. So if instead the behavior is helping you and not causing distress or impairment, then youd really better think twice before labeling it a mental disorder. In the case of OCD, it tends to be impairing if you have to keep running back to your house to see if you locked the front door or go to the restroom 50times a day to wash your hands. I would say psychiatry has a way to go before it can figure out how to make accurate, objective diagnoses.

We seem to have not just with anxiety disorders, because we certainly seem to do it with addictions a kind of Aw, isnt that cute? attitude around certain mental disorders. What do you think about this primal attraction or inability to see the line between normal or interesting eccentric and, Oh, this is actually disordered behavior?

Ive observed the same thing, like that show Monk. That was portrayed exactly as you said: romanticized with a little bit play for humor. But the message was, this is cute and eccentric and it makes him more interesting. Of course, the way hoarders are depicted on some of the cable shows, thats less sympathetic in its portrayal, but theresjust an inability to perceive that so much is really, really about suffering or struggling. I dont know why we tend to romanticize some of these things, because the the flip side, of course, is the stigma of mental illness. Could it be that we dont want to recognize when people are suffering because then that might make us think that especially if its someone were close to then I have an obligation to try to help? Its just easier to say, Oh, charming, cute, interesting, whatever. Honestly, its a puzzle.There is nothing fun or charming or cute about it. For people who are really suffering, they are suffering.

Why do you think it feels like we are a more compulsive culture than ever before?

One of the reasons, I think, is technology. Because the digital stuff that we now have is set up, especially in terms of its reward structure, to tap into the part of our brain that cant resist acting compulsively. But just because you have a compulsive behavior doesnt mean that your brain is broken. Instead, if its social media or tweeting or email or checking, texting and all the other things, its because these things have a structure that exploits the way our brains work.

The important phrase that really struck me is the concept of intermittent reward, and how seductive that is.

Also, just so many of us cannot stand to be alone with our own thoughts that we have that crutch so that we dont have to think. A reporter interviewed me last week asking something about why people, when theyre out on social occasions dinner parties, dinner with friends, bar, or whatever have their faces always attached to their screen. That is a lot easier to do and that drives away anxiety from what would otherwise be an anxiety-provoking social situation.The reason I think so many of us are acting compulsively is the technology. It just exploits something that we all have within us.

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Author Sharon Begley on why we Can't. Just. Stop. being compulsive - Salon

Human Behavior

Life of: A Cybersecurity Behavior Expert – Infosecurity Magazine – Infosecurity Magazine

As part of Infosecuritys Life of... series, this webinar will look at the role of consultants who specialise in social engineering and human behaviour as it relates to cybersecurity. The social engineer is often a highly-skilled, highly-motivated adversary. As people and their working environment become more connected, hacking the human rather than the network is often the most effective route for an adversary. As any information security professional knows, the human is the weakest link in any defense strategy and consequently it is essential to understand how social engineers manipulate individuals and exploit security weaknesses.

Cybersecurity behavior experts are able to analyze and detect human behaviors and advise organizations and individuals how not to get stung by the social engineers. In this roundtable webinar, we will bring together some leading experts to discuss this topic and talk about what its like to be a cybersecurity behaviour expert or social engineering consultant.

This session will include:

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Life of: A Cybersecurity Behavior Expert - Infosecurity Magazine - Infosecurity Magazine

Genetics

Breeding technology allows quick boost to herd’s genetics – Tri-State Neighbor

Cattle breeding season is about to take off, and the Trans Ova Genetics facility in Sioux Center, Iowa, is preparing for a busy spring of collecting eggs from donor cattle and impregnating heifers and cows to create some of the countrys top-of-the-line cattle.

On a Tuesday afternoon in early March, a team of veterinary technicians collected eggs from a 14-month-old heifer in a squeeze chute. In a process called OPU for ovum pick up, a vet guided a long needle toward the ovary and collected about 15 unfertilized eggs, or oocytes. The process takes about 10 minutes per cow.

Afterward, the eggs and fluid collected from each animal is sent to the next-door lab where embryologists separate the eggs from the fluid and prepare them to be fertilized

During the busy season, the northwestern Iowa facility does as many as 400 OPUs a week.

The company does 30,000 invitro fertilization procedures a year at its facilities and satellite centers throughout the U.S. We run a lot of cattle through the chute, said Paul Loney, director of sales and marketing at Trans Ova Genetics.

Invitro fertilization work keeps vets busy. The number of embryo transfers has picked up dramatically in the past five years as well. In this process, a fertilized egg from one cow is removed and implanted in another who will serve as a surrogate mother. Using this method, an elite cow can produce several calves in a year instead of just one.

Producers are after whats best for their herd, and with all the tools that are out there, you can really make a difference herd-wide pretty quickly, said Ty Hendrix, manager at High Plains Genetics in western South Dakota.

Most customers at the Piedmont, S.D., facility using embryo transfer are aiming to improve their female genetics, Hendrix said. Backed with information from genomic tests and expected progeny differences (EPDs), they can improve their herds with more accuracy, he said.

It will continue to increase the quality of calves on the ground, he said. Better cows are going to continue to produce more efficiently and more highly sought-after offspring.

Embryo transfer and sexed semen are two forms of breeding technology that have become more common among seedstock producers and those who show their cattle. Markets play a role in the number of producers using the technology. Theyre more likely to invest when cattle prices are good.

Costs of the procedures have remained about the same, but veterinarians are able to produce more embryos with each invitro fertilization (IVF) operation.

Veterinarian Travis White, lower right, and other technicians at the Trans Ova Genetics facility in Sioux Center look at an ultrasound monitor as White guides an instrument to collect eggs from a heifers ovaries.

At Trans Ova Genetics, it costs between $160 and $200 to make an embryo through invitro fertilization. Seven years ago, that procedure would have produced three embryos, on average. Today, it can make twice as many, Loney said, and that lowers the overall cost.

He expects that as the technology improves, theyll be able to produce even more embryos with each procedure. Hes excited to see the technology take off.

Its been growing very fast, and its an area thats in its infancy right now, Loney said.

Some say its another part of precision agriculture. Crop farmers are used to keeping an eye on a computer monitor as they roll across their fields. Its all about fine-tuning seeds, nutrients and crop protection so the plant has the best chance at a highly productive life. Now, the same sort of technology is picking up in the cattle industry. Genetic information can help producers pair their best bulls and females and make top-performing calves.

Its all about optimizing inputs to get the desired outputs, said Michael Gonda, assistant professor in the animal science department at South Dakota State University.

Most cattle breed organizations gather genetic information that help producers predict how an animals offspring will perform. Thanks to advances in DNA testing, those EPDs, are becoming more accurate. The traits they can test for are more complex, going beyond birth weight and calving ease.

Gonda expects the technology will get better at revealing traits such as fertility and feed efficiency. He is working to develop new tools for novel traits, such as a DNA test for disease resistance.

It also could help in treating disease. If producers knew how an animal would respond to vaccines, treatments could be tailored to each animal, Gonda said.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture has created a genomic database of beef cattle. A team of scientists in Clay Center, Neb., recently completed a genetic profile of 96 bulls in a project that started in the 1990s. They found a gene associated with brisket disease, a respiratory issue that can kill feedyard cattle.

SDSU will be working to train the next set of experts who could further the field of precision livestock. The university recently received a USDA grant to offer precision livestock training, including genomics research.

Its a two-year summer program for undergraduates, and its goal is to attract minority and economically disadvantaged students to careers in livestock production.

We hope to bring those under-represented in agriculture into the industry and help them develop their career, said Gonda, who will be leading the research program.

During the first summers 10-week session students will explore career options and their research interests. There are programs in animal science, veterinary science and dairy science as well as swine nutrition, gut microbiology, food safety, animal physiology and genomics.

In the second year, theyll spend 10 weeks at an internship with South Dakota, Minnesota or Nebraska companies or government organizations. Pipestone Systems, Cargill and USDA Animal Research are options, Gonda said, adding that it will give them a chance to use what theyve learned in their field.

I think theres a lot of real opportunities to work in that area, he said.

Reach reporter Janelle Atyeo at 605-335-7300, email jatyeo@tristateneighbor.com, or follow on Twitter @JLNeighbor.

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Breeding technology allows quick boost to herd's genetics - Tri-State Neighbor