SoS 219: Dr. Christopher Lynn, Transcendental Medication, and Coping with Awareness

Co-host Chris Lynn joins Tom Brutsaert to dive deep into spleen variability and how it relates to intense exercise in high altitude populations. Dr. Tom Brutsaert is a professor at the Syracuse University. He has broad interests in how gene and environment interact to produce variation in human athletic ability and health and disease. He conducts field research on high altitude natives in the Andes, with some focus on gas exchange and the control of breathing. He and his collaborators have been using genome-wide approaches to elucidate the genetic basis of variation in specific altitude adaptive traits in several Andean populations, including the Quechua, in Peru, and the Aymara, in Bolivia. Brutsaert also has a laboratory-based program that focuses on how early life (intrauterine) developmental effects influence later-life adult exercise capacity, physical activity, body composition, the response to training, and the future risk for chronic disease. ------------------------------ Find the paper discussed in this episode: Brutsaert, T. D., Harman, T. S., Bigham, A. W., Kalker, A., Jorgensen, K. C., Zhu, K. T., Steiner, B. C., Hawkins, E., Day, T. A., Kunwar, A. J., Thakur, N., Dhungel, S., Sherpa, N., & Holmström, P. K. (2024). Larger spleens and greater splenic contraction during exercise may be an adaptive characteristic of Nepali Sherpa at high-altitude. American journal of human biology : the official journal of the Human Biology Council, 36(9), e24090. https://doi.org/10.1002/ajhb.24090 ------------------------------ Contact Dr. Brutsaert: [email protected] ------------------------------ Contact the Sausage of Science Podcast and Human Biology Association: Facebook: facebook.com/groups/humanbiologyassociation/, Website: humbio.org, Twitter: @HumBioAssoc Chris Lynn, Co-Host Website: cdlynn.people.ua.edu/, E-mail: [email protected], Twitter:@Chris_Ly Anahi Ruderman, SoS Co-Producer, HBA Junior Fellow. E-mail: [email protected], Twitter: @ani_ruderman Cristina Gildee, HBA Junior Fellow, SoS producer Website: cristinagildee.org, E-mail: [email protected], Twitter:@CristinaGildee Courtney Manthey, Guest-Co-Host, Website: holylaetoli.com/ E-mail: [email protected], Twitter: @HolyLaetoli Eric Griffith, Guest Co-Host, HBA Junior Fellow E-mail: [email protected] Cara Ocobock, Co-Host, Website: sites.nd.edu/cara-ocobock/, Email:[email protected], Twitter:@CaraOcobock

Co-Hosts Chris Lynn and Anahí Ruderman talk abot how religion impacts fertility and maternal and child health with Dr. John Shaver, a biocultural and evolutionary anthropologist in the Department of Anthropology at Baylor University. Most of his work to date has focused on understanding cultural variation in solutions to collective action and collective resource problems, and how these solutions may impact health and well-being. This research has involved fieldwork in Fiji, The Gambia, Mauritius, New Zealand, and the United States. His work is interdisciplinary and has been published in anthropology, biology, neuroscience, religion, psychology and general science journals. He is a co-editor of Religion, Brain & Behavior, a journal dedicated to the biological study of religion. ------------------------------ Find the paper discussed in this episode: Shaver, J. H., Chvaja, R., Spake, L., Hassan, A., Badjie, J., Prentice, A. M., Cerami, C., Sear, R., Shenk, M. K., & Sosis, R. (2024). Religious Involvement Is Associated With Higher Fertility and Lower Maternal Investment, but More Alloparental Support Among Gambian Mothers. American journal of human biology, https://doi.org/10.1002/ajhb.24144 ------------------------------ Contact Dr. John Shaver: [email protected] ------------------------------ Contact the Sausage of Science Podcast and Human Biology Association: Facebook: facebook.com/groups/humanbiologyassociation/, Website: humbio.org, Twitter: @HumBioAssoc Chris Lynn, Co-Host Website: cdlynn.people.ua.edu/, E-mail: [email protected], Twitter:@Chris_Ly Anahi Ruderman, SoS Co-Producer, HBA Junior Fellow Twitter: @ani_ruderman, E-mail: [email protected] Courtney Manthey, Co-Host, Website: holylaetoli.com/ E-mail: [email protected], Twitter: @HolyLaetoli Cristina Gildee, Co-Host, HBA Junior Fellow, SoS producer, Website: cristinagildee.org, E-mail: [email protected], Twitter:@CristinaGildee Cara Ocobock, Co-Host, Website: sites.nd.edu/cara-ocobock/, Email:[email protected], Twitter:@CaraOcobock

Chris and Cristina talk pandemics and welcome back Dr. Taylor Van Doren, a biocultural pandemic researcher investigating social inequalities, demography, and population health during and after pandemic events. As an NSF OPP Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of Alaska Anchorage in the Institute of Circumpolar Health Studies, her focus is the demographic, epidemiological, and social consequences of the 1918 influenza pandemic in Alaska with the help of historical vital records, death records, and archival data. Previously, she studied COVID-19 impacts and resilience in rural Southeast Alaska communities, work which she is expanding to include quantitative and qualitative analyses of delayed care and its determinants to understand the indirect population health impacts of COVID-19. ------------------------------ Find the papers discussed in this episode: Van Doren, T. P. (2024). Sex‐based tuberculosis mortality in Newfoundland, 1900–1949: Implications for populations in transition. American Journal of Human Biology, 36(5), e24033. https://doi.org/10.1002/ajhb.24033 Van Doren, T. P., & Brown, R. A. (2023). Consequences of delayed care during the COVID‐19 pandemic: Emerging research and new lines of inquiry for human biologists and anthropologists. American Journal of Human Biology, 35(7), e23886. https://doi.org/10.1002/ajhb.23886 ------------------------------ Contact Dr. Van Doren: Website: taylorvandoren.com, Twitter:@taylor_vandoren E-mail: [email protected] ------------------------------ Contact the Sausage of Science Podcast and Human Biology Association: Facebook: facebook.com/groups/humanbiologyassociation/, Website: humbio.org, Twitter: @HumBioAssoc Chris Lynn, Host Website: cdlynn.people.ua.edu/, E-mail: [email protected], Twitter:@Chris_Ly Cristina Gildee, Co-host, SoS Co-Producer, HBA Junior Fellow Website: cristinagildee.org, E-mail: [email protected], Twitter:@CristinaGildee

Dr Mansi Srivastava of Harvard University joins Chris and Courtney to talk about her research on regeneration throughout evolution. ----------------------------------------------------------------- Dr. Srivastava's research focuses on understanding the evolution of animal development and regeneration. Her group utilizes the three-banded panther worm, Hofstenia miamia, which Dr. Srivastava has developed as a new acoel model system. Acoels represent the sister-group to all animals with bilateral symmetry, which allows the study of genetic mechanisms that span 550 million years of animal evolution. Current projects in her lab range from identifying gene regulatory networks for regeneration to determining the embryonic origins of pluripotent stem cells to understanding the origins of bilaterian nervous systems. Her lab website can be found here: www.srivastavalab.org/ The following are citations for the articles mentioned on today’s show: Srivastava M. (2021). Beyond Casual Resemblance: Rigorous Frameworks for Comparing Regeneration Across Species. Annual review of cell and developmental biology, 37, 415–440. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-cellbio-120319-114716 Gehrke, A. R., Neverett, E., Luo, Y. J., Brandt, A., Ricci, L., Hulett, R. E., Gompers, A., Ruby, J. G., Rokhsar, D. S., Reddien, P. W., & Srivastava, M. (2019). Acoel genome reveals the regulatory landscape of whole-body regeneration. Science (New York, N.Y.), 363(6432), eaau6173. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.aau6173 Contact the Sausage of Science Podcast and Human Biology Association: Facebook: www.facebook.com/groups/humanbiologyassociation Website: humbio.org/, Twitter: @HumBioAssoc Chris Lynn, Host Website: cdlynn.people.ua.edu/, E-mail: [email protected], Twitter:@Chris_Ly Courtney Manthey, Guest-Co-Host, Website: holylaetoli.com/ E-mail: [email protected], Twitter: @HolyLaetoli Anahi Ruderman, SoS Co-Producer, HBA Junior Fellow E-mail: [email protected]

Our new Co-producer, Anahí Ruderman, is joined by Christopher to co-host this episode with Dr. Luciano Valenzuela. He is a researcher at the National Council for Scientific and Technical Research of Argentina (CONICET). He specializes in the use of stable isotopes in Anthropology, Ecology, and Forensic Science in his research at the School of Social Sciences of the National University of the Center of Buenos Aires. He holds a Ph.D. in Biology from the University of Utah. His interests are very diverse; not only does he research isotopes and their application in forensic cases, but he also has an extensive curriculum in fascinating subjects such as the feeding behavior of whales! Trigger Warning: this episode contains information regarding the identification of human remains. ------------------------------ Find the paper discussed in this episode: Valenzuela, L. O., Otero, F., Loupias, L. L., Béguelin, M., & Mancuso, R. G. (2023). BITACORA: An isotopic database of modern human tissues (keratin, teeth) for Argentina. Science & Justice, 63(6), 680-688. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scijus.2023.10.003 ------------------------------ Contact Dr. Valenzuela: Website: https://isotoposestables.weebly.com , E-mail: [email protected] ------------------------------ Contact the Sausage of Science Podcast and Human Biology Association: Facebook: facebook.com/groups/humanbiologyassociation/, Website: humbio.org, Twitter: @HumBioAssoc Chris Lynn, Host Website: cdlynn.people.ua.edu/, E-mail: [email protected], Twitter:@Chris_Ly Anahi Ruderman, Cohost, SoS Co-Producer, HBA Junior Fellow E-mail: [email protected] Cristina Gildee, SoS Co-Producer, HBA Junior Fellow Website: cristinagildee.org, E-mail: [email protected], Twitter:@CristinaGildee

Chris checks in with Dr. Adam Johnson to discuss javelinas and their impact on humans. Dr. Johnson is an environmental anthropologist whose current work engages human-animal relations. His current project explores human-javelina relations in Texas, including affective relationships between javelinas and property owners, tourist-javelina encounters at Big Bend National Park, and the intimacy and care that pairs with violence in hunting. Previous research includes social boundary policing in a Drag Queen community in rural North Carolina, time budgeting and allocation in captive chimpanzees (at the North Carolina Zoo), female social relationships in rhesus macaques (Ocala National Forest, Florida), and science, racism, and inequality. ------------------------------ Contact Dr. Johnson: Website: anthropology365.com, E-mail: [email protected] ------------------------------ Contact the Sausage of Science Podcast and Human Biology Association: Facebook: facebook.com/groups/humanbiologyassociation/, Website: humbio.org, Twitter: @HumBioAssoc Chris Lynn, Host Website: cdlynn.people.ua.edu/, E-mail: [email protected], Twitter:@Chris_Ly Cristina Gildee, HBA Junior Fellow, SoS Producer Website: cristinagildee.org, E-mail: [email protected], Twitter:@CristinaGildee

The SoS Team puts one of their own in the hot seat as Courtney and Cristina interview Dr. Christopher Lynn about his book Transcendental Medication: The Evolution of Mind, Culture, and Healing. His book offers a unique perspective on why human brains evolved to have consciousness, yet we spend much of our time trying to reduce our awareness. It outlines how limiting consciousness—rather than expanding it—is more functional and satisfying for most people, most of the time. He suggests that our brains evolved mechanisms to deal with the stress of awareness in concert with awareness itself—otherwise, it is too costly to handle. Defining dissociation as “partitioning of awareness,” Dr. Lynn touches on disparate cultural and psychological practices such as religion, drug use, 12-step programs, and dancing. The chapters draw on biological and cultural studies of Pentecostal speaking in tongues and stress, the results of our 800,000+ years watching hearth and campfires, and unconscious uses of self-deception as a mating strategy, providing practical insights into our daily lives. As a professor of Anthropology at the University of Alabama, Dr. Lynn's research explores critical intersections between culture and health. His work also includes investigating the relationship between tattooing practices, known as tatau, and immune response among Samoans to understand how cultural practices may influence physiological responses. Dr. Lynn is also the executive producer and co-host of the Inking of Immunity podcast. ------------------------------ Find the book discussed in this episode: Transcendental Medication Lynn, C. D. (2022). Transcendental Medication: The Evolution of Mind, Culture, and Healing. Routledge. ------------------------------ Contact Dr. Lynn:Website: cdlynn.people.ua.edu/, E-mail: [email protected], Twitter:@Chris_Ly ------------------------------ Contact the Sausage of Science Podcast and Human Biology Association: Facebook: facebook.com/groups/humanbiologyassociation/, Website: humbio.org, Twitter: @HumBioAssoc Cristina Gildee, Guest Co-Host, HBA Junior Fellow, SoS Producer Website: cristinagildee.org, E-mail: [email protected], Twitter:@CristinaGildee Courtney Manthey, Guest-Co-Host, Website: holylaetoli.com/ E-mail: [email protected], Twitter: @HolyLaetoli

From the New York Times Best Selling Authors of “The Genius of Dogs,” Vannessa Woods and Brian Hare, comes “Puppy Kindergarten: The New Science of Raising a Great Dog.” Chris and his trusty co-host Eric unpack “dognition” with Vanessa, a research scientist who runs a “Puppy Kindergarten” at Duke University. She also happens to be an award-winning journalist and author of Bonobo Handshake. Brian is a professor of Evolutionary Anthropology at the Center for Cognitive Neuroscience at Duke, where he founded the Duke Canine Cognition Center. ------------------------------ Find the books discussed in this episode: Hare, B., & Woods, V. (2024). Puppy Kindergarten: the new science of raising a great dog. Random House Trade Paperbacks. Hare, B., & Woods, V. (2021). Survival of the friendliest: Understanding our origins and rediscovering our common humanity. Random House Trade Paperbacks. Learn more about Puppy Kindergarten here. ------------------------------ Contact Vanessa: [email protected] ------------------------------ Contact the Sausage of Science Podcast and Human Biology Association: Facebook: facebook.com/groups/humanbiologyassociation/, Website: humbio.org, Twitter: @HumBioAssoc Chris Lynn, Co-Host Website: cdlynn.people.ua.edu/, E-mail: [email protected], Twitter:@Chris_Ly Eric Griffith, Guest Co-Host E-mail: [email protected] Cristina Gildee, HBA Junior Fellow, SoS Producer Website

Special guest hosts Cristina and Miguel Ochoa unpack the nutritional ecology with Dr. Hugo Azcorra-Pérez, a human biologist at Centro de Investigaciones Silvio Zavala, Universidad Modelo, Mérida, Yucatán, Mexico. He is interested in the biology of populations during the early stages of growth and development and how environmental factors and intergenerational influences shape biological conditions. Born in Yucatán, México, he holds a Master of Sciences in Human Ecology and a Ph.D. in Human Biology (Loughborough University, UK). His research focuses on human growth and its variation according to economic and sociocultural variables. In his Ph.D. work, he assessed how intergenerational factors influence Maya families' development and nutritional status, particularly the phenomenon of nutritional dual-burden (i.e., the coexistence of undernutrition and overweight within the same family or individual). These interests have continued through his current work, which focuses on how the chronic adverse living conditions experienced by Maya populations from Yucatan have impacted their biology and health outcomes. ------------------------------ Find the paper discussed in this episode: Azcorra, H., Castillo-Burguete, M. T., Lara-Riegos, J., Salazar-Rendón, J. C., & Mendez-Dominguez, N. (2024). Secular trends in the anthropometric characteristics of children in a rural community in Yucatan, Mexico. American Journal of Human Biology, 36(2), e23995. https://doi.org/10.1002/ajhb.23995 ------------------------------ Contact Dr. Azcorra-Pérez: [email protected] Twitter: @AzcorraHugo and on Facebook: facebook.com/hugo.azcorra/ ------------------------------ Contact the Sausage of Science Podcast and Human Biology Association: Facebook: facebook.com/groups/humanbiologyassociation/, Website: humbio.org, Twitter: @HumBioAssoc Cristina Gildee, Guest Co-Host; HBA Junior Fellow; SoS producer Website: cristinagildee.org, E-mail: [email protected], Twitter:@CristinaGildee Miguel Ochoa, Guest Co-Host E-mail: [email protected], Twitter:@Miguel_Ochoa88

Chris and Courtney host Claire Gold, a Ph.D. candidate in the Department of Anthropology at The University of Massachusetts, Amherst, where she studies the life histories and diet of the women and children from a Medieval Italian population. Claire received her MA in Biological Anthropology from the State University of New York, Binghamton, where she focused on the reproductive correlates of reproductive cancers. Since then, she has raised three children with her husband. In 2019, Claire decided to pursue her PhD at 45 to continue contributing to relevant research on women's and children’s health. She is interested in early life events in modern humans and archaeological populations. Claire is a member of the Society for American Archaeology, the American Association of Biological Anthropologists, the Human Biology Association, the American Investigative Society of Cold Cases, and the International Society for Evolution, Medicine, and Public Health. ------------------------------ Find the works discussed in this episode: Gold, C. L., & Bertone‐Johnson, E. (2024). Self‐reported history of breastfeeding in relation to recalled age at menarche in the United States. American Journal of Human Biology, e24067. Gold, C. L., Kitrinos, C. E., Sievert, L. L., & Kamilar, J. M. (2023). Mean age at menarche and climate variables on a global scale. American Journal of Human Biology, 35(12), e23961. ------------------------------ Contact Claire: [email protected] ------------------------------ Contact the Sausage of Science Podcast and Human Biology Association: Facebook: facebook.com/groups/humanbiologyassociation/, Website: humbio.org, Twitter: @HumBioAssoc Chris Lynn, Co-Host Website: cdlynn.people.ua.edu/, E-mail: [email protected], Twitter:@Chris_Ly Courtney Manthey-Peirce, Guest-Co-Host, Website: holylaetoli.com/ E-mail: [email protected], Twitter: @HolyLaetoli Cristina Gildee, HBA Junior Fellow, SoS producer Website: cristinagildee.org, E-mail: [email protected], Twitter:@CristinaGildee