Presentation

William Audeh : Cedars-Sinai Medical CenterPrinciples of Evolutionary Biology have been applied to the problem of cancer, primarily to explain why cancer develops. This approach has focused on intrinsic mutation rates and the stochastic risk of carcinogenesis, as well as the issue of "mismatch", in which the argument is made that cancer arises because the […]

Lauren Schroeder: University of Toronto Mississauga Our genus is characterized by a significant amount of morphological diversity, a phenomenon at the heart of the longstanding debate surrounding the origin and evolution of Homo. Recent fossil discoveries from Dmanisi, Georgia, Ledi-Geraru, Ethiopia, and the Cradle of Humankind in South Africa have expanded the range of morphological […]

Michael Gurven: University of California, Santa BarbaraSex differences in human mortality and health are widely documented in both low and high income countries. Usual explanations focus on differences in intrinsic senescence, lifestyle, and health-seeking behaviors. Another possibility is that costs of reproduction unique to women may alter their physical condition in adulthood relative to men. […]

Sarah Mathew: Arizona State UniversityExplaining why humans cooperate in sizable groups requires detailed knowledge of how people cooperate in politically uncentralized societies. I will present findings from the Turkana, a politically uncentralized population of pastoralists in Kenya, which indicate that: a) the Turkana maintain costly large-scale cooperation in warfare through peer sanctioning of free riders; and […]

Darby Saxbe: University of Southern CaliforniaBecoming a parent is transformative. This talk will review recent research on neuroendocrine and behavioral changes in new parents, including studies of longitudinal change and within-person linkage in testosterone, cortisol, sleep, and depression in both mothers and fathers.