al-mofhariz

No more monkeying around . . . The Secret Science Club goes ape!

The order Primates represents more than 400 living species, including the Pig-Tailed Macaque, the Golden Lion Tamarin, the Mountain Gorilla—and yours truly, Homo sapiens. We primates all share certain characteristics, but humans are the only ones that live on all seven continents, question the meaning of life, and conduct DNA analysis.

Dr. Todd Disotell of NYU’s Center for Human Origins is an anthropologist and molecular primatologist who uses DNA to study the evolution of Homo sapiens. He also uses DNA analysis to throw a monkey wrench into “evidence” of cryptozoological primates, such as Bigfoot, and has appeared on Comedy Central’s The Daily Show, National Geographic’s Naked Science, and Monster Quest. The author of scores of scientific papers and recipient of numerous grants from the National Science Foundation and National Institutes of Health, Dr. Disotell asks:
--When did our first primate ancestors evolve?
--How did…

Below (after the "read more" bit), you will find a listing of all papers from the upcoming History of Science Society's Annual Meeting that have something to do with American history, broadly construed. I'm working off of titles here, so I may have missed some or added too many.


Please don't interpret this as a plea to be too parochial. We can and ought to cross national borders in our study of the history of science.


This is an act of curation, meant to show off the diversity of Americanist work at HSS and to bring your attention to panels and papers that you might otherwise miss.



Friday 9-11:45

Genes and Mechanisms in the Case of Cystic Fibrosis: Philosophical, Historical and Social Perspectives. Chair and Commentator: Miriam Solomon, Temple University Organizer: Susan Lindee, University of Pennsylvania
1.    A Disease About to Disappear, Susan Lindee, University of Pennsylvania
2.    Mechanisms, Mutations, and Rational Drug Therapy in the Case of Cystic Fibrosis, Li…