Phenylthiocarbamide taste sensitivity and its relationship to growth variation

The hypothesis that there is a relationship between the tasting polymorphism and growth variation was tested on a sample of 425 Negro elementary school children. Twenty-seven non-tasters were found by testing with impregnated papers; 13 were male, 14 female, indicating no sex differences in this group. Matchedpair comparisons indicated no differences in weight, a tendency for tasters to be taller, and a stronger tendency for tasters of both sexes to be skeletally more mature. It was felt that the tendency for tasters to be taller might reflect their more advanced maturation status. The relationship to skeletal maturation might be indicative of the decreased thryoid activity found in other studies of phenylthiocarbamide tasting.     

Genetic recombination in a chloramphenicol-producing strain of Streptomyces species 3022a.

Mutation with ultraviolet light and chemical mutagens yielded strains with auxotrophic and streptomycin-resistance markers. These were used to show the existence of genetic recombination in Streptomyces species 3022a and to construct a linkage map for 17 marker loci.     

The Evolution and Genetics of Virus Host Shifts

Emerging viral diseases are often the product of a host shift, where a pathogen jumps from its original host into a novel species. Phylogenetic studies show that host shifts are a frequent event in the evolution of most pathogens, but why pathogens successfully jump between some host species but not others is only just becoming clear. The susceptibility of potential new hosts can vary enormously, with close relatives of the natural host typically being the most susceptible. Often, pathogens must adapt to successfully infect a novel host, for example by evolving to use different cell surface receptors, to escape the immune response, or to ensure they are transmitted by the new host. In viruses there are often limited molecular solutions to achieve this, and the same sequence changes are often seen each time a virus infects a particular host. These changes may come at a cost to other aspects of the pathogen''s fitness, and this may sometimes prevent host shifts from occurring. Here we examine how these evolutionary factors affect patterns of host shifts and disease emergence.     

The Cultural Problem of the Cultural Anthropologist

An intensive analysis of Malinowski's diary reveals an ethnocentrism hitherto unnoticed in our discipline. Ethnocentrism is common to all societies and cultures, but what anthropologists have so far failed to understand is the very basic distinction between positive ethnocentrism and neutral ethnocentrism. Malinowski, being rooted in white European society and culture where positive enthocentrism prevails, suffered from some peculiar defects in perception of non- Western behavior that vitiated some of his theories, such as those on religion and culture change. This paper shows that some of his shortcomings are still with us today and indicates what we can do to remedy them. [religion, ethnocentrism, positive or neutral, Trobriand Islanders, mental hospitals, internal versus external impetuses to culture change, Christianity, Islam, proselytization, Primeval Flood myth, comparative studies, China, Europe, national character, methodology]