Sausage of Science

Cecilia Padilla Iglesias estudió Ciencias Humanas y de la Evolución en University College de Londres, donde empezó a interesarse por cómo surgió y cambió la diversidad cultural y biológica en nuestra especie. Hizo un máster en Antropología Evolutiva en Cambridge y luego un doctorado en la Universidad de Zúrich sobre cómo los cambios ecológicos y sociales han moldeado la dinámica de las poblaciones humanas. Durante el doctorado pasó varios meses en la República del Congo trabajando con comunidades nómadas de cazadores-recolectores. Hoy trabaja en Cambridge con una beca de investigación, estudiando cómo la vida nómada y la movilidad se reflejan en el genoma de estas poblaciones. La idea central de su trabajo es que la movilidad ha sido clave para la resiliencia de los humanos durante cientos de miles de años, y que fue lo que permitió adaptarse a enormes cambios ecológicos y demográficos en los diferentes ecosistemas que fue habitando. ------------------------------ Encuentra el trabajo comentado en este episodio: Padilla-Iglesias, C., Xue, Z., Leonardi, M., Paijmans, L.A,J., Colucci, M., … Manica, A. (2025). Pan-African metapopulation model explains Homo sapiens genetic and morphological evolution. bioRxiv 2025.05.22.655514; doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2025.05.22.655514 ------------------------------ Contact the Sausage of Science Podcast and the Human Biology Association: Facebook: facebook.com/groups/humanbiologyassociation/, Website: humbio.org, Twitter: @HumBioAssoc Anahí Ruderman, Guest-Co-Host, SoS Co-Producer, E-mail: ruderman@cenpat-conicet.gob.ar

Lawrence M. Schell is a Distinguished Professor in the Department of Anthropology and the College of Integrated Health Sciences at the University at Albany, SUNY, with a joint appointment in the Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics. His research explores the interrelationship between biology and culture, with a particular focus on how contemporary urban environments shape human health and development. Dr. Schell’s early work examined noise as a form of urban stress, investigating its effects on prenatal and postnatal growth. He later expanded his research to include pollutants such as polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and lead, situating these exposures within the broader context of urban adaptation and health disparities. The study of lead exposure in Albany, NY, examined its influence on child physical and cognitive development, with attention to maternal nutrition and other factors that affect the transfer of lead from mother to fetus. In partnership with the Akwesasne Mohawk Nation he has recently completed three major projects. The first examined how PCBs that were used in manufacturing affect physical and sexual development during adolescence. His second project followed up the adolescents in project 1 to learn how exposure had influenced their transition into adulthood. The third project, also conducted with the Akwesasne community, explored how environmental pollutants may impact reproductive health and fertility among women. Through this work, Dr. Schell highlights the urban environment as a critical frontier for human adaptation, emphasizing the challenges posed by pollution, stress, and other features of modern city life while recognizing that these challenges are inequitably distributed in society. In 2004 Schell established a research center at Albany with NIH support to grow research on health disparities. Continued NIH support culminated in an endowment grant that will support the center and the development of health disparities research for many years to come. ------------------------------ Contact the Sausage of Science Podcast and the Human Biology Association: Facebook: facebook.com/groups/humanbiologyassociation/, Website: humbio.org, Twitter: @HumBioAssoc Chris Lynn, Co-Host Website: cdlynn.people.ua.edu/, E-mail: cdlynn@ua.edu, Twitter:@Chris_Ly Courtney Manthey, Guest-Co-Host, Website: holylaetoli.com/ E-mail: cpierce4@uccs.edu, Twitter: @HolyLaetoli Anahi Ruderman, SoS Co-Producer, HBA Junior Fellow, E-mail: ruderman@cenpat-conicet.gob.ar

This week on The Sausage of Science, Chris and Cristina explore pica (the craving and consumption of nonfood items like earth or clay) through the lens of maternal health and nutrition. Our guest, Dr. Leila Larson of the University of South Carolina, shares insights from her study on pica among pregnant women in Malawi, part of the REVAMP iron supplementation trial. She discusses how iron status, infection, and environment influence maternal health, why intravenous iron may be a more effective approach to reducing pica, and what these cravings reveal about nutrition and development worldwide. We also hear about her new U.S.-based study and how she balances a vibrant global research career. ------------------------------ Find the work discussed in this episode: Larson, Leila M., Martin Mwangi, Rebecca Harding, Ernest Moya, Ricardo Ataíde, Glory Mzembe, Ashley Thurber et al. "Effects of ferric carboxymaltose on pica among pregnant women in Malawi: a sub-study to a randomized controlled trial." The Journal of Nutrition (2025). ------------------------------ Contact Dr. Larson: LARSONL@mailbox.sc.edu Website: thenelilab.com ------------------------------ 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: cdlynn@ua.edu, Twitter:@Chris_Ly Cristina Gildee, Co-Host, Co-Producer, HBA Fellow Website: cristinagildee.com, E-mail: cgildee@uw.edu,

Dr. Sofía Pacheco-Fores, a bioarchaeologist at the University of Minnesota, specializes in understanding ancient migration in Mexico. In a captivating discussion, she delves into how biogeochemical methods reveal insights about migrant identities and experiences. Sofía defines identity-based violence and illustrates how migrants faced challenges during the Epiclassic political upheaval. She reveals that many non-locals lived in central Mexico prior to their deaths and shares her ongoing research projects in Oaxaca and other regions, all while sprinkling in her love for cooking tamales.

In this engaging discussion, Josh Brahinsky, a researcher blending anthropology, psychology, and neuroscience, dives deep into the transformative effects of charismatic evangelical worship on the mind and body. He shares insights on how practices like speaking in tongues and prayer reshape sensory experiences and emotional states. Josh contrasts jhāna meditation with expressive worship, revealing their similar impacts on attention and flow. His research highlights the connection between spiritual practices and social activism, emphasizing the profound societal implications of these experiences.

Alex got her degree from the University of Notre Dame in 2022 after finishing her dissertation on the variation in brown adipose tissue thermogenesis and its effects on metabolic health markers in adults from Samoa. She is currently a postdoctoral fellow at Pennington Biomedical Research Center working on the Military Health and Nutrition Examinations Study (MHANES) (PI: Dr. Claire Berryman). In collaboration with the US Army Research Institute of Environmental Medicine, her work with MHANES examines how the interactions between environmental (i.e. temperature, altitude), behavioral (i.e. physical activity, nutrition, sleep), and physiological (i.e. body composition, energy expenditure, metabolic health markers) factors affect health and performance in active-duty service members. She frequently collaborate with colleagues on anthropological research projects focusing on the effects of physiological adaptations/adjustments to the extremes and is passionate about bringing anthropological perspectives to clinical and military-focused research. ------------------------------ Find the paper discussed in this episode: Sarma, M. S., Niclou, A. M., & Hurd, K. J. (2025). Methodologic Opportunities for Space Health Research: Integrating Biological Anthropology Methods in Human Research for Precision Space Health and Medical Data. Wilderness & Environmental Medicine, 36(1_suppl), 104S-112S. https://doi.org/10.1177/10806032251349436 ------------------------------ Contact Dr. Niclou: Alexandra.Niclou@pbrc.edu ------------------------------ Contact the Sausage of Science Podcast and Human Biology Association: Facebook: facebook.com/groups/humanbiologyassociation/, Website: humbio.org, Twitter: @HumBioAssoc Cara Ocobock, Co-Host, Website: sites.nd.edu/cara-ocobock/, Email:cocobock@nd.edu, Twitter:@CaraOcobock Anahi Ruderman, SoS Co-Producer, HBA Junior Fellow E-mail: aniruderman@gmail.com, Twitter: @ani_ruderman

This week on the Sausage of Science, Cara sits down with two trailblazing scholars shaping the future of paleoanthropology from the African continent outward. Dr. Palesa Madupe, postdoctoral researcher at the University of Copenhagen’s Globe Institute, shares her pioneering work on enamel proteomics—reconstructing protein sequences from Paranthropus robustus and other South African hominins to unravel questions of taxonomy, sex determination, and sexual dimorphism. Joining her is Professor Becky Ackermann of the University of Cape Town, co-director of the Human Evolution Research Institute (HERI), whose influential research on evolutionary processes, phenotypic variation, and human diversity is reframing our understanding of our evolutionary story. Together, they highlight how African-led research is reshaping the global narrative of human origins, one fossil and one protein at a time. ------------------------------ Find the paper discussed in this episode: Madupe, P. P., Koenig, C., Patramanis, I., Rüther, P. L., Hlazo, N., Mackie, M., ... & Cappellini, E. (2025). Enamel proteins reveal biological sex and genetic variability in southern African Paranthropus. Science, 388(6750), 969-973. DOI: 10.1126/science.adt9539 ------------------------------ Contact Dr. Madupe: palesa.madupe@sund.ku.dk Contact Dr. Ackermann: becky.ackermann@uct.ac.za Human Evolution Research Institute (HERI) website: https://www.heriuct.co.za/ ------------------------------ Contact the Sausage of Science Podcast and Human Biology Association: Facebook: facebook.com/groups/humanbiologyassociation/, Website: humbio.org, Twitter: @HumBioAssoc Cara Ocobock, Host, Website: sites.nd.edu/cara-ocobock/, Email:cocobock@nd.edu, Twitter:@CaraOcobock Cristina Gildee, SoS Co-Producer, HBA Junior Fellow Website: cristinagildee.org, E-mail: cgildee@uw.edu,

Jake Aronoff is a human biologist studying immune function and aging from an evolutionary and ecological perspective. During his PhD, he studied how stress and social inequality impacts inflammation and immunosenescence in the Philippines and US. He is currently a postdoctoral researcher at ASU studying inflammation and aging with Ben Trumble and the Tsimane Health and Life History Project. These studies focus on the development of chronic inflammation in later life (inflammaging), the links between metabolic and immune function (immunometabolism and meta-inflammation), and the relationship between infections, inflammation, and brain aging. His research also utilizes life history theory and energetic trade-offs to understand complex changes in biological functioning in later life, like the simultaneous occurrence of inflammaging and immunosenescence. ------------------------------ Find the paper discussed in this episode: Aronoff, J. E., Trumble, B. C. (2025). An evolutionary medicine and life history perspective on aging and disease: Trade-offs, hyperfunction, and mismatch, Evolution, Medicine, and Public Health, 13(1), 111–124. https://doi.org/10.1093/emph/eoaf010 Aronoff, J. E., Koning, S. M., Adair, L. S., Lee, N. R., Carba, D. B., Kuzawa, C. W., & McDade, T. W. (2024). Intimate partner violence, depression, and chronic low-grade inflammation among middle-aged women in Cebu, Philippines. American journal of human biology : the official journal of the Human Biology Council, 36(6), e24053. https://doi.org/10.1002/ajhb.24053 ------------------------------ Contact the Sausage of Science Podcast and the Human Biology Association: Facebook: facebook.com/groups/humanbiologyassociation/, Website: humbio.org, Twitter: @HumBioAssoc Chris Lynn, Co-Host Website: cdlynn.people.ua.edu/, E-mail: cdlynn@ua.edu, Twitter:@Chris_Ly Anahi Ruderman, SoS Co-Producer, HBA Junior Fellow. E-mail: ruderman@cenpat-conicet.gob.ar.

Dr. Luisa María Rivera is a critical biocultural anthropologist whose work examines how social inequality, trauma, and structural violence shape reproductive and maternal–infant health. She integrates ethnographic research with epigenomic and other molecular approaches to trace how stress during development can reverberate across generations and to understand the implications of these findings for health policy. Luisa earned her B.A. from Harvard (2008), an M.P.H. from the University of Minnesota (2015), and a Ph.D. in Anthropology from Emory University (2022). She is currently a Neukom Postdoctoral Fellow at Dartmouth College, mentored by Dr. Zaneta Thayer (Anthropology) and Dr. Brock Christensen (Geisel School of Medicine). Her research includes long-term work in post-war communities in Guatemala and with historically marginalized communities in the United States. Luisa previously joined the Sausage of Science “Hackademics” series in Episode 114, Dissertation Research in the Time of COVID-19. ------------------------------ Find the paper discussed in this episode: Vlasac, I. M., Stolrow, H. G., Thayer, Z. M., Christensen, B. C., & Rivera, L. (2025). DNA-based cell typing in menstrual effluent identifies cell type variation by sample collection method: toward noninvasive biomarker development for women’s health. Epigenetics, 20(1), 2453275. https://doi.org/10.1080/15592294.2025.2453275 ------------------------------ Contact Luisa: E-mail: Luisa.Rivera@dartmouth.edu website: https://luisamariarivera.com/ Google Scholar ------------------------------ 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: cdlynn@ua.edu, Twitter:@Chris_Ly Cristina Gildee, Co-host, SoS Co-Producer, HBA Junior Fellow Website: cristinagildee.org, E-mail: cgildee@uw.edu,

Leela McKinnon is a PhD Candidate in Evolutionary Anthropology at the University of Toronto and holds a Bachelor of Arts in Anthropology from Penn State University. Her PhD research examines sleep health in Indigenous Wixárika communities in Jalisco, Mexico, with a particular focus on the effects of rural-to-urban migration on sleep and circadian rhythms. Leela explores the environmental and social factors influencing the sleep health of urban Wixárika migrants. Beyond her dissertation research in Mexico, Leela has also studied sleep in a Guatemalan Maya community, investigating how urbanization and market economy integration shape sleep patterns in rural settings. She is trained in the quantitative analysis of sleep data using accelerometry and is proficient in mixed methodologies, including survey data collection and qualitative interviewing. ------------------------------ Find the paper discussed in this episode: McKinnon, L., Shattuck, E. C., Samson, D. R. (2022). Sound reasons for unsound sleep: Comparative support for the sentinel hypothesis in industrial and nonindustrial groups. Evol Med Public Health, 11(1):53-66. doi: 10.1093/emph/eoac039. ------------------------------ Contact Leela McKinnon: l.mckinnon@mail.utoronto.ca X account: @leela_mckinnon The Sleep and Human Evolution Lab's website is https://www.utm.utoronto.ca/shel/ ------------------------------ Contact the Sausage of Science Podcast and the Human Biology Association: Facebook: facebook.com/groups/humanbiologyassociation/, Website: humbio.org, Twitter: @HumBioAssoc Chris Lynn, Co-Host Website: cdlynn.people.ua.edu/, E-mail: cdlynn@ua.edu, Twitter:@Chris_Ly Anahi Ruderman, SoS Co-Producer, HBA Junior Fellow E-mail: aniruderman@gmail.com,