tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-71004522766828011252024-03-13T10:45:43.598-05:00Context and variationHuman behavior, evolutionary medicine... and ladybusiness.KateClancyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10266484364483890008noreply@blogger.comBlogger83125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7100452276682801125.post-1007724169708730952011-08-05T08:47:00.000-05:002011-08-05T08:47:23.970-05:00Hey! I miss you!Dear Context and Variation readers,<br />
<br />
I miss you. A lot. I used to love all <a href="http://professorkateclancy.blogspot.com/2011/05/do-girls-steal-some-of-their-mothers.html#comments">our fun conversations in the comments</a>, and what cool ideas and questions you had. I know <a href="http://blogs.scientificamerican.com/context-and-variation/">I moved</a>, and I know there is a <a href="http://www.scientificamerican.com/page.cfm?section=register">gated entrance</a>, but really, it takes just a minute of your time to register so you make it through the gate automatically. And those of us who work behind the gate are petitioning to have it taken down.<br />
<br />
In the meantime, please <a href="http://www.scientificamerican.com/page.cfm?section=register">take the minute to register</a> so we can chat. <a href="http://rss.sciam.com/context-and-variation/feed">Update your feed</a> so that you see my new posts in your RSS reader. Things aren't the same without you.<br />
<br />
Plus, I think you could teach the old school SciAm commenters over there a thing or two about ladybusiness, feminism, and biology.<br />
<br />
Love, your faithful blogger,<br />
KateKateClancyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10266484364483890008noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7100452276682801125.post-77719186124663416122011-07-06T08:00:00.001-05:002011-07-06T08:00:02.164-05:00Off to bloggier pastures: bringing ladybusiness to the SciAm NetworkIf you're on Twitter or read any other science blogs, by now you know that the <a href="http://blogs.scientificamerican.com/home">Scientific American Blog Network has launched</a>. And, I'm pleased to say that I am a part of it! <a href="http://blogs.scientificamerican.com/context-and-variation">Context and Variation</a> has moved to new digs, surrounded by a network full of bright, interesting people with great communities and great things to say.<br />
<br />
But of course, while I encourage you to check out <a href="http://blogs.scientificamerican.com/network-central/2011/07/05/welcome-the-scientific-american-blog-network/">Bora's post where he introduces every one of us</a>, I have to plug a few bloggers in particular.<br />
<br />
First, the <a href="http://www.illinois.edu">University of Illinois</a> is the only university to be represented by three bloggers on this new network (yeah, we totally did a <a href="http://news.illinois.edu/news/11/0705bloggers_JoanneManaster_KateClancy_AlexWild.html">press release</a> for it). Alex Wild of <a href="http://www.twitter.com/Myrmecos">Myrmecos</a> (you know, the guy who comes up if you just google <a href="https://encrypted.google.com/#hl=en&cp=11&gs_id=39&xhr=t&q=insect+photography&tok=BqZ9b6NHa9le8it5fN2eGA&pf=p&sclient=psy&site=&source=hp&pbx=1&oq=insect+phot&aq=0&aqi=&aql=&gs_sm=&gs_upl=&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.&fp=bb513a9229f29866&biw=1280&bih=699">insect photography</a>) has created a blog called <a href="http://blogs.scientificamerican.com/compound-eye/2011/07/05/compound-eye-the-many-facets-of-science-photography/">Compound Eye</a> that will cover science photography. What's exciting about this blog is that Alex, true to his nature, will be very generous with his space and will showcase the work of many other photographers.<br />
<br />
Joanne Manaster, who you may know as <a href="http://www.twitter.com/sciencegoddess">sciencegoddess on Twitter</a>, hosts the blog <a href="http://www.joannelovesscience.com/">JoanneLovesScience.com</a>. Joanne is a truly exceptional science educator and puts great attention on reaching young audiences, from <a href="http://joannelovesscience.com/gummi_science.html">exploding gummy bears</a>, the <a href="http://joannelovesscience.com/science_beauty.html">science of makeup</a>, and <a href="http://www.joannelovesscience.com/kidsreadscience/">Kids Read Science</a> programs. On the SciAm blog network, Joanne will be co-hosting a new blog <a href="http://blogs.scientificamerican.com/psi-vid/2011/07/05/this-is-a-test-post-1-of-psivid-for-user-cb/">PsiVid</a> with Carin Bondar. This blog will continue Joanne's work of thinking about engaging audiences and getting them interesting in science in new ways.<br />
<br />
In addition to these great U of I bloggers, I also have to mention my fellow anthropologists. Krystal D'Costa is moving her fantastic blog <a href="http://blogs.scientificamerican.com/anthropology-in-practice/2011/07/05/welcome-to-the-new-home-of-anthropology-in-practice/">Anthropology in Practice</a> to SciAm. You can expect more thoughtful, detailed, yet readable and fun posts from Krystal. She is a wonderful observer of human nature, and I love how she forces me to be an anthropologist at all sorts of casual moments when I usually take my academic lenses off.<br />
<br />
Then there is Eric Michael Johnson's blog <a href="http://blogs.scientificamerican.com/primate-diaries/2011/07/05/throwing-rocks-into-the-cosmic-ocean/">The Primate Diaries</a>. Eric is another very talented writer, sharing insights from a great mind. I have enjoyed his posts on sexuality, primatology, sexism, and human evolution.<br />
<br />
Oh, and need I even mention? There are lots of female bloggers on this new, kickass network. Check out <a href="http://www.themarysue.com/scientific-american-women-blogs/">The Mary Sue's coverage</a>. They're right. The SciAm Blog Network does introduce us to about a zillion new women in the sciences. Incidentally, it does a pretty decent job of introducing readers to people of varying sexualities and ethnicities as well. We can always do better, but it is a strong start.<br />
<br />
The people of this network have exceptional voices and important perspectives. And now more people will see what they have to offer. I hope you'll all join me over at my new place, that you'll check out the rest of my network peeps, and that you will enjoy helping me bring the ladybusiness to Scientific American.KateClancyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10266484364483890008noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7100452276682801125.post-39311715937687775182011-07-01T20:46:00.000-05:002011-07-01T20:46:20.820-05:00Summer of the pill: Will the pill mess up my ability to detect my One True Love?<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLtE0iPTODv9XzVfl6KQdnWVml7j-q387IEIWbLALkV7aWWvD4NKBDTYCfFQUQjWn7Bm4WWIiOphmu83oX9eRqwumlUMV8k-DNuNETqOaddC30HGbX8Uinxw74RyyhoavBc2RTxKoihTU/s1600/scarett_johansson1A_300_400.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLtE0iPTODv9XzVfl6KQdnWVml7j-q387IEIWbLALkV7aWWvD4NKBDTYCfFQUQjWn7Bm4WWIiOphmu83oX9eRqwumlUMV8k-DNuNETqOaddC30HGbX8Uinxw74RyyhoavBc2RTxKoihTU/s320/scarett_johansson1A_300_400.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Should I advise recently single ScarJo to stay<br />
off the pill to find her next beau? From <a href="http://www.people.com/people/scarlett_johansson">here</a>.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>Imagine you are a single, heterosexual woman. You meet a nice man at the driving range, or on a blind date. You like him and he likes you. You date, you get engaged, you get married. You decide to have a child together, so you go off the pill. One morning you wake up and look at your husband, and it’s like seeing him through new eyes. Who is this stranger you married, and what did you ever see in him?<br />
<br />
After some articles made the news when they suggested mate preferences change on hormonal contraception, this seemed to be the scenario in the heads of many women. Is my pill deceiving me? What if my birth control is making me date the wrong man?<br />
<br />
Several articles over the years have demonstrated that women prefer men with more masculine features at midcycle, or ovulation, and more feminine features in less fertile periods. Based on body odor, women and men also often prefer individuals with MHC (major histocompatibility complex) that are different from theirs, which may be a way for them to select mates that will give their offspring an immunological advantage. These findings have been replicated a few times, looking at a few different gendered traits. And as I suggested above, other work has suggested that the birth control pill, which in some ways mimics pregnancy, may mask our natural tendency to make these distinctions and preferences, regarding both masculinity and MHC (Little et al. 2002; Roberts et al. 2008; Wedekind et al. 1995).<br />
<br />
On the one hand, I think it’s both interesting and important to consider the implications of the birth control pill beyond just contraception. Hormones are messages, so any cells that have receptors for these messages, like specialized mailboxes, can receive them. The pill is made of synthetic versions of estradiol and progesterone, and there are estradiol and progesterone receptors in your brain. And yes, these hormones do change your brain, both during the natural cycle and on hormonal contraception; <a href="http://scientopia.org/blogs/scicurious/2010/10/04/womens-brains-on-steroids-wut/">Scicurious has written well on this in the past</a>.<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-l4QiyV5CRKsLdJRAtPiLtab9HQGF-voeqpQDRtJHZSQzE5MCW7INrkUdIP3oN3hRP09579Gs0GD76CoZPlAh6XxcjzAIONVjgtOc1Q7Y76ilPJFQF2AtAeqeiCgYNti1nOkxdRCGp0s/s1600/angiebieber1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="244" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-l4QiyV5CRKsLdJRAtPiLtab9HQGF-voeqpQDRtJHZSQzE5MCW7INrkUdIP3oN3hRP09579Gs0GD76CoZPlAh6XxcjzAIONVjgtOc1Q7Y76ilPJFQF2AtAeqeiCgYNti1nOkxdRCGp0s/s320/angiebieber1.jpg" width="280" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Jolie, had she been on the pill and chosen her mate<br />
differently. From <a href="http://mobile.dlisted.com/node/40472">here</a>. Yes, looks to be a real pic.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>On the other hand, I have a lot of questions: First and most important to me, how does any of this translate to non-straight women? I find the constant focus on mate choice between men and women a bit exhausting, and am not sure we can assume non-straight relationships to work the same way. Next, how well do preferences over the cycle map on to actual choices for mates, short term or long term? If we happen to find Brad Pitt more attractive than Justin Bieber at midcycle, does that mean no one will do but Brad Pitt? And finally, what are all the factors that we need to consider in mate choice besides a deep voice or square jawline (again, especially if you try to expand your thinking beyond straight relationships)?<br />
<br />
I’ll start with the last two questions that deal with mate preference versus ultimate mate selection. As you all might expect, women and men choose mates for lots of reasons, not just masculinity or complementary immune systems. Bereczkei et al (1997) looked at singles ads and found women often sought mates with high parental care. In a separate singles ad evaluation, Pawlowski and Dunbar (1999) found that women mostly selected men of high resource potential who were interested in long-term relationships (either unlikely to divorce or unlikely to die within twenty years), where men selected women by markers of fecundity (ability to have babies). In a sample of 18-24 year old straight people in the US, Buston and Emlen (2003) found that most people selected mates who had similar characteristics to themselves. And a speed dating sample showed that people under those conditions selected dates based on easily observable traits, like physical attractiveness (Kurzban and Weeden 2005). <br />
<br />
Now on to the fact that all of this research is on straight people. I found very little on lesbian women and the menstrual cycle... but what I found was very cool! Brinsmead-Stockham et al (2008) found that, like heterosexual women, lesbian women are quicker to identify unknown faces at midcycle, as long as they were the faces of the sex they preferred. So straight women were good at identifying male faces, lesbian women good at identifying female faces. Burleson et al (2002) found that sexual behavior in lesbian and straight women was mostly similar through the menstrual cycle, with both peaking at midcycle. <br />
<br />
So, mate preference may be about telling a research assistant who is the hottest to you at a particular point in your cycle. And it is a fairly robust and consistent finding. However, when it comes to ultimate mate selection the most important thing to consider is a great point made by Pawlowski and Dunbar: finding a mate is about advertising what you have to offer while making known what you want in a mate. Then it’s all about finding some kind of compromise through a series of trade-offs based on what the individual wants, what they can offer, and what’s available in the dating pool. (So, since neither Brad Pitt nor Justin Bieber are currently in the dating pool, my previous comparison was pointless.)<br />
<br />
Those of you who met your mate while on the pill: not to fear. I don’t think that the possibility that you may have some suppression of masculinized preferences at one point in your cycle means you’ve chosen the wrong person.<br />
<br />
Who knows, it could have opened you up to the Mr. or Ms. Right.<br />
<br />
<b>References</b><br />
<span class="Z3988" style="font-size: x-small;" title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.jtitle=Ethology+%3A+formerly+Zeitschrift+fur+Tierpsychologie&rft_id=info%3Apmid%2F12293453&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fresearchblogging.org&rft.atitle=Resources%2C+attractiveness%2C+family+commitment%3B+reproductive+decisions+in+human+mate+choice.&rft.issn=0179-1613&rft.date=1997&rft.volume=103&rft.issue=8&rft.spage=681&rft.epage=99&rft.artnum=&rft.au=Bereczkei+T&rft.au=Voros+S&rft.au=Gal+A&rft.au=Bernath+L&rfe_dat=bpr3.included=1;bpr3.tags=Medicine%2CBiological+Anthropology%2C+Evolutionary+Anthropology%2C+Behavioral+Biology%2C+Developmental+Biology%2C+Ecology%2C+Evolutionary+Biology%2C+Endocrinology%2C+Medicine%2C+Nutrition%2C+Public+Health%2C+Cancer">Bereczkei T, Voros S, Gal A, & Bernath L (1997). Resources, attractiveness, family commitment; reproductive decisions in human mate choice. <span style="font-style: italic;">Ethology : formerly Zeitschrift fur Tierpsychologie, 103</span> (8), 681-99 PMID: <a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12293453" rev="review">12293453</a></span><br />
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<span class="Z3988" style="font-size: x-small;" title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.jtitle=Journal+of+Experimental+Social+Psychology&rft_id=info%3Adoi%2F10.1016%2Fj.jesp.2007.05.003&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fresearchblogging.org&rft.atitle=Female+sexual+orientation+and+menstrual+influences+on+person+perception&rft.issn=&rft.date=2008&rft.volume=44&rft.issue=3&rft.spage=729&rft.epage=734&rft.artnum=&rft.au=Brinsmead-Stockham+K&rft.au=Johnston+L&rft.au=Miles+L&rft.au=Neil+Macrae+C&rfe_dat=bpr3.included=1;bpr3.tags=Medicine%2CBiological+Anthropology%2C+Evolutionary+Anthropology%2C+Behavioral+Biology%2C+Developmental+Biology%2C+Ecology%2C+Evolutionary+Biology%2C+Endocrinology%2C+Medicine%2C+Nutrition%2C+Public+Health%2C+Cancer">Brinsmead-Stockham K, Johnston L, Miles L, & Neil Macrae C (2008). Female sexual orientation and menstrual influences on person perception <span style="font-style: italic;">Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 44</span> (3), 729-734 DOI: <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jesp.2007.05.003" rev="review">10.1016/j.jesp.2007.05.003</a></span><br />
<br />
<span class="Z3988" style="font-size: x-small;" title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.jtitle=Psychoneuroendocrinology&rft_id=info%3Apmid%2F11912001&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fresearchblogging.org&rft.atitle=Sexual+behavior+in+lesbian+and+heterosexual+women%3A+relations+with+menstrual+cycle+phase+and+partner+availability.&rft.issn=0306-4530&rft.date=2002&rft.volume=27&rft.issue=4&rft.spage=489&rft.epage=503&rft.artnum=&rft.au=Burleson+MH&rft.au=Trevathan+WR&rft.au=Gregory+WL&rfe_dat=bpr3.included=1;bpr3.tags=Medicine%2CBiological+Anthropology%2C+Evolutionary+Anthropology%2C+Behavioral+Biology%2C+Developmental+Biology%2C+Ecology%2C+Evolutionary+Biology%2C+Endocrinology%2C+Medicine%2C+Nutrition%2C+Public+Health%2C+Cancer">Burleson MH, Trevathan WR, & Gregory WL (2002). Sexual behavior in lesbian and heterosexual women: relations with menstrual cycle phase and partner availability. <span style="font-style: italic;">Psychoneuroendocrinology, 27</span> (4), 489-503 PMID: <a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11912001" rev="review">11912001</a></span><br />
<br />
<span class="Z3988" style="font-size: x-small;" title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.jtitle=Proceedings+of+the+National+Academy+of+Sciences+of+the+United+States+of+America&rft_id=info%3Apmid%2F12843405&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fresearchblogging.org&rft.atitle=Cognitive+processes+underlying+human+mate+choice%3A+The+relationship+between+self-perception+and+mate+preference+in+Western+society.&rft.issn=0027-8424&rft.date=2003&rft.volume=100&rft.issue=15&rft.spage=8805&rft.epage=10&rft.artnum=&rft.au=Buston+PM&rft.au=Emlen+ST&rfe_dat=bpr3.included=1;bpr3.tags=Medicine%2CBiological+Anthropology%2C+Evolutionary+Anthropology%2C+Behavioral+Biology%2C+Developmental+Biology%2C+Ecology%2C+Evolutionary+Biology%2C+Endocrinology%2C+Medicine%2C+Nutrition%2C+Public+Health%2C+Cancer">Buston PM, & Emlen ST (2003). Cognitive processes underlying human mate choice: The relationship between self-perception and mate preference in Western society. <span style="font-style: italic;">Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 100</span> (15), 8805-10 PMID: <a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12843405" rev="review">12843405</a></span><br />
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<span class="Z3988" style="font-size: x-small;" title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.jtitle=Evolution+and+Human+Behavior&rft_id=info%3Adoi%2F10.1016%2Fj.evolhumbehav.2004.08.012&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fresearchblogging.org&rft.atitle=HurryDate%3A+Mate+preferences+in+action&rft.issn=&rft.date=2005&rft.volume=26&rft.issue=3&rft.spage=227&rft.epage=244&rft.artnum=&rft.au=Kurzban+R&rft.au=Weeden+J&rfe_dat=bpr3.included=1;bpr3.tags=Medicine%2CBiological+Anthropology%2C+Evolutionary+Anthropology%2C+Behavioral+Biology%2C+Developmental+Biology%2C+Ecology%2C+Evolutionary+Biology%2C+Endocrinology%2C+Medicine%2C+Nutrition%2C+Public+Health%2C+Cancer">Kurzban R, & Weeden J (2005). HurryDate: Mate preferences in action <span style="font-style: italic;">Evolution and Human Behavior, 26</span> (3), 227-244 DOI: <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.evolhumbehav.2004.08.012" rev="review">10.1016/j.evolhumbehav.2004.08.012</a></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">Little AC, Jones BC, Penton-Voak IS, Burt DM, and Perrett DI. 2002. Partnership status and the temporal context of relationships influence human female preferences for sexual dimorphism in male face shape. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London Series B: Biological Sciences 269(1496):1095-1100.</span><br />
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<span class="Z3988" style="font-size: x-small;" title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.jtitle=Proceedings.+Biological+sciences+%2F+The+Royal+Society&rft_id=info%3Apmid%2F10081164&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fresearchblogging.org&rft.atitle=Impact+of+market+value+on+human+mate+choice+decisions.&rft.issn=0962-8452&rft.date=1999&rft.volume=266&rft.issue=1416&rft.spage=281&rft.epage=5&rft.artnum=&rft.au=Paw%C5%82owski+B&rft.au=Dunbar+RI&rfe_dat=bpr3.included=1;bpr3.tags=Medicine%2CBiological+Anthropology%2C+Evolutionary+Anthropology%2C+Behavioral+Biology%2C+Developmental+Biology%2C+Ecology%2C+Evolutionary+Biology%2C+Endocrinology%2C+Medicine%2C+Nutrition%2C+Public+Health%2C+Cancer">Pawłowski B, & Dunbar RI (1999). Impact of market value on human mate choice decisions. <span style="font-style: italic;">Proceedings. Biological sciences / The Royal Society, 266</span> (1416), 281-5 PMID: <a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10081164" rev="review">10081164</a></span><br />
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<span class="Z3988" style="font-size: x-small;" title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.jtitle=Proceedings.+Biological+sciences+%2F+The+Royal+Society&rft_id=info%3Apmid%2F18700206&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fresearchblogging.org&rft.atitle=MHC-correlated+odour+preferences+in+humans+and+the+use+of+oral+contraceptives.&rft.issn=0962-8452&rft.date=2008&rft.volume=275&rft.issue=1652&rft.spage=2715&rft.epage=22&rft.artnum=&rft.au=Roberts+SC&rft.au=Gosling+LM&rft.au=Carter+V&rft.au=Petrie+M&rfe_dat=bpr3.included=1;bpr3.tags=Medicine%2CBiological+Anthropology%2C+Evolutionary+Anthropology%2C+Behavioral+Biology%2C+Developmental+Biology%2C+Ecology%2C+Evolutionary+Biology%2C+Endocrinology%2C+Medicine%2C+Nutrition%2C+Public+Health%2C+Cancer">Roberts SC, Gosling LM, Carter V, & Petrie M (2008). MHC-correlated odour preferences in humans and the use of oral contraceptives. <span style="font-style: italic;">Proceedings. Biological sciences / The Royal Society, 275</span> (1652), 2715-22 PMID: <a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18700206" rev="review">18700206</a></span><br />
<br />
<span class="Z3988" style="font-size: x-small;" title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.jtitle=Proceedings%3A+Biological+Sciences&rft_id=info%3Adoi%2F10.1098%2Frspb.1995.0087&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fresearchblogging.org&rft.atitle=MHC-Dependent+Mate+Preferences+in+Humans&rft.issn=&rft.date=1995&rft.volume=260&rft.issue=1359&rft.spage=245&rft.epage=249&rft.artnum=&rft.au=Wedekind+C&rft.au=Seebeck+T&rft.au=Bettens+F&rft.au=Paepke+AJ&rfe_dat=bpr3.included=1;bpr3.tags=Medicine%2CBiological+Anthropology%2C+Evolutionary+Anthropology%2C+Behavioral+Biology%2C+Developmental+Biology%2C+Ecology%2C+Evolutionary+Biology%2C+Endocrinology%2C+Medicine%2C+Nutrition%2C+Public+Health%2C+Cancer">Wedekind C, Seebeck T, Bettens F, & Paepke AJ (1995). MHC-Dependent Mate Preferences in Humans <span style="font-style: italic;">Proceedings: Biological Sciences, 260</span> (1359), 245-249 DOI: <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rspb.1995.0087" rev="review">10.1098/rspb.1995.0087</a></span>KateClancyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10266484364483890008noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7100452276682801125.post-88984519590162568562011-06-24T22:22:00.000-05:002011-06-24T22:22:29.217-05:00Summer of the Pill: The latest fashion accessory to hit your uterus: the IUD!<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNSG7JG5nzZ2bw50hUynB5zIf_QeuwAGAB-5Cb80f-zCTD8j780IiarvkJoQYQCl7XnSeOxwXQaQ-0bMDafndZTe9H0siIJy5b-VvUaeeDYPmqk1Yp39kfycFkKPcKBdHH7qa6IlnRLHo/s1600/bieber+neon+sunglasses.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNSG7JG5nzZ2bw50hUynB5zIf_QeuwAGAB-5Cb80f-zCTD8j780IiarvkJoQYQCl7XnSeOxwXQaQ-0bMDafndZTe9H0siIJy5b-VvUaeeDYPmqk1Yp39kfycFkKPcKBdHH7qa6IlnRLHo/s1600/bieber+neon+sunglasses.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Found <a href="http://www.stylebistro.com/lookbooks/men/Neon+Sunglasses">here</a>. IUDs are back in style.<br />
Neon sunglasses? Not so much.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>What is used by 20-26% of European, 30% of Israeli, 34% of Chinese, 34% of Egyptian, and 49% of Korean women… but only 1-2% of US women (Harper et al. 2008)? The intrauterine device, or IUD! The IUD is found in two forms: the copper IUD, and the hormone-releasing IUD that releases a tiny amount of progesterone. Both make the uterus inhospitable to pregnancy.<br />
<br />
The modern incarnation of the IUD is possibly safer and more effective than oral contraception. Chances of pregnancy on the IUD range from 0-1.1 per 100 woman-years of use, and they get lower with each year you use it (Prager and Darney 2007). That is far better than your chances on the pill.<br />
<br />
The IUD suffers from a bad reputation, in part due to misinformation or misunderstanding on the part of medical providers. Harper et al (2008) surveyed 816 physicians, nurse practitioners and physician assistants who each serve more than 100 contraceptive patients per year in the California State family planning program. They found that 40% of medical providers didn’t offer IUDs to patients, 36% provided infrequent counseling. Further, 46% thought nulliparous women, and 39% thought postabortion women were good candidates for the IUDs. Younger physicians were more likely than older physicians to recommend the IUD (Harper et al. 2008), which suggests a generational gap due to the overinflated descriptions of the dangers of early IUDs.<br />
<br />
So let’s go through the actual pros and cons of this form of contraception, so that over the course of the summer you can compare this information to what you’ll be learning about the pill.<br />
<br />
Remember, I’m just an anthropologist who studies this stuff. I am not a medical doctor.<br />
<br />
<b>Danger danger! Or not</b><br />
<br />
The biggest danger from an IUD is that it could perforate the uterus, or be expelled from it. And that can certainly be painful, reduce fertility, or get you pregnant when you think you are protected. So let’s look at how often this happens.<br />
<br />
Prager and Darney (2007) wrote a review on the levonorgestrel IUD (hormone-releasing, like Mirena) in nulliparous (that means no parity, or no children) women. This is important because many still carry the misconception that nulliparous women shouldn’t use IUDs, because of an increased risk of perforation, infertility, pelvic inflammatory disease risk, and difficulty in placement.<br />
<br />
There are notable differences between the parous (has had children) and nulliparous (no kids) uterus. The parous uterus is a little bigger, and the cervix dilates a bit more easily. However, it turns out that for the most part these differences are not great enough to produce any differences in side effects or danger to the woman using it.<br />
<br />
Prager and Darney (2007) found six studies on perforation or expulsion rates for IUDs (some copper, some hormone-releasing, which are made of plastic and are flexible). They did not find enough data to support a link either way for nulliparity and perforation, because the studies they found had anywhere from zero to two nulliparous women in them. That said, the perforation rates for each study ranged from 0-1.3% in one study, and 2.6 out of 1000 in another (Prager and Darney 2007).<br />
<br />
Expulsion rates do not seem to differ between parous and nulliparous women, and again, are very low for all women. The annual expulsion rate among cited studies was 0-4.2 per 100, 0-1.2% per year, and 0-0.2% per year (Prager and Darney 2007). The one important point they do make is that there is a very slightly increased risk of expulsion for lactating women – perhaps this is due to the oxytocin released during nipple stimulation, which could contract muscle?<br />
<br />
The other concern sometimes mentioned is that of pelvic inflammatory disease. PID is an infection of the uterus and is usually associated with a sexually transmitted disease. PID can increase the risk of infertility. So for women who haven’t had a kid, but want to some day, the concern about getting PID can loom large.<br />
<br />
However, Prager and Darney (2007) surveyed the literature and found that the only studies that support a link between PID and IUDs involves an IUD no longer on the market, or was associated with high-risk sexual behavior.<br />
<br />
<b>Hidden benefits</b><br />
<br />
In some women, copper IUDs can increase menstruation. However, the hormone-releasing IUDs tend to decrease menstruation, and many women stop getting periods altogether. Hormone-releasing IUDs can be prescribed to women with menorrhagia, or pathologically heavy menstruation, too.<br />
<br />
Prager and Darney (2007) describe a study in which hormone-releasing IUD users were compared to oral contraceptive users. These IUD users had less dysmenorrhea (painful periods), less spotting, fewer days of bleeding, fewer cycles. Further, 88% of the IUD users wanted to continue with that method of contraception after a year, compared to 68% of pill users, and this difference was statistically significant (p = 0.003).<br />
<br />
Romer and Linsberger (2009) also looked at satisfaction with the hormone-releasing IUD in a sample of 8680 women across 18 countries: 95% were satisfied with their method of contraception. <br />
<br />
<b>The fine print</b><br />
<br />
Insertion of the IUD can be a little more painful in a nulliparous woman, since her cervix has not dilated before. Also, a minority of women may spot for a while after insertion of the IUD... and by a while, I mean a few months. But once those few months of light spotting are over, they often don’t get a period again until removing the IUD. And of course, the IUD is not conducive to sudden desires to start the babymaking process: you will need to schedule its removal first.<br />
<br />
However, with the number of women who are ambivalent at best about birth control pills, but do not want to use a barrier method, the IUD offers a lot in the way of safety, efficacy and ease of use.<br />
<br />
<b>References</b><br />
<br />
<span class="Z3988" title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.jtitle=Obstetrics+and+gynecology&rft_id=info%3Apmid%2F18515520&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fresearchblogging.org&rft.atitle=Challenges+in+translating+evidence+to+practice%3A+the+provision+of+intrauterine+contraception.&rft.issn=0029-7844&rft.date=2008&rft.volume=111&rft.issue=6&rft.spage=1359&rft.epage=69&rft.artnum=&rft.au=Harper+CC&rft.au=Blum+M&rft.au=de+Bocanegra+HT&rft.au=Darney+PD&rft.au=Speidel+JJ&rft.au=Policar+M&rft.au=Drey+EA&rfe_dat=bpr3.included=1;bpr3.tags=Medicine%2CBiological+Anthropology%2C+Evolutionary+Anthropology%2C+Behavioral+Biology%2C+Developmental+Biology%2C+Ecology%2C+Evolutionary+Biology%2C+Endocrinology%2C+Medicine%2C+Nutrition%2C+Public+Health%2C+Cancer">Harper CC, Blum M, de Bocanegra HT, Darney PD, Speidel JJ, Policar M, & Drey EA (2008). Challenges in translating evidence to practice: the provision of intrauterine contraception. <span style="font-style: italic;">Obstetrics and gynecology, 111</span> (6), 1359-69 PMID: <a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18515520" rev="review">18515520</a></span><br />
<br />
<span class="Z3988" title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.jtitle=Contraception&rft_id=info%3Adoi%2F10.1016%2Fj.contraception.2007.01.018&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fresearchblogging.org&rft.atitle=The+levonorgestrel+intrauterine+system+in+nulliparous+women&rft.issn=00107824&rft.date=2007&rft.volume=75&rft.issue=6&rft.spage=0&rft.epage=0&rft.artnum=http%3A%2F%2Flinkinghub.elsevier.com%2Fretrieve%2Fpii%2FS0010782407000789&rft.au=Prager%2C+S.&rft.au=Darney%2C+P.&rfe_dat=bpr3.included=1;bpr3.tags=Medicine%2CBiological+Anthropology%2C+Evolutionary+Anthropology%2C+Behavioral+Biology%2C+Developmental+Biology%2C+Ecology%2C+Evolutionary+Biology%2C+Endocrinology%2C+Medicine%2C+Nutrition%2C+Public+Health%2C+Cancer">Prager, S., & Darney, P. (2007). The levonorgestrel intrauterine system in nulliparous women <span style="font-style: italic;">Contraception, 75</span> (6) DOI: <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.contraception.2007.01.018" rev="review">10.1016/j.contraception.2007.01.018</a></span><br />
<br />
<span class="Z3988" title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.jtitle=The+European+Journal+of+Contraception+and+Reproductive+Health+Care&rft_id=info%3Adoi%2F10.3109%2F13625180903203154&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fresearchblogging.org&rft.atitle=User+satisfaction+with+a+levonorgestrel-releasing+intrauterine+system+%28LNG-IUS%29%3A+Data+from+an+international+survey&rft.issn=1362-5187&rft.date=2009&rft.volume=14&rft.issue=6&rft.spage=391&rft.epage=398&rft.artnum=http%3A%2F%2Finformahealthcare.com%2Fdoi%2Fabs%2F10.3109%2F13625180903203154&rft.au=R%C3%B6mer%2C+T.&rft.au=Linsberger%2C+D.&rfe_dat=bpr3.included=1;bpr3.tags=Medicine%2CBiological+Anthropology%2C+Evolutionary+Anthropology%2C+Behavioral+Biology%2C+Developmental+Biology%2C+Ecology%2C+Evolutionary+Biology%2C+Endocrinology%2C+Medicine%2C+Nutrition%2C+Public+Health%2C+Cancer">Römer, T., & Linsberger, D. (2009). User satisfaction with a levonorgestrel-releasing intrauterine system (LNG-IUS): Data from an international survey <span style="font-style: italic;">The European Journal of Contraception and Reproductive Health Care, 14</span> (6), 391-398 DOI: <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.3109/13625180903203154" rev="review">10.3109/13625180903203154</a></span>KateClancyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10266484364483890008noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7100452276682801125.post-76277122184222894362011-06-21T21:29:00.000-05:002011-06-21T21:29:16.879-05:00C&V Shorts: Make the most of your time and energy<i>This is the first in a new series at Context and Variation where I will attempt to be more concise. As I continue along the <a href="http://professorkateclancy.blogspot.com/search/label/summer%20of%20the%20pill">Summer of the Pill series</a> I want to make sure I still put some attention on other topics within biological anthropology. C&V shorts allows me to share something I find cool, in half the words I usually do.</i><br />
<br />
What would you do if you knew you had eighty years to live? What if you knew you only had forty?<br />
<br />
Life history theory is the idea that the timing of major life events is adaptive. That is, when to be born, when to wean, when to grow, and when to reproduce are dependent on selection pressures in the environment. The most important concept within life history theory, then, is that of tradeoffs, because when you time these events is based off how you want to allocate your resources. In your environment, would it be best to grow right now? Should you grow under the care of your mother, or should you be independent? Is it time to have a child? How about your second, or third, or fourth child?<br />
<br />
For this reason, many people study life history transitions, which means the critical yet variable period when people move from one state to another: from growing to reproductive cycling, from cycling to gestating, gestating to lactating, even lactating back to cycling. And much of what governs these transitions has to do with energy, because energy is finite: energy you use towards one purpose, like growing, cannot be used for another, like reproducing. This is especially true in humans because we permanently transition from allocating to growth to reproduction at puberty, unlike other species that keep growing throughout their reproductive years.<br />
<br />
But energy isn’t the only factor that enters into our physiological decision-making: time is also important. And as I hinted in the first paragraph, if you have some sense that your time on this earth will be short or long, you might make different decisions about when to do what.<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPHKqfmJoBSqPcOefMy0pcaEpn0JgKJFxIS_njUnd2_vnyrUkKgknjfd16jQ9Xf_fYgVdmZqq0w-MPkd428GRO1NNEmINnpErHghw4CYWnA8FBmerDQ_dqxqWg3hRCk38B3Rp6zZy3a14/s1600/pad+and+tampon+costume.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPHKqfmJoBSqPcOefMy0pcaEpn0JgKJFxIS_njUnd2_vnyrUkKgknjfd16jQ9Xf_fYgVdmZqq0w-MPkd428GRO1NNEmINnpErHghw4CYWnA8FBmerDQ_dqxqWg3hRCk38B3Rp6zZy3a14/s320/pad+and+tampon+costume.jpg" width="128" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Found <a href="http://www.mum.org/haloCost.htm">here</a>. Perhaps part of a<br />
modern menarche ceremony?</td></tr>
</tbody></table>A few years ago, Walker et al (2006) looked at all the available data on growth and development in small-scale societies – that means foragers and agrarian populations. They found that girls with a later age at menarche – that is the first menstrual period – are shorter in stature. If we consider only energy, this makes no sense! The later you wait to start reproducing should mean you had more time to grow, so why did Walker et al (2006) find the opposite?<br />
<br />
The answer is timing. It turns out that mortality rates tell us something about growth and development: the higher the mortality in a population, the earlier their age at menarche and age at first reproduction. So, the higher your chances of being offed at any given moment, the more likely you are to favor reproduction over growth so you can move ahead with the whole reproductive success thing. So, constraints on time and energy affect our physiology differently, and mean we may have to make different predictions about life history transitions that are dependent on human societies. Predation or access to health care impact mortality, but so do homicide or war.<br />
<br />
In 2011, McIntyre and Kacerosky performed a similar analysis, only this time they compared small-scale societies with industrialized ones – industrialized societies are those that are more urban, technology-driven, with greater access to modern health care, like the USA. Their analysis of small-scale societies confirmed Walker et al’s (2006) results.<br />
<br />
But McIntyre and Kacerosky (2011) found the opposite relationship in industrialized societies: there, the later you hit menarche, the taller you were. And this makes sense if we think we can assume most industrialized populations have lower mortality than the foragers: within the industrialized pops, those who had the time and energy to grow big by holding off on menarche, did.<br />
<br />
McIntyre and Kacerosky (2011) are hesitant to be full adaptationists in their paper, which I appreciate. So, they offer two hypotheses and suggestions for future testing. The first hypothesis falls in line with the life history theory described in this post, though their focus is more on parental investment than mortality. But still, environment, and access to time and energy, set life history trajectories for different populations. However they are also careful to point out a nonadaptive hypothesis: it could be that variability in stature is decreasing as heritability is increasing, meaning we are hitting up against biological constraints for size.<br />
<br />
Genes and environment interact to produce phenotype, and this is something most people remember from high school biology. But sometimes it’s nice to peek under the hood and learn a little something about the life history mechanisms that are set into motion by this interaction. Early life events, perhaps even life events of our mothers and grandmothers, start our life history trajectories. Then tradeoffs at certain important transition periods nudge us a little further one way or another for the rest of our lives.<br />
<br />
<b>References</b><br />
<br />
<span class="Z3988" title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.jtitle=American+journal+of+human+biology+%3A+the+official+journal+of+the+Human+Biology+Council&rft_id=info%3Apmid%2F21484909&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fresearchblogging.org&rft.atitle=Age+and+size+at+maturity+in+women%3A+a+norm+of+reaction%3F&rft.issn=1042-0533&rft.date=2011&rft.volume=23&rft.issue=3&rft.spage=305&rft.epage=12&rft.artnum=&rft.au=McIntyre+MH&rft.au=Kacerosky+PM&rfe_dat=bpr3.included=1;bpr3.tags=Medicine%2CBiological+Anthropology%2C+Evolutionary+Anthropology%2C+Behavioral+Biology%2C+Developmental+Biology%2C+Ecology%2C+Evolutionary+Biology%2C+Endocrinology%2C+Medicine%2C+Nutrition%2C+Public+Health%2C+Cancer">McIntyre MH, & Kacerosky PM (2011). Age and size at maturity in women: a norm of reaction? <span style="font-style: italic;">American journal of human biology : the official journal of the Human Biology Council, 23</span> (3), 305-12 PMID: <a rev="review" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21484909">21484909</a></span><br />
<br />
<span class="Z3988" title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.jtitle=American+Journal+of+Human+Biology&rft_id=info%3Adoi%2F10.1002%2Fajhb.20510&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fresearchblogging.org&rft.atitle=Growth+rates+and+life+histories+in+twenty-two+small-scale+societies&rft.issn=1042-0533&rft.date=2006&rft.volume=18&rft.issue=3&rft.spage=295&rft.epage=311&rft.artnum=http%3A%2F%2Fdoi.wiley.com%2F10.1002%2Fajhb.20510&rft.au=Walker%2C+R.&rft.au=Gurven%2C+M.&rft.au=Hill%2C+K.&rft.au=Migliano%2C+A.&rft.au=Chagnon%2C+N.&rft.au=De+Souza%2C+R.&rft.au=Djurovic%2C+G.&rft.au=Hames%2C+R.&rft.au=Hurtado%2C+A.&rft.au=Kaplan%2C+H.&rft.au=Kramer%2C+K.&rft.au=Oliver%2C+W.&rft.au=Valeggia%2C+C.&rft.au=Yamauchi%2C+T.&rfe_dat=bpr3.included=1;bpr3.tags=Medicine%2CBiological+Anthropology%2C+Evolutionary+Anthropology%2C+Behavioral+Biology%2C+Developmental+Biology%2C+Ecology%2C+Evolutionary+Biology%2C+Endocrinology%2C+Medicine%2C+Nutrition%2C+Public+Health%2C+Cancer">Walker, R., Gurven, M., Hill, K., Migliano, A., Chagnon, N., De Souza, R., Djurovic, G., Hames, R., Hurtado, A., Kaplan, H., Kramer, K., Oliver, W., Valeggia, C., & Yamauchi, T. (2006). Growth rates and life histories in twenty-two small-scale societies <span style="font-style: italic;">American Journal of Human Biology, 18</span> (3), 295-311 DOI: <a rev="review" href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/ajhb.20510">10.1002/ajhb.20510</a></span>KateClancyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10266484364483890008noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7100452276682801125.post-24330242109165131672011-06-17T09:00:00.000-05:002011-06-17T09:00:03.760-05:00Summer of the Pill: Why do we menstruate?<i>This is part of my Summer of the Pill series, where I will answer a question about the birth control pill every week for the summer. I will try and make them shorter than my usual posts. Please remember that I am not a medical doctor, so do not use this material to diagnose or treat any condition. I still hope you find these posts informative and useful.</i><br />
<br />
One of the questions I got on my <a href="http://professorkateclancy.blogspot.com/2011/06/summer-of-pill.html">inaugural Summer of the Pill post</a> is one that I have been asked many times over the years: Why do we menstruate, and is it even necessary while on the pill?<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBPQKck_Oubj5PoNOaI95tJgMjkH4qIjOxFJYeZqxEqeXg-wuxIECKqj08r1NmIlp_AiD2tyyIHK84mA3ifs48axTNxDVDW28CWRHbbvR4Tx_H6aWUqz9CVnaUgjaYC7dmtmpDvBySR_4/s1600/bcp+pack.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBPQKck_Oubj5PoNOaI95tJgMjkH4qIjOxFJYeZqxEqeXg-wuxIECKqj08r1NmIlp_AiD2tyyIHK84mA3ifs48axTNxDVDW28CWRHbbvR4Tx_H6aWUqz9CVnaUgjaYC7dmtmpDvBySR_4/s200/bcp+pack.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Found <a href="http://health.infoniac.com/how_to_use_the_birth_control_pills_correctly.html">here</a>.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>So first, let me back up and explain the modern birth control pill. Most of the standard, monthly pill packs have three weeks of synthetic hormones that you take daily. These hormones out-compete your natural ones, which is how they suppress ovulation. Over the course of these three weeks your endometrial lining is also building up some in response to these hormones. For many adult women in urban, or industrialized environments, the amount of synthetic hormone is lower than what their body would naturally produce, so the lining of the uterus is less thick than it would usually be.<br />
<br />
The fourth week is a placebo week – you don’t have to take these pills, but you are usually encouraged to just so that you keep up the habit of taking a pill every day – and the absence of the synthetic hormones in your body triggers menstruation. Then you slough off the endometrial lining that was thickening and again, if you are one of the many adult industrialized women for whom the pill is designed, then you should actually have a lighter period than what you have in a natural cycle.<br />
<br />
The placebo week in your standard pill pack is there because the original maker of the pill thought women would be disturbed by the absence of a period. And there are still many women who would prefer to get their period than not. But what about the women who would just as gladly stop menstruating at the end of each cycle or pill pack? Would this be a safe decision?<br />
<br />
In order to get at these questions, I will answer three different ones for you: Why do we menstruate? What did we do back in the day? and What is appropriate today?<br />
<br />
<b>Why do we menstruate?</b><br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjL_mDgjlj7ReHmySET9Q53xjGHThIcLFo0WbT623EE53-lnL2YqiO3MPRMnoA6aYq6Qe90eLgzTElxWha6IghDiugol5t2A9t95U4LZip7WbLDoNxUXZTSC5bmzg5Mqhw6gC40afBJTEg/s1600/gorillalemurkotex.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjL_mDgjlj7ReHmySET9Q53xjGHThIcLFo0WbT623EE53-lnL2YqiO3MPRMnoA6aYq6Qe90eLgzTElxWha6IghDiugol5t2A9t95U4LZip7WbLDoNxUXZTSC5bmzg5Mqhw6gC40afBJTEg/s1600/gorillalemurkotex.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Adapted from Fleagle 1999 by me.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>Humans are not the only animals to undergo cycles of growth and regression in our endometrial lining. Yet, only a few animals actually menstruate. Menstruation has occasionally been observed in other great apes (this is the primate group where humans belong, with the chimps, bonobos, gorillas and orangs), and a few other animals. As far as we can tell, everyone else resorbs the lining before growing a new one. It seems to be that those animals who menstruate, do so because the amount of lining they have is greater than what they are able to resorb.<br />
<br />
Then, even among those few other animals who have been occasionally observed to menstruate, only humans are copious menstruators. That is, we’re the only ones who seem to do it every time a cycle ends, in a large enough quantity that it is visible (and those of us in industrialized environments know it’s more than just visible – there is a whole section of the drugstore devoted entirely to pads, tampons and cups to help us dispose of it).<br />
<br />
Most people seem to think that the reason humans have such thick endometria, that produce the byproduct of copious menstruation, is that we have big-brained babies with high oxygen and glucose needs. We have the most invasive trophoblast of all animals, where the selfish little bugger burrows its way right through the endometrium in order to set up shop and start making the placenta. And so the thickness and differentiation of the endometrium, as well as the precise timing of its readiness for implantation and network of blood vessels at the ready to feed that fetus, make it a highly specialized tissue of a rather significant quantity!<br />
<br />
<b>What did we do back in the day?</b><br />
<br />
These days the average industrialized woman menstruates about 400 times in her life, and like I said, that menses is copious. Average menstrual blood loss is around 30mL, but anything below about 120mL is considered normal.<br />
<br />
However, women in more traditional environments, particularly those who are foragers or pastoralists, menstruate far less frequently, only around 50 times (Strassmann 1997). Part of the reason for this is that their first period is much later in life, say around seventeen years old rather than twelve or thirteen, and that they expend a lot more energy and eat fewer calories each day (Strassmann 1997).<br />
<br />
But there is another reason that the traditional environment, the one we assume humans evolved in, leads to far frequent menstruation: these women usually don’t have access to contraception, and thus practice what is called natural fertility. So the average number of live births for these women can be as many as eight, and even with high infant mortality that’s a lot of babies. Add to that the fact that these women will breastfeed through toddlerhood, and you have several menstruation-free years.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBDiG7zoXs9F4EbVhumoJ7GOeu5wBY5sw15BhdOciw_tAmx5iv8xjCW57jmbpxKNc6FQA_R6_-Fg7HmtctMTKA02KH2weYI5PTBG926zmKrJgvqBl_PgmSTXCQiYSXDl0IwJNVrRyYQCQ/s1600/Industrial+vs+nonindustrial+menses+pattern.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="118" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBDiG7zoXs9F4EbVhumoJ7GOeu5wBY5sw15BhdOciw_tAmx5iv8xjCW57jmbpxKNc6FQA_R6_-Fg7HmtctMTKA02KH2weYI5PTBG926zmKrJgvqBl_PgmSTXCQiYSXDl0IwJNVrRyYQCQ/s400/Industrial+vs+nonindustrial+menses+pattern.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Figure 1. The industrial (top) versus nonindustrial (bottom) pattern of menstruation through the reproductive life span. The pink bars represent infrequent menses, the red bars represent frequent menses; breaks indicate no menses due to pregnancy and lactation. Note that the first period begins earlier in the industrialized pattern, and that fewer births, less breastfeeding, and more calories lead to more frequent menses across the reproductive years.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>So the industrial pattern doesn’t look anything like the nonindustrial, or traditional pattern. But the pill doesn’t necessarily look like either pattern – in terms of the number of menstruations it is like the industrial pattern, but in terms of ovulations it’s likely closer to the traditional pattern. The question is whether one of these patterns is necessarily healthier. I will partially answer this today.<br />
<br />
<b>What is appropriate today?</b><br />
<br />
The placebo week of the pill is not necessary for contraceptive purposes, and the menstruation that occurs during this time may not be important for most women either. The two things worth talking to your doctor about are breakthrough bleeding, and the additional week of hormone exposure per month.<br />
<br />
Breakthrough bleeding is when you have some kind of blood discharge at a time other than when you would expect to menstruate: when on the pill this would be any other time than the placebo week. And this can be very common in some populations even when using the normal pill preparations with the placebo week (Bentley 1996, Vitzthum et al 2001, Vitzthum and Ringheim 2005). Young users of the pill (say under 25 years old), athletes, and users from nonindustrial populations may be especially at risk.<br />
<br />
If you have breast cancer or other reproductive cancers in your family history that are of the hormone-responsive variety, you may not want to expose yourself to any more hormone than you have to. The amount of hormone exposure in one’s life is correlated with risk of breast cancer (Jasienska and Thune 2001). However, the question of whether taking the pill helps or hurts your breast cancer risk is a very murky issue, and one that I will try to address in its own post later this summer.<br />
<br />
Something you’ll read in this Summer of the Pill series is that making decisions about reproduction is about understanding trade-offs. You need to weigh the reasons you take the pill with the side-effects or negative impact of the pill, if you experience any. And many women out there could make up a pro/con list for taking the pill, or changing preparations, or skipping the placebo week, or changing to an IUD, and find that they weight each item very differently. There is rarely a single right answer.<br />
<br />
<b>References</b><br />
<br />
Bentley, GR. (1996) "Evidence for interpopulation variation in normal ovarian function and consequences for hormonal contraception" in Variability in human fertility, eds L. a. M.-T. Rosetta, C.G.N. (Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK), pp 46-65.<br />
<br />
<span class="Z3988" title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.jtitle=BMJ&rft_id=info%3Adoi%2F10.1136%2Fbmj.322.7286.586&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fresearchblogging.org&rft.atitle=Research+pointers%3A+Lifestyle%2C+hormones%2C+and+risk+of+breast+cancer&rft.issn=09598138&rft.date=2001&rft.volume=322&rft.issue=7286&rft.spage=586&rft.epage=587&rft.artnum=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.bmj.com%2Fcgi%2Fdoi%2F10.1136%2Fbmj.322.7286.586&rft.au=Jasienska%2C+G.&rft.au=Thune%2C+I.&rfe_dat=bpr3.included=1;bpr3.tags=Medicine%2CBiological+Anthropology%2C+Evolutionary+Anthropology%2C+Behavioral+Biology%2C+Developmental+Biology%2C+Ecology%2C+Evolutionary+Biology%2C+Endocrinology%2C+Medicine%2C+Nutrition%2C+Public+Health%2C+Cancer">Jasienska, G., & Thune, I. (2001). Research pointers: Lifestyle, hormones, and risk of breast cancer <span style="font-style: italic;">BMJ, 322</span> (7286), 586-587 DOI: <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/bmj.322.7286.586" rev="review">10.1136/bmj.322.7286.586</a></span><br />
<br />
<span class="Z3988" title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.jtitle=Current+Anthropology&rft_id=info%3Adoi%2F10.1086%2F204592&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fresearchblogging.org&rft.atitle=The+Biology+of+Menstruation+in+Homo+Sapiens%3A+Total+Lifetime+Menses%2C+Fecundity%2C+and+Nonsynchrony+in+a+Natural-Fertility+Population&rft.issn=0011-3204&rft.date=1997&rft.volume=38&rft.issue=1&rft.spage=123&rft.epage=&rft.artnum=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.journals.uchicago.edu%2Fdoi%2Fabs%2F10.1086%2F204592&rft.au=Strassmann%2C+B.&rfe_dat=bpr3.included=1;bpr3.tags=Medicine%2CBiological+Anthropology%2C+Evolutionary+Anthropology%2C+Behavioral+Biology%2C+Developmental+Biology%2C+Ecology%2C+Evolutionary+Biology%2C+Endocrinology%2C+Medicine%2C+Nutrition%2C+Public+Health%2C+Cancer">Strassmann, B. (1997). The Biology of Menstruation in Homo Sapiens: Total Lifetime Menses, Fecundity, and Nonsynchrony in a Natural-Fertility Population <span style="font-style: italic;">Current Anthropology, 38</span> (1) DOI: <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1086/204592" rev="review">10.1086/204592</a></span><br />
<br />
<span class="Z3988" title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.jtitle=Contraception&rft_id=info%3Apmid%2F11777494&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fresearchblogging.org&rft.atitle=Vaginal+bleeding+patterns+among+rural+highland+Bolivian+women%3A+relationship+to+fecundity+and+fetal+loss.&rft.issn=0010-7824&rft.date=2001&rft.volume=64&rft.issue=5&rft.spage=319&rft.epage=25&rft.artnum=&rft.au=Vitzthum+VJ&rft.au=Spielvogel+H&rft.au=Caceres+E&rft.au=Miller+A&rfe_dat=bpr3.included=1;bpr3.tags=Medicine%2CBiological+Anthropology%2C+Evolutionary+Anthropology%2C+Behavioral+Biology%2C+Developmental+Biology%2C+Ecology%2C+Evolutionary+Biology%2C+Endocrinology%2C+Medicine%2C+Nutrition%2C+Public+Health%2C+Cancer">Vitzthum VJ, Spielvogel H, Caceres E, & Miller A (2001). Vaginal bleeding patterns among rural highland Bolivian women: relationship to fecundity and fetal loss. <span style="font-style: italic;">Contraception, 64</span> (5), 319-25 PMID: <a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11777494" rev="review">11777494</a></span><br />
<br />
<span class="Z3988" title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.jtitle=Studies+in+family+planning&rft_id=info%3Apmid%2F15828522&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fresearchblogging.org&rft.atitle=Hormonal+contraception+and+physiology%3A+a+research-based+theory+of+discontinuation+due+to+side+effects.&rft.issn=0039-3665&rft.date=2005&rft.volume=36&rft.issue=1&rft.spage=13&rft.epage=32&rft.artnum=&rft.au=Vitzthum+VJ&rft.au=Ringheim+K&rfe_dat=bpr3.included=1;bpr3.tags=Anthropology%2CBiology%2CMedicine%2CHealth%2CBiological+Anthropology%2C+Medical+Anthropology%2C+Reproductive+Health%2C+Endocrinology">Vitzthum VJ, & Ringheim K (2005). Hormonal contraception and physiology: a research-based theory of discontinuation due to side effects. <span style="font-style: italic;">Studies in family planning, 36</span> (1), 13-32 PMID: <a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15828522" rev="review">15828522</a></span>KateClancyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10266484364483890008noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7100452276682801125.post-24136954987335791862011-06-14T10:19:00.000-05:002011-06-14T10:19:54.736-05:00Summer of the PillIt’s summertime, and as we shed our winter layers thoughts turn not only to love and sex, but also regulating menstrual cycles, understanding premenstrual syndrome, and potential population variation in the pharmacokinetics of hormonal contraception. Or is that just me, as a ladybusiness anthropologist?<br />
<br />
If my inbox is a clue I am not the only person who wants good information on hormonal contraception. Many women are on the pill, and they use it for many reasons, only one of them contraception. Remembering to take the pill or get a new prescription, deciding on the relative impact of the current side effects versus new ones one might get from switching, wondering if it’s really doing its job, wondering if it’s increasing or decreasing breast cancer risk… these questions are like a buzzing in the back of the head at all times for many reproductively-aged women and their partners. And they want the buzzing to stop.<br />
<br />
Let me see if I can help. Let’s make the summer of 2011 the Summer of the Pill. Every week I will cover a different topic or answer a different question on the subject of hormonal contraception, in addition to my usual posts.<br />
<br />
Want to suggest a topic or ask a question? Comment on this post, <a href="mailto:kathryn.clancy@gmail.com">email me</a>, or <a href="http://www.twitter.com/KateClancy">@ me on Twitter</a>.<br />
<br />
The first post should appear by this Friday.KateClancyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10266484364483890008noreply@blogger.com18tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7100452276682801125.post-43474562842238976522011-06-09T15:19:00.000-05:002011-06-09T15:19:05.645-05:00Why it's cool to be a scientist (especially an anthropologist)<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCsEg3WOYkgwneAx6M1SGvhZV09OaFVq9EQEulxkumQlbY_2T_0uWKSVvYQSc-QZ9nnwgGhoKHCU7Kzvtr22tE1WQeoVgHgFz4HfyiZtgpa_mK34xtLVpz7pO6j0ASRFRzKCqn35bPrcM/s1600/imascientist-logo.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="92" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCsEg3WOYkgwneAx6M1SGvhZV09OaFVq9EQEulxkumQlbY_2T_0uWKSVvYQSc-QZ9nnwgGhoKHCU7Kzvtr22tE1WQeoVgHgFz4HfyiZtgpa_mK34xtLVpz7pO6j0ASRFRzKCqn35bPrcM/s200/imascientist-logo.png" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">From <a href="http://imascientist.org.uk/">here</a>.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>This month, I am taking part in <a href="http://copperj11.imascientist.org.uk/">I'm a Scientist, Get Me Out of Here!</a> which is a program that links up teenage students with scientists all over the world. We put together bios, answer questions, and do live chats with them. I am looking forward to the chance to share my vast knowledge of ladybusiness anthropology -- and biological anthropology more generally -- with students who are looking to find out whether science is boring or fun.<br />
<br />
The way this project is set up is that, over the course of the few weeks we interact with the students, they vote us off one by one; the last person left wins 500 pounds to use towards a science outreach project. If I win, I hope to put these funds towards a project that will link young people together to share their stories of how their lives vary, and what impact that has on their biology. My hope is that this project will achieve two goals: first, to get young people to observe their own bodies and biology in order to be more aware of the science that surrounds them, and second, to show them that variation is what is normal. In the teenage years (and even earlier), there is often a lot of peer pressure to fit some culturally-sanctioned definition of "normal." But what is normal, really, when we all come from such different places and lead such different lives? When we can directly observe how our lifestyle and environment impact our biology, it becomes clear that difference, not similarity, is the true normal.<br />
<br />
As a companion piece to my bio, I would like to share why I think it's cool to study and enjoy science.<br />
<br />
<b>Science is fun</b><br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjo8keG3WYAG5Wd9V7hb6d3mIkbaVdlT4X81QPc-ua0IPbQTNlqg1EPw4fks8Q8A-fFDrqwgXwVZHRrvtIG49BFODNwKDV2rEo3HyCmJ-sDyNbCScGjcpnWguHmtBYJCXg1t-b1imNU__k/s1600/nerd+army.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="230" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjo8keG3WYAG5Wd9V7hb6d3mIkbaVdlT4X81QPc-ua0IPbQTNlqg1EPw4fks8Q8A-fFDrqwgXwVZHRrvtIG49BFODNwKDV2rEo3HyCmJ-sDyNbCScGjcpnWguHmtBYJCXg1t-b1imNU__k/s320/nerd+army.jpg" width="180" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Found <a href="http://www.facebook.com/home.php?sk=group_217977781559673&ap=1">here</a>.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>I first got really interested in science because of my AP Biology teacher. Mr. Cabral demonstrated his excitement and zest for biology every day. One day I got so caught up in what he was talking about -- the potential impact of genetically modified corn on crops throughout the country -- that as soon as I got home, I got on our AOL dial-up internet and started digging (this would have been the fall of 1996). I used AOL's clunky search engine and managed to find several interesting websites that talked about Archer Daniels Midland. I printed it out on three ring binder paper -- I think we were out of regular printer paper -- and brought it to him the next day. I remember how motivated I was to learn about ADM, and then how that internal motivation was reinforced by how excited Mr. Cabral was by my find.<br />
<br />
This was my first experience with the kind of detective work science can entail. Yes you do experiments, you do labwork or fieldwork, you collect samples or make things blow up or work with stuff that smells. And there is a sense in adventure to that. But another important piece of the work of science is setting out with a question, and doing the sleuthing necessary to find out the answer for yourself.<br />
<br />
That will never stop being fun for me.<br />
<br />
<b>Science is logical</b><br />
Fun is what got me started on science, the constant sense of discovery and the enjoyment of developing expertise where no one else has it. But what has kept me in science has been an increasing love, even total devotion, to the idea of the scientific method.<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7B6OFjWZ4bSPPQc2H2pjHbJwgd-hVIiVl100ixMGQTjZEhPUGXR1Zra-tv0bDU8hnC-SrLvx32nhOuJmM7e6OiOjpfgT6mPTNcd037vCVteSV5d7T2tUIcBs1Tfn8Cu8j5wgzL2M7lKU/s1600/castle-300x204.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="135" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7B6OFjWZ4bSPPQc2H2pjHbJwgd-hVIiVl100ixMGQTjZEhPUGXR1Zra-tv0bDU8hnC-SrLvx32nhOuJmM7e6OiOjpfgT6mPTNcd037vCVteSV5d7T2tUIcBs1Tfn8Cu8j5wgzL2M7lKU/s200/castle-300x204.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Castle and Beckett, from one of my<br />
favorite detective shows, <i>Castle</i>.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>The scientific method is another place where the metaphor of the detective is useful. A detective has a question: “Who dunnit?” And then, if she’s a good detective, she develops a hypothesis about who she thinks did it, then methodically tests her hypothesis. If she finds her hypothesis is not supported, she produces a new hypothesis to try again, based on what she has learned. If her hypothesis is supported, she likely will want more evidence to continue to better support her hypothesis.<br />
<br />
The reason I love this method is that, if you are willing to really become a good detective, you can detect unintentional and intentional bias. Some conclusions in science, especially the older stuff, and especially stuff on humans that is related to sex or race, was biased by the preconceptions of who performed and interpreted the work. The entire field of women’s reproductive physiology is tainted by early, false observations by a twelfth century monk that women are not human, that they have a seven chambered uterus, that women can decide on the sex of their babies by lying down a certain way, and wicked women will choose to have girls (Rodnite Lemay 1992). Even research in the twentieth century indicated that the sweat of menstruating women makes babies die and flowers wilt (Bryant et al. 1977; Freeman et al. 1934; Macht 1924). And of course, none of these things are true.<br />
<br />
I believe that reality of science always wins. We are constantly becoming more aware of implicit bias and honest mistakes, we are constantly developing new methodologies to test our questions. My students, or my students’ students, will probably find things wrong with my own work and modify or correct it some day. This is very exciting to me!<br />
<br />
<b>Science solves important problems</b><br />
I am a biological anthropologist. That means that I am interested in human evolutionary biology, and in understanding the interaction of biology and culture in the production of a human being. I think we can all come up with problems science helps solve, from making cars and homes more energy efficient, to saving endangered species. Biological anthropology can help answer these from the perspective of human ancestry, evolution and behavior. For instance, it’s great that we are making cars more energy efficient, but how do we change usage patterns? How do we get people to drive less? Really, how do we get a species that evolved to consider short and medium term problems and be selfish, to think altruistically and really long term?<br />
<br />
In my corner of the field, bio anthro can help answer the following (and more):<br />
<ul><li>How does environment and lifestyle impact our hormones?<br />
</li>
<li>Why do some people have a harder time having babies than others?<br />
</li>
<li>What is the impact of our changing environment, to one where we are sitting around more and eating more, on our health?<br />
</li>
<li>Does psychological stress impact our physical health? Can sexism or racism have real effects on the body?<br />
</li>
<li>How does moving from one country to another change your hormones?<br />
</li>
<li>Is taking the pill good for you?<br />
</li>
<li>Does what you do as a pregnant woman really matter that much to the health of your baby?</li>
</ul>And that’s just the beginning.<br />
<b><br />
</b><br />
<b>Anyone can love science</b><br />
<b></b>I want more people, and more different kinds of people, to do science. But I also just want more people to realize how exciting it is to read and learn science. Becoming an engaged science reader, even as someone who already is a scientist, has been a wonderful experience for me. I have developed an <a href="http://myrmecos.net/">appreciation for insects</a>, found out about <a href="http://blog.coturnix.org/">variation in circadian rhythms</a>, and <a href="http://www.scientificamerican.com/blog/post.cfm?id=levees-and-the-illusion-of-flood-co-2011-05-20">fallen in love with rivers</a>.<br />
<br />
I have realized that there is a lot of great science out there, not just biological anthropology, and it’s all worth fighting for. I have taught a lot of non-science majors since becoming a professor – literally hundreds and hundreds. And when I talk to them, many of them explain that the reason they hate science is that someone made them feel stupid: a teacher, a fellow student, sometimes a relative. I’ve heard several explicit stories where a student was told by a teacher that they weren’t good at science. I’ve had students break down in tears as they describe the sexism and racism that has made them decide science wasn’t for them.<br />
<br />
And so, because of the rudeness of another person, the oppression of a system, or a series of incidents that just become too much to bear, they turned away from one of the most logical, exciting, and natural ways of thinking about the world. And many began to dislike it, then mistrust it, then not believe anything they heard about it. And who can blame a young person for turning away from a field, if that is what they are up against? <br />
<br />
Nothing, and no one, should turn people away from science, because anyone can love science. Even if you never take another class on it or pick up a single textbook, even if you don’t become a scientist or educator or writer or any of the many jobs where you can use science, you can revel in the beauty of a photograph, the stories of triumph over adversity, the excitement of discovery. You miss out on the simple human pleasure of satisfying curiosity about the natural world if you don’t read science. In addition to improving access and eliminating oppression so that more people can excel in science, we need to make it possible for people to just learn and love it.<br />
<br />
One of my favorite things about being a scientist is that I get to hang out with other scientists. At conferences, other scientists present talks or posters to talk about their latest research. If you listen closely to these conversations, along with the jargon, and the statistics, and the graphs and tables and lightning-fast discussions of various technical methodologies, you will also hear people abruptly and delightedly exclaim: “Isn’t this just so cool?”<br />
<br />
Yes. Yes, it is.<br />
<b><br />
</b><br />
<b>References</b><br />
<b></b><span class="Z3988" title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.jtitle=The+Lancet&rft_id=info%3Adoi%2F10.1016%2FS0140-6736%2877%2992199-7&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fresearchblogging.org&rft.atitle=THE+SEARCH+FOR+%22MENOTOXIN%22&rft.issn=01406736&rft.date=1977&rft.volume=309&rft.issue=8014&rft.spage=753&rft.epage=&rft.artnum=http%3A%2F%2Flinkinghub.elsevier.com%2Fretrieve%2Fpii%2FS0140673677921997&rft.au=Bryant%2C+J.&rft.au=Heathcote%2C+D.&rft.au=Pickles%2C+V.&rfe_dat=bpr3.included=1;bpr3.tags=Anthropology%2CBiology%2CMedicine%2CBiological+Anthropology%2C+Evolutionary+Anthropology%2C+Behavioral+Biology%2C+Developmental+Biology%2C+Ecology%2C+Evolutionary+Biology%2C+Endocrinology%2C+Medicine%2C+Nutrition%2C+Public+Health%2C+Cancer">Bryant, J., Heathcote, D., & Pickles, V. (1977). THE SEARCH FOR "MENOTOXIN" <span style="font-style: italic;">The Lancet, 309</span> (8014) DOI: <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(77)92199-7" rev="review">10.1016/S0140-6736(77)92199-7</a></span> <br />
Freeman W, Looney JM, and Small RR. 1934. Studies on the phytotoxic index II. Menstrual toxin ("menotoxin"). Journal of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics 52(2):179-183.<br />
Macht D. 1924. Influence of menotoxin on the coagulation of blood. Journal of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics 24(3):213-220.<br />
Rodnite Lemay H. 1992. Womens Secrets: A Translation of Pseudo-Albertus Magnus' de Secretis Mulierum with Commentaries: State University of New York Press.KateClancyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10266484364483890008noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7100452276682801125.post-71482966928499012082011-06-06T12:19:00.002-05:002011-06-06T12:21:36.575-05:00Around the web: belated mother's day edition<b>Apologies for the re-post, it was the only way to save the post and comments with the correct tags after the Blogger meltdown the other day!</b> <br />
<br />
I've been accumulating a lot of mother-y links lately, thought I would share. First two Mother's Day columns that remind us that we shouldn't just put Mom on a pedestal and give her some chocolate one day a year, but think in a more systematic way about the oppression of women and children worldwide. Read <a href="http://www.presstelegram.com/opinions/ci_17994758">this one by Esther Cepeda</a>, and <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/08/opinion/08kristof.html?_r=1&ref=columnists">this one by Nicholas Kristof</a>.<br />
<br />
<b>Fertility</b><br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.livescience.com/13764-fertile-women-rate-okeeffe-erotic.html">Women see Georgia O'Keefe art as erotic around ovulation</a>. I'm not sure this really qualifies as evolutionary psychology, or needs that framework to understand that libido is higher near ovulation, which would increase the chances one would find erotic art extra erotic at that time.<br />
<br />
<b>Birth</b><br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.nature.com/news/2011/110419/full/news.2011.247.html">Chimps give birth like humans</a>. Very cool. I guess we didn't notice until now because they are so solitary when they birth?<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.chicagotribune.com/health/la-heb-maternal-mortality-20110426,0,2688244.story">Cesarean sections are a major factor in maternal death</a>. I don't like how this article seems to blame the mother, given the way interventions seem to shunt many women towards C-sections whether they want one or not. But there are certainly many factors to consider in this issue, including the mother's past health and the kinds of protocols used at the location where she is giving birth.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,830142,00.html">Cutting the cord too soon</a>. This is an interesting piece in <i>Time</i> about the timing of cord clamping and its impact on respiratory issues in infants. Many birth centers and hospitals are advocating for a later time to clamp the cord for this and other reasons.<br />
<br />
<b>Mothering of all kinds</b><br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2011/apr/19/youngpeople-schools">Hope for teenage mothers</a>. This was a great story about a great program to help teen mothers have more success in school and beyond.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.wbez.org/story/report-breastfeeding-illinois-hinges-partly-race-income-85662#">The amount of time a woman breastfeeds is related to her race and income</a>. Not surprising, given that lactation support services are probably harder to come by, and that women who must earn an income can't necessarily afford to go without pay for twelve weeks (that is the minimum maternity leave we get in the US, based on the Family Medical Leave Act, and most places give only that minimum). Even those women who do manage to get into a rhythm with breastfeeding lose it when they return to work, not just because of those short twelve weeks, but because few employers have workplaces set up for pumping.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://jezebel.com/#%215796719">Amy Poehler's acceptance speech at the Time 100</a>. She discusses the many other women (dare I say allomothers?) who support her as she raises her children and has a career. I may have teared up a little. Okay, I shut my office door and cried.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2011/04/cost-vaccine-refusal/">What measles vaccine refusal really costs</a>. This is something parents should care about.<br />
<br />
A <a href="http://terribleminds.com/ramble/2011/03/29/baby-madness-a-conversation/">hilarious account</a> from a father about all the things you need to worry about -- and expect to be judged upon -- when having a child.<br />
<br />
Finally, while this went around the interwebs when Dr. Isis wrote it the first time, re-read her AGORA post about <a href="http://agora.forwomeninscience.com/index.php/2011/03/why-its-alright-to-not-be-your-mother/">why it's all right to not be your mother</a>.<br />
<br />
<b>Miscellaneous ladybusiness</b><br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2011/04/052/the_enduring_gender_gap_in_faculty_pay">The enduring gender gap in pay</a>. Sigh.<br />
<br />
Michele Bachelet should be everyone's hero, if what I read in <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2011/apr/22/michelle-bachelet-un-women">this story</a> is any indication.<br />
<br />
We can no longer escape the reality that BPAs (and other associated bisphenols, which unfortunately are what are being replaced in plastics that claim to be BPA-free) are endocrine disruptors that have negative consequences for health. Well, unless you're Coca Cola. <a href="http://www.fastcompany.com/1750449/why-wont-coca-cola-ditch-bpa">Then you are going to put your fingers in your ears and go "lalala!"</a><br />
<br />
A <a href="http://www.the-beheld.com/2011/04/feminist-reactions-to-street-harassment.html">lovely post</a> on feminist reactions to street harassment. Another, very powerful read: <a href="http://newmodelminority.com/2011/03/06/kill-me-or-leave-me-alone-street-harassment-as-a-public-health-issue/">kill me or leave me alone</a>.<br />
<br />
An <a href="http://ht.ly/4c3Qb">important read</a> about the use of language in journalistic storytelling, and the sexist way the <i>New York Times</i> originally covered the brutal gang rape of a little girl.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://therumpus.net/2011/04/historic-std-posters/">Historic STD posters</a>. Were some sexist? Of course. But it only makes me want one for my office more, if for its ironic value.KateClancyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10266484364483890008noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7100452276682801125.post-19862225886787543462011-05-17T18:05:00.000-05:002011-05-17T18:05:30.086-05:00Do girls steal some of their mother’s beauty? Sex bias in parental investment<b>Sons and daughters and differential parental investment</b><br />
<br />
One of my favorite rhetorical tricks is asking my students a question that has an obvious answer based on cultural expectations, but is wrong. So every year, when I start to teach my students about parental investment, I ask:<br />
<blockquote>Who is harder to raise, sons or daughters?</blockquote>I’ve asked by a show of hands and with iClickers, over the years, and the room of 750 is almost unanimous: daughters are harder to raise. So, then I get off the stage and walk around a bit. What do you mean by that? I ask.<br />
<blockquote>Girls cause more gray hairs.<br />
Girls cause more trouble when they start to like boys.<br />
Girls are more work, and cost more money, since they shop all the time.<br />
Girls talk back more.</blockquote>And of course, there is always the saying that girls steal some of their mother’s beauty.<br />
So then I show them this:<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZWFB2VXtZ3jHkMQmm9SObAf5kWqrEjl-GCjrx4at6x37b7aNMGzdUnTLDewsH7Npajobt_gr1JsHYl3Qp51fqLjxHGjItedXgOqDeYxTnGd5qVl5DMOnFKm5zpX8cnSDwhwHFwE_HTQc/s1600/Helle+et+al+2002.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZWFB2VXtZ3jHkMQmm9SObAf5kWqrEjl-GCjrx4at6x37b7aNMGzdUnTLDewsH7Npajobt_gr1JsHYl3Qp51fqLjxHGjItedXgOqDeYxTnGd5qVl5DMOnFKm5zpX8cnSDwhwHFwE_HTQc/s320/Helle+et+al+2002.png" width="313" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">From Helle et al 2002.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>Here is a graph of maternal longevity based on the number of sons or daughters they have. This data was based on a historical population from Finland from 1640-1870 using church records (Helle et al 2002). As you can see, the more sons mothers bear, the shorter their lifespans. You see the opposite for daughters. So sons have a negative impact, and daughters have a positive impact. This same trend has been found in records from a Flemish village (van de Putte et al 2003, 2004), where sons negatively impact lifespan but not daughters. Interestingly, data from church records from the field site where I work in rural Poland provides a slightly different picture: every offspring of either sex reduced lifespan by about 95 weeks (Jasienska et al 2006).<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCQz7nsdO6irK-XBa-bRXMvUL92qE7aipwoXNOSvwzmB9u3y2rFt5peEf17ywNgaxU0nhde6l_lWZVYhotJ1EbW2_kMuDfWkEWDabMYh9VSTnT4DDKBN4aIBbmiNqYBzqBPD1AKhyphenhyphenGwA4/s1600/Jasienska+et+al+2006.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="241" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCQz7nsdO6irK-XBa-bRXMvUL92qE7aipwoXNOSvwzmB9u3y2rFt5peEf17ywNgaxU0nhde6l_lWZVYhotJ1EbW2_kMuDfWkEWDabMYh9VSTnT4DDKBN4aIBbmiNqYBzqBPD1AKhyphenhyphenGwA4/s320/Jasienska+et+al+2006.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">From Jasienska et al 2006.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>Once students see these graphs, they quickly realize what is going on. Generally speaking, girls help mothers more at home in terms of chores and alloparenting. And in many cultures, particularly the historical ones studied so far, sons are costly because parents invest more in them, to help launch their own families. Daughters, not so much. In the Polish population, there may be other factors where daughter investment is important, or it is just costly to have so many offspring and you have maternal depletion regardless of daughter help.<br />
<br />
Sex bias in parental investment is an important part of understanding both the biology and culture of parenting, and the developmental trajectories of children. The Trivers-Willard hypothesis, which has been tested many times in humans and animals, suggests that parents should invest more in sons when conditions are good, and more in daughters when conditions are bad. That is, when you have lots of resource you should put it towards a son in order to increase the chances he will have high reproductive success, since his is assumed to be more variable and high effort could lead to high reward. But in periods of low resource, daughters are a good bet because they are more likely to have at least some reproductive success no matter what.<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHu6NO6PgTrUljiYeT8qf8JbvwgFq5bpEONJh3aYE-VYjqhZI0oyNpwKtBe5uVtd6JNHQd__ULeU24PF2AIup_ahrVBd_G4jWXCv8El88FHM8cMKKC_xzZ70mcBPnlYzZwbv4-zw2KdT8/s1600/Hrdy+1990.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHu6NO6PgTrUljiYeT8qf8JbvwgFq5bpEONJh3aYE-VYjqhZI0oyNpwKtBe5uVtd6JNHQd__ULeU24PF2AIup_ahrVBd_G4jWXCv8El88FHM8cMKKC_xzZ70mcBPnlYzZwbv4-zw2KdT8/s320/Hrdy+1990.png" width="237" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">From Hrdy 1990.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>Of course, differential investment based on resources is further conflated in humans due to culture and, I would contend, our almost universal favor for patriarchy (Smuts 1995). Here is an image of an Indian family waiting at a clinic. There is a mother, an older son, and a twin boy and girl. Notice the extreme difference in health between the infant boy and girl – they are twins, yet the infant girl is emaciated. This is because in this population sons are always fed and cared for first, and whatever is left over, if there’s anything, is given to daughters.<br />
<br />
So, parental investment can have real effects on the parent in terms of lifespan, and perhaps also their own future reproductive capabilities. Further, the conditions under which you may have children can vary, but how much a parent chooses to invest in their children varies too.<br />
<br />
The piece of this that may be toughest to parse out, particularly in humans, is how the condition of the mother (or parents) can vary, and how that variation impacts the sex ratio of their children. In some species, like red deer, it is easier to imagine a mechanism: these animals have diapause, a period where their embryos are dormant until it is a good time to gestate and bear them. It is easier to insert some kind of selection process into a period where several embryos are all “frozen” and sex has been determined. But what about humans that produce singletons and invest huge, overlapping amounts of support to their children over decades? How would a sex bias based on maternal condition operate? And is there anything the offspring can do about it?<br />
<br />
<b>Changes in maternal breast size during pregnancy</b><br />
<br />
It turns out that measurements as easy as stepping on a scale, and knowing your bra size, can begin to unpack the answer. First, a confession: I consider the author of this paper Andrzej Galbarczyk more than a colleague, but a friend. Andrzej is the graduate student who oversaw my Polish field site last season (Mogielica Human Ecology Study Site, director Dr. Grazyna Jasienska). He has translated consent forms and surveys for me and we’ve had many valuable and important conversations about my fieldwork. He is a smart, kind and thoughtful person and scholar. So, I let him see an early draft of this post to make sure I understood his point of view.<br />
<br />
Galbarczyk performed an internet survey in Poland with 120 women, where he asked them to report their pre-pregnancy weight and bra size, their bra size directly after giving birth, and the sex of their offspring. He found two notable differences in these women: mothers of daughters weighed less before pregnancy, but had a greater changes in breast size during pregnancy.<br />
<br />
The evidence about maternal pre-pregnancy weight is consistent with the Trivers-Willard hypothesis, as mothers who had sons were more likely to be heavier, and thus have more resource to invest. The second significant difference, that mothers with daughters had larger breasts after pregnancy, seems could be argued either way: Galbarczyk argues that it supports Trivers-Willard because mothers of sons could have been devoting more resource to growing their offspring rather than their breasts.<br />
<br />
In other animals and primates particularly, mothers of male infants produce more energy-dense milk, yet mothers of female infants may produce a greater quantity of milk (Hinde 2009). And breast size is a pretty noisy signal of milk quality or quantity. So, what is the meaning of this difference in breast size?<br />
<br />
<b>Adaptation or physiological inevitability?</b><br />
<br />
Galbarczyk suggests the difference is related to the evolutionary underpinnings of human female breasts. Women develop breasts around puberty, and though they certainly change in size and shape over time, keep them their whole lives. Other animals develop their mammary glands only shortly before lactating and then they regress again. Many contend that human breasts are an honest signal of fertility. This is at least partially confirmed by the correlation between breast size and estradiol concentrations (Jasienska et al 2006).<br />
<br />
Galbarczyk thinks that the larger breasts seen in postpartum mothers to daughters may be a way to attract a mate for parental care. Perhaps this would help where she has given birth to the less-favored sex and needs to really convince him to participate; this could be a signal from the mother or the female fetus. Or maybe by appearing more attractive, she can have another reproductive opportunity, which would give her a chance to have a son.<br />
<br />
You all know how I feel about evolutionary storytelling. In certain ways I do find this particular argument compelling, from the perspective of the Trivers-Willard hypothesis. But the evidence for the adaptive scenario around breast size is circumstantial.<br />
<br />
Also, I don’t want this story to detract from some very interesting data: remember that Galbarczyk found that in this population, mothers of daughters weigh less before pregnancy, and develop larger breasts afterwards. Very cool. So perhaps we should consider a mechanistic, rather than adaptive explanation?<br />
<br />
I have two thoughts about this, both related to androgens (androgens are the class of hormone that testosterone falls under). First, I wonder if there is an effect of fetal androgens from a male fetus on breast size. If so, mothers of daughters would have larger breasts simply because they aren’t having their breast tissue growth or density suppressed by androgens. It could simply be physiology that doesn’t have adaptive meaning.<br />
<br />
Second, the mothers of sons were heavier before pregnancy. Heavier individuals tend to have higher circulating insulin levels, and the ovary can respond to higher insulin by producing more androgens (Poretsky 1991, Dimitrakakis et al 2004). So you could have a suppressive effect on breast size from that avenue as well. You don’t need an adaptive scenario for either of these mechanisms, just a consequence of how hormones work.<br />
<br />
I would love to see Galbarczyk or someone else follow up on these thought-provoking results by measuring women, rather than relying on self-report, and by measuring their estradiol, progesterone and androgens. Understanding the different factors and motivations that lead to sex differential investment and outcome is a great field of study, and this work gets us thinking in a new direction.<br />
<br />
<b>References</b><br />
<br />
<span class="Z3988" title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.jtitle=Menopause+%28New+York%2C+N.Y.%29&rft_id=info%3Apmid%2F15356405&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fresearchblogging.org&rft.atitle=Breast+cancer+incidence+in+postmenopausal+women+using+testosterone+in+addition+to+usual+hormone+therapy.&rft.issn=1072-3714&rft.date=2004&rft.volume=11&rft.issue=5&rft.spage=531&rft.epage=5&rft.artnum=&rft.au=Dimitrakakis+C&rft.au=Jones+RA&rft.au=Liu+A&rft.au=Bondy+CA&rfe_dat=bpr3.included=1;bpr3.tags=Medicine%2CBiological+Anthropology%2C+Evolutionary+Anthropology%2C+Behavioral+Biology%2C+Developmental+Biology%2C+Ecology%2C+Evolutionary+Biology%2C+Endocrinology%2C+Medicine%2C+Nutrition%2C+Public+Health%2C+Cancer">Dimitrakakis C, Jones RA, Liu A, & Bondy CA (2004). Breast cancer incidence in postmenopausal women using testosterone in addition to usual hormone therapy. <span style="font-style: italic;">Menopause (New York, N.Y.), 11</span> (5), 531-5 PMID: <a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15356405" rev="review">15356405</a></span><br />
<br />
<span class="Z3988" title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.jtitle=American+journal+of+human+biology+%3A+the+official+journal+of+the+Human+Biology+Council&rft_id=info%3Apmid%2F21544894&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fresearchblogging.org&rft.atitle=Unexpected+changes+in+maternal+breast+size+during+pregnancy+in+relation+to+infant+sex%3A+An+evolutionary+interpretation.&rft.issn=1042-0533&rft.date=2011&rft.volume=&rft.issue=&rft.spage=&rft.epage=&rft.artnum=&rft.au=Galbarczyk+A&rfe_dat=bpr3.included=1;bpr3.tags=Anthropology%2CMedicine%2CBiological+Anthropology%2C+Evolutionary+Anthropology%2C+Behavioral+Biology%2C+Developmental+Biology%2C+Ecology%2C+Evolutionary+Biology%2C+Endocrinology%2C+Medicine%2C+Nutrition%2C+Public+Health%2C+Cancer">Galbarczyk A (2011). Unexpected changes in maternal breast size during pregnancy in relation to infant sex: An evolutionary interpretation. <span style="font-style: italic;">American journal of human biology : the official journal of the Human Biology Council</span> PMID: <a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21544894" rev="review">21544894</a></span><br />
<br />
<span class="Z3988" title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.jtitle=Science&rft_id=info%3Adoi%2F10.1126%2Fscience.1070106&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fresearchblogging.org&rft.atitle=Sons+Reduced+Maternal+Longevity+in+Preindustrial+Humans&rft.issn=00368075&rft.date=2002&rft.volume=296&rft.issue=5570&rft.spage=1085&rft.epage=1085&rft.artnum=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.sciencemag.org%2Fcgi%2Fdoi%2F10.1126%2Fscience.1070106&rft.au=Helle%2C+S.&rfe_dat=bpr3.included=1;bpr3.tags=Anthropology%2CMedicine%2CBiological+Anthropology%2C+Evolutionary+Anthropology%2C+Behavioral+Biology%2C+Developmental+Biology%2C+Ecology%2C+Evolutionary+Biology%2C+Endocrinology%2C+Medicine%2C+Nutrition%2C+Public+Health%2C+Cancer">Helle, S. (2002). Sons Reduced Maternal Longevity in Preindustrial Humans <span style="font-style: italic;">Science, 296</span> (5570), 1085-1085 DOI: <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1126/science.1070106" rev="review">10.1126/science.1070106</a></span><br />
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<span class="Z3988" title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.jtitle=American+journal+of+human+biology+%3A+the+official+journal+of+the+Human+Biology+Council&rft_id=info%3Apmid%2F19384860&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fresearchblogging.org&rft.atitle=Richer+milk+for+sons+but+more+milk+for+daughters%3A+Sex-biased+investment+during+lactation+varies+with+maternal+life+history+in+rhesus+macaques.&rft.issn=1042-0533&rft.date=2009&rft.volume=21&rft.issue=4&rft.spage=512&rft.epage=9&rft.artnum=&rft.au=Hinde+K&rfe_dat=bpr3.included=1;bpr3.tags=Anthropology%2CMedicine%2CBiological+Anthropology%2C+Evolutionary+Anthropology%2C+Behavioral+Biology%2C+Developmental+Biology%2C+Ecology%2C+Evolutionary+Biology%2C+Endocrinology%2C+Medicine%2C+Nutrition%2C+Public+Health%2C+Cancer">Hinde K (2009). Richer milk for sons but more milk for daughters: Sex-biased investment during lactation varies with maternal life history in rhesus macaques. <span style="font-style: italic;">American journal of human biology : the official journal of the Human Biology Council, 21</span> (4), 512-9 PMID: <a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19384860" rev="review">19384860</a></span><br />
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<span class="Z3988" title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.jtitle=American+Journal+of+Physical+Anthropology&rft_id=info%3Adoi%2F10.1002%2Fajpa.1330330504&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fresearchblogging.org&rft.atitle=Sex+bias+in+nature+and+in+history%3A+A+late+1980s+reexamination+of+the+%E2%80%9Cbiological+origins%E2%80%9D+argument&rft.issn=0002-9483&rft.date=1990&rft.volume=33&rft.issue=S11&rft.spage=25&rft.epage=37&rft.artnum=http%3A%2F%2Fdoi.wiley.com%2F10.1002%2Fajpa.1330330504&rft.au=Hrdy%2C+S.&rfe_dat=bpr3.included=1;bpr3.tags=Anthropology%2CMedicine%2CBiological+Anthropology%2C+Evolutionary+Anthropology%2C+Behavioral+Biology%2C+Developmental+Biology%2C+Ecology%2C+Evolutionary+Biology%2C+Endocrinology%2C+Medicine%2C+Nutrition%2C+Public+Health%2C+Cancer">Hrdy, S. (1990). Sex bias in nature and in history: A late 1980s reexamination of the “biological origins” argument <span style="font-style: italic;">American Journal of Physical Anthropology, 33</span> (S11), 25-37 DOI: <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/ajpa.1330330504" rev="review">10.1002/ajpa.1330330504</a></span><br />
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<span class="Z3988" title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.jtitle=American+journal+of+human+biology+%3A+the+official+journal+of+the+Human+Biology+Council&rft_id=info%3Apmid%2F16634019&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fresearchblogging.org&rft.atitle=Daughters+increase+longevity+of+fathers%2C+but+daughters+and+sons+equally+reduce+longevity+of+mothers.&rft.issn=1042-0533&rft.date=2006&rft.volume=18&rft.issue=3&rft.spage=422&rft.epage=5&rft.artnum=&rft.au=Jasienska+G&rft.au=Nenko+I&rft.au=Jasienski+M&rfe_dat=bpr3.included=1;bpr3.tags=Anthropology%2CMedicine%2CBiological+Anthropology%2C+Evolutionary+Anthropology%2C+Behavioral+Biology%2C+Developmental+Biology%2C+Ecology%2C+Evolutionary+Biology%2C+Endocrinology%2C+Medicine%2C+Nutrition%2C+Public+Health%2C+Cancer">Jasienska G, Nenko I, & Jasienski M (2006). Daughters increase longevity of fathers, but daughters and sons equally reduce longevity of mothers. <span style="font-style: italic;">American journal of human biology : the official journal of the Human Biology Council, 18</span> (3), 422-5 PMID: <a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16634019" rev="review">16634019</a></span><br />
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<span class="Z3988" title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.jtitle=The+Journal+of+clinical+endocrinology+and+metabolism&rft_id=info%3Apmid%2F11443175&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fresearchblogging.org&rft.atitle=Phosphatidyl-inositol-3+kinase-independent+insulin+action+pathway%28s%29+in+the+human+ovary.&rft.issn=0021-972X&rft.date=2001&rft.volume=86&rft.issue=7&rft.spage=3115&rft.epage=9&rft.artnum=&rft.au=Poretsky+L&rft.au=Seto-Young+D&rft.au=Shrestha+A&rft.au=Dhillon+S&rft.au=Mirjany+M&rft.au=Liu+HC&rft.au=Yih+MC&rft.au=Rosenwaks+Z&rfe_dat=bpr3.included=1;bpr3.tags=Medicine%2CBiological+Anthropology%2C+Evolutionary+Anthropology%2C+Behavioral+Biology%2C+Developmental+Biology%2C+Ecology%2C+Evolutionary+Biology%2C+Endocrinology%2C+Medicine%2C+Nutrition%2C+Public+Health%2C+Cancer">Poretsky L, Seto-Young D, Shrestha A, Dhillon S, Mirjany M, Liu HC, Yih MC, & Rosenwaks Z (2001). Phosphatidyl-inositol-3 kinase-independent insulin action pathway(s) in the human ovary. <span style="font-style: italic;">The Journal of clinical endocrinology and metabolism, 86</span> (7), 3115-9 PMID: <a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11443175" rev="review">11443175</a></span>KateClancyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10266484364483890008noreply@blogger.com18tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7100452276682801125.post-58329078128839458082011-04-26T17:36:00.000-05:002011-04-26T17:36:08.468-05:00#scimom and me<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/24942871@N08/5554313803/" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="DSC03265 by k8andbren, on Flickr"><img alt="DSC03265" height="180" src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5264/5554313803_b74eee35c8_m.jpg" width="240" /></a>I’ve been thinking on this <a href="http://twitter.com/#!/search/%23scimom">#scimom</a> meme for some time. To be honest, I’ve had a hard time figuring out what I could write that would be a useful or thoughtful contribution, despite the fact that I tend to be pretty comfortable mixing personal stories in with the science I write about on this blog. Heck, I’ve even shared <a href="http://professorkateclancy.blogspot.com/2010/10/my-ivf-story-labor-and-childbirth.html">my birth experience</a> for all to read!<br />
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But writing directly on the intersection of science and mothering? That is somehow a much more frightening prospect, even though I am in a friendly discipline. It is hard to face the reality that my colleagues respect my reproductive decisions, in the historical context where that has not always been the case in academia, and in the personal context where my decisions are judged and challenged by others all the time, even if they aren’t colleagues: first because I am a woman, then because I was pregnant, and now because I am a mother. <br />
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So, I want to tell you two things: how I make my life work, and why I do it at all.<br />
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<b>Putting in the time</b><br />
I get asked a lot how I balance my life, how I get any sleep, how I have a tenure track job and a blog and am an amateur athlete and mother all at the same time. The answer is that balance is not attainable, but that I’m really happy exactly as things are.<br />
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The supermagical key to being a mother and an academic scientist is: you need to devote a lot of time to both. As romantic and wonderful as it sounds to try to do both at the same time, it almost never works. When young women ask me how I do it all, I answer that the two keys for success are social support and full time childcare. For me, that means a supportive partner and forty-five hours a week of childcare outside of my home.<br />
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Usually, the woman asking pauses. I can see the barely masked horror on her face as she realizes that I don’t have a happy existence where I do puzzles with my daughter with one hand while tapping at my laptop with the other. I look like a nice enough person, so she rejects what I’ve told her -- that my child is out of my sight most of the work week -- and tries again. “Okay, but really, how do you do it?” And I reply that I need social support and full time childcare. This is how I address the can’t-be-in-two-places-at-once problem. Some hours I do the puzzles, other hours I do the writing. I almost never mix the two.<br />
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At the beginning of each semester, my husband and I sit down with our schedules: our regular faculty meeting times, lab meetings, office hours, teaching hours, and how much time we want to exercise. We also look at our daughter’s schedule, since she has swimming twice a week. Then we slowly work out an equitable arrangement of pickups and drop-offs that we stick to, with the closest thing we can approximate to religious fervor, for the whole semester. I no longer go out for social coffees or lunches and stay at my desk the entire day (though at least I am standing). When our daughter goes to sleep, I often work for a few hours, though I certainly don’t do this every night unless I have a major deadline approaching. This is the reality of my job if I want to be a mom and academic.<br />
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Can you be a scientist and mom if you don’t have social support and full time childcare? Yes, though I would contend you need at least one of the two. And here’s why: I need a supportive partner because, when the mommy guilt kicks in, he is the one who encourages me to go to the extra team practice, or stay the extra hour at work I need to hit my deadline. He is the one who reminds me that he wants a close relationship with our daughter, too, so bugger off and let him cuddle her for once. You don’t need a partner to do these things for you, but you do probably need someone to hold the right perspective for you in those moments you feel crazy.<br />
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And I need the full time childcare because this whole idea that you can get all your work done during naps, or every night once your kid goes down, is a fantasy we need to stop entertaining. Just because our job is flexible doesn’t mean it can fit into fewer hours unless you, like Hermione Granger, got special permission to use a <a href="http://harrypotter.wikia.com/wiki/Time-Turner">Time-Turner</a>. And while this job doesn’t necessarily require a sixty hour workweek, it does require at least forty. So if you don’t have at least forty kid-free hours a week you will not make adequate progress.<br />
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<b>Why I do this</b><br />
I enjoy my job. I even love it. But I love it because I made it a job that I wanted. In its worst moments I am still filling out too much paperwork, dealing with too much bureaucracy, or student cheating, or people who do not appreciate the contributions one makes to the discipline by, say, blogging or teaching.<br />
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But this job’s best moments far outweigh the worst, and if I didn’t feel that way, I would find something else to do. So far, in this job I have gotten to pursue the research agenda I find the most interesting, which has had me pursuing new methodologies, new areas of study, and new ways of thinking about female physiology and health in a way I find exciting on a daily basis. I have been able to effectively mentor about a dozen undergrads and several grad students. I have created learning environments that make me proud to teach in a university setting. And I have been able to put on my <a href="http://scientopia.org/blogs/scicurious/2011/02/03/ranty-pants/">ranty pants</a> when it comes to <a href="http://professorkateclancy.blogspot.com/2011/03/mate-magnet-madness-when-range-of.html">evolutionary</a> <a href="http://professorkateclancy.blogspot.com/2011/04/if-i-objectify-you-will-it-make-you.html">psychology</a>.<br />
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I am going to tell you a secret. I do this job, I am this kind of person, because I want to be a role model for other young women, that they can have jobs and have kids and still have other things going on in their lives.<br />
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But really, most of all, I do this for my own daughter, far more than for any of you reading today.<br />
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I do this so that when my daughter plays house with her friends, she introduces the idea that the Daddy does the dishes, or puts the baby to sleep. Already my daughter likes to play gym or office as well as house. That’s not to delegitimize parenting and domestic work, but to simply place it alongside the other activities people do. None of these activities should be particularly privileged above each other as being more feminine, OR more important.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/soillrg/5633673560/" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="_MDF7458.jpg by TSSPro, on Flickr"><img alt="_MDF7458.jpg" height="160" src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5225/5633673560_bd06cca200.jpg" width="200" /></a>I do this so that she has a role model when her first teacher says girls just aren’t as good at math. I want her to remember that Mommy and Daddy do science every day, and that that science requires a lot of math.<br />
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Finally, I do this so that she has a role model to hold on to when her first classmate says that only boys are good at sports. I want her to remember that Mommy is the one with the big muscles in that moment, not only so that she can have big muscles one day but so that she knows I can kick that kid’s ass.<br />
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<b>Being a #scimom</b><br />
This #scimom meme is compelling for all sorts of reasons. I hope it will make scientist mothers less invisible, and de-scrutinize women’s decisions, whatever they may be. <a href="http://professorkateclancy.blogspot.com/2011/01/science-online-2011-even-when-we-want.html">I’ve said before</a> that there are ways in which women are conditioned to be risk-averse over the course of their lives, and a lot of this has to do with the scrutiny, the drama, the push and pull of differing expectations on our time, our lives, and our bodies.<br />
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There are external factors that need to be fixed like maternal leave, and people that need gentle reminders about their implicit biases. And there are changes that women need to make within, where they work to operate against their internalized sexism. These battles feel especially public, and make me at least feel especially vulnerable, as a working mother. That’s why this is all so hard to talk about.<br />
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Women are incredibly powerful, we just don’t act like it often enough. Perhaps the #scimom meme will contradict the risk aversion and provide us with the courage to gang up on the problems of the world. <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2011/apr/22/michelle-bachelet-un-women">This story on Michelle Bachelet</a> has been on my mind ever since I read it last week. Read about Bachelet, and think on her life and what she is trying to accomplish right now. She knows it takes women to create a revolution. Let’s move things along.KateClancyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10266484364483890008noreply@blogger.com23tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7100452276682801125.post-56590338638666413152011-04-20T11:12:00.007-05:002011-04-20T13:05:20.289-05:00AAPA symposium on Evolution through the Life Course: Why we shouldn't prescribe hormonal contraception to twelve year oldsWhen Dr. Grażyna Jasieńska invited me to give a talk on my thoughts around adolescents and hormonal contraceptives as part of an invited symposium on “Evolution through the Life Course,” I thought it was going to be an embarrassing experience, because I would not be presenting the quantitative data more common at the American Association of Physical Anthropology meetings. But I can’t say no to Grażyna, who has served as a wonderful mentor and cheerleader for almost ten years. Besides, if I can rant on a blog, surely I can let myself rant in a talk every now and then.<br />
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What follows is a bloggy version of the talk I gave Thursday the 14th, at the meetings in Minneapolis. Writing this post will, I hope, help me begin to turn this into a manuscript. Normally I wouldn’t dare write something on a blog that I would eventually want to publish. However, this is a piece that would benefit enormously from the kinds of conversations that happen in the science blogosphere. Further, I hope to publish it as an opinion piece well-studded with evidence. I think that by sharing my early thoughts now, my later thoughts will be more sophisticated.<br />
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<center>* * *</center><br />
<br />
<b>Variation in adolescent menstrual cycles, doctor-patient relationships, and why we shouldn't prescribe hormonal contraceptives to twelve year olds</b><br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhurpMVFjC249UGxSif2j9_WZM1g1YqKVJhsY4xaAHGIQxrs2XIALN02MtGte7ovI1sYEshsuUA_yoNrHeGBIIzZw_pl93mc1ZJ5OUNVg4So7opmQ4CTCn-b6SRh_DLXPjAOkfBR-eNqTY/s1600/Vihko+and+Apter+1984.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="318" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhurpMVFjC249UGxSif2j9_WZM1g1YqKVJhsY4xaAHGIQxrs2XIALN02MtGte7ovI1sYEshsuUA_yoNrHeGBIIzZw_pl93mc1ZJ5OUNVg4So7opmQ4CTCn-b6SRh_DLXPjAOkfBR-eNqTY/s320/Vihko+and+Apter+1984.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">From Vihko and Apter (1984).</td></tr>
</tbody></table>Vihko and Apter (1984) showed that there is variation in age at menarche, and that that variation tells us something about how long it should take an adolescent to start to achieve regular ovulatory cycles. The later your age at menarche, the longer you will experience irregular cycles. However, even in girls with ages at menarche twelve and under, it still took on average five years to achieve regular cycles. This indicates that, in adolescents, irregularity is in fact regular.<br />
<br />
Lipson and Ellison (1992) have also looked at age-related variation in progesterone concentrations. Progesterone is the sex steroid hormone secreted by the ovary after ovulation, which is in the luteal phase. Luteal phase function is the one that seems to be the most variable within and between populations, and so progesterone is a great way to understand how female bodies vary. They found that those with the lowest hormone concentrations were on the extreme ends of their sample – 18-19 year olds, and 40-44 year olds and, as you might expect, hormone concentrations were higher as you moved towards the middle of that age range. So both younger and older women have low hormone concentrations relative to women in their reproductive prime, which is 25-35 years of age. But of course, this means that low hormone concentrations when you are in those early or late age ranges means that you are normal for your age.<br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDZlDg2Q-uDKdIBilnlTiQY3YiERbX1WiRk7KGZR8Fw1DQdQ0AikcoIgU8QGysBSvSeWZorv9HURfE5T_hg2DZMT1H2pAdpSB76VmlIDDH5BOUrjGcpU1fRl0sghyphenhyphennNUqPwcr2ySIIWNw/s1600/Lipson+and+Ellison+1992.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDZlDg2Q-uDKdIBilnlTiQY3YiERbX1WiRk7KGZR8Fw1DQdQ0AikcoIgU8QGysBSvSeWZorv9HURfE5T_hg2DZMT1H2pAdpSB76VmlIDDH5BOUrjGcpU1fRl0sghyphenhyphennNUqPwcr2ySIIWNw/s320/Lipson+and+Ellison+1992.jpg" width="274" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">From Lipson and Ellison (1992).</td></tr>
</tbody></table>Now, the United States has the highest rate of unintended teen pregnancy among industrialized nations. So I can understand why there are so many papers, and such a great effort, to get young girls on hormonal contraception (Clark et al. 2004; Clark 2001; Gerschultz et al. 2007; Gupta et al. 2008; Krishnamoorthy et al. 2008; Ott et al. 2002; Roye 1998; Roye and Seals 2001; Sayegh et al. 2006; Zibners et al. 1999).<br />
<br />
But I’ve noticed two things: first, that hormonal contraception is used imperfectly in this population, with some estimates that 10-15% of adolescents on hormonal contraception still get pregnant (Gupta et al. 2008). Second, discontinuation rates for hormonal contraception in young girls are high, with many girls complaining about side effects, particularly breakthrough bleeding (Clark et al. 2004; Gupta et al. 2008; Zibners et al. 1999). I have to admit some concern over the fact that many of the papers I read that mentioned these discontinuation rates and side effects were almost condescending in their tone. The implication was that the side effects weren’t a big deal.<br />
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One of the ways clinicians and sexual health educators are trying to improve hormonal contraceptive use in adolescents is to emphasize their off-label use as a “regulator” – that is, the pill can regulate your cycle, regulate your mood, regulate your skin. The idea is to emphasize the positive effects of hormonal contraception to combat the side effects young girls both worry about, and actually experience. This also tends to produce campaigns and commercials with images of idealized young women that young girls would want to model themselves after – skinny, confident, and of course very feminine.<br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2chpc_2VWX1yTv4ABx7nxsKYq6AETYuhkEG0Ww_vxU0GKDvoR2MgmhMYMCKLWqYSAWwGyB0OnaW4tEeoiprjh1xgEcZf0AKj9TlvLTuB1bXhhPbUe8PXfCPg6kYf0ILgXjC00Zxursus/s1600/yaz+and+beyaz.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="189" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2chpc_2VWX1yTv4ABx7nxsKYq6AETYuhkEG0Ww_vxU0GKDvoR2MgmhMYMCKLWqYSAWwGyB0OnaW4tEeoiprjh1xgEcZf0AKj9TlvLTuB1bXhhPbUe8PXfCPg6kYf0ILgXjC00Zxursus/s320/yaz+and+beyaz.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">From <a href="http://www.yaz-us.com/">here</a>. </td></tr>
</tbody></table>Despite the criticisms I’ve begun to name, there are substantial benefits to hormonal contraception in adult women. When women take hormonal contraception in adulthood, particularly in the 25-35 year range, they are very effective contraception. The pill also may reduce risk of reproductive cancers, though results are mixed (Collaborative Group 1996; Collaborative Group 2008; Kahlenborn et al. 2006; Marchbanks et al. 2002; Modan et al. 2001; Narod et al. 1998; Smith et al. 2003). And of course, off-label use to treat painful periods or premenstrual syndrome can be beneficial for many (Fraser and Kovacs 2003).<br />
<br />
However, the benefits of hormonal contraception in adults seems to be limited to more industrialized populations. Bentley (1994; 1996) first raised these concerns. She discussed the possible genetic, ethnic and developmental differences between women that could produce variation in pharmacokinetics, which could in turn vastly change the experience and efficacy of hormonal contraception in a global context. Virginia Vitzthum and others have also shown that there are high discontinuation rates and complaints of breakthrough bleeding in rural Bolivian women on hormonal contraception (Vitzthum and Ringheim 2005; Vitzthum et al. 2001). Other studies have shown similar discontinuation rates and side effects in other non-industrial populations (de Oliveira D'Antona et al. 2009; Gubhaju 2009).<br />
<br />
You might notice that the issues in non-industrial populations mirror what has been seen in industrial adolescent girls. This isn’t surprising, given that they also have in common fewer ovulatory cycles and lower hormone concentrations.<br />
<br />
So, I worry about whether the clear benefits of hormonal contraception in adulthood can be applied to adolescent girls, some as young as eleven or twelve years old. With the imperfect administration and high discontinuation rates, they aren’t that great as contraception. But there are additional, physiological concerns. What are the effects of giving doses of hormones to young girls with newly developing hypothalamic-pituitary-ovarian axes? The variation I mentioned before, where irregularity is regular in adolescence, is because the feedback loop between the brain and the gonads is priming and developing in this period, and this takes time. The sensitivity of the feedback loop is being set. If we flood this feedback loop with extra hormone, does this alter its sensitivity? It is a question worth testing.<br />
<br />
Further, if we flood this immature system that normally has irregular cycles and low hormones, are we increasing lifetime estrogen exposure? High lifetime estrogen exposure is a risk factor for breast cancer and other reproductive cancers. Is it possible that hormonal contraception in adolescence could have the opposite effect of hormonal contraception in adulthood? Again, we need to test this hypothesis.<br />
<br />
Future work on this topic includes asking whether adolescent menstrual cycle variation is any different today than twenty to thirty years ago. The only data we have (at least that I know of) are from the aforementioned 1984 and 1992 papers, and maybe some derivative papers using the same datasets. But we all know there have been massive changes in body composition, diet and health in the last few decades that deserve consideration. So, this work needs to be re-done on a current population.<br />
<br />
We also need to ask how adolescent reproductive functioning varies within and between populations. While this has been studied extensively in adult women, we don’t have a sense of adolescent population variation. This will give us a sense of what ecological variables produce variation not only in age at menarche, but in how long cycle irregularity persists and reproductive hormone concentrations.<br />
<br />
<b>Some additional, provocative, post-meeting thoughts</b><br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-43J1QzyYuso0LXT5tl1kQ9UfdOxaLIWv39k3twS30XrrTG30JOfw3kBdH5iOboykVtlFS0y5tszQbWwy6iD1TXxUwL1ELPZqB7M-KiJo8QlgjxiD8lMz1sL3G_PLCGVxISMQtYA3oxA/s1600/bristol_palin_large-176x300.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-43J1QzyYuso0LXT5tl1kQ9UfdOxaLIWv39k3twS30XrrTG30JOfw3kBdH5iOboykVtlFS0y5tszQbWwy6iD1TXxUwL1ELPZqB7M-KiJo8QlgjxiD8lMz1sL3G_PLCGVxISMQtYA3oxA/s1600/bristol_palin_large-176x300.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bristol Palin. Image from <a href="http://www.worldwidehippies.com/2010/05/19/sarah-palins-19-year-old-teen-mother-daughter-to-be-paid-15-30k-a-pop-on-the-lecture-circuit-for-talking-about-why-its-bad-to-be-a-teen-mom/">here</a>.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>In this symposium, Karen Kramer delivered a beautiful paper just before mine on teen pregnancy, and I had some great conversation with session participants and attendees, that has further evolved my own thinking on this issue. I want to say something just a little provocative:<br />
<br />
While I think teen pregnancy should be avoided, culturally we overstate its dangers and consequences because we have a real problem with young people reproducing. This can lead young girls to overlook potentially more serious issues like sexually transmitted infections, HIV, and cervical cancer, all of which girls and women are at risk for if they use only hormonal contraception and have otherwise unprotected sex.<br />
<br />
Let me explain two important points here. First, in most industrialized nations we are not set up well to support young mothers because of the way families are isolated, yet social support is a strong predictor of birth weight, postpartum depression, and labor progression (Collins et al. 1993; Feldman et al. 2000; Turner et al. 1990). So there are very strong and obvious reasons why teen pregnancy and motherhood can be incredibly challenging in industrialized environments. I wonder sometimes if that lack of cultural support is related to a fear that more young girls will get pregnant if they feel they have permission to procreate. This is similar to the argument in favor of abstinence-only sex ed: if they don’t know their options, or are shamed into believing this option is the worst possible one, then of course they won’t make them. But adults aren’t rational. I’m unsure why we expect adolescents to be.<br />
<br />
We also need to consider population variation in adolescence and pregnancy. Variation in age at first birth in traditional populations is quite wide, from sixteen to almost twenty six years of age (Walker et al. 2006). In more traditional populations you see a lot of allomothering and grandmothering to support first time mothers, who are often teenagers (Hawkes 2003; Hrdy 2009; Kramer 2005; Kramer 2008). So, support systems are built in, and it does not alter the trajectory of your life in the same way teen pregnancy does in an industrialized population.<br />
<br />
This range of variation in age at first birth, and the fact that most of those young mothers do just fine, perhaps even end up with higher reproductive success, leads me to my second point: the physiological evidence against teen pregnancy might be overstated. In her talk, Karen discussed a paper of hers in the <i>American Journal of Physical Anthropology</i> that described the negative health outcomes of teen pregnancy (Kramer 2008). In it, she reviewed literature that suggests that when you control for lack of prenatal care, first pregnancy, and low socioeconomic status, the common assumption that pregnancy is harmful to teens is significantly weakened.<br />
<br />
Further, in her own work with Pumé foragers in Venezuela, mothers under the age of fourteen were the only group to have greater infant mortality than the referent group of late reproducers (Kramer 2008). Yet when we teach young girls about their bodies, we tell them that their bodies are not equipped to have babies in their teens and that there are extreme consequences (in fact, I have said exactly this in the past). The reality is that those consequences are worst for very young teens, and may not be as significant in older teens.<br />
<br />
Am I advocating teenagers get pregnant? Absolutely and unequivocally no. But I think they need access to correct information, not skewed information. This means telling them the truth about our uncertainties about the health implications for hormonal contraception in adolescence, it means educating them about the importance of barrier methods, and it means making sure they understand the health risks associated with unprotected sex.<br />
<br />
This is a nuanced issue that requires nuanced thinking. Despite my concerns about adolescent hormone contraceptive use, there are problems with barrier methods as well, particularly when there may be a cultural bias against their use, or in situations when women cannot safely use contraception in an obvious way with their partner (Gupta et al. 2008). Again, what is important here is conveying correct information, so that each individual can weigh the pros and cons as they relate to her own context. This means it could be an excellent idea for some twelve year olds to be on hormonal contraception, and a terrible one for other girls through the age of twenty. It is going to have to be up to them. <br />
<br />
I hope this post generates some thinking and some conversation, and I welcome people who might push me in a different direction than where I’m currently thinking. I am sharing this now, before putting it together as a manuscript, to provoke thoughts and comments.<br />
<br />
<b>References</b><br />
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<span class="Z3988" style="font-size: xx-small;" title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.jtitle=Annals+of+the+New+York+Academy+of+Sciences&rft_id=info%3Apmid%2F8154705&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fresearchblogging.org&rft.atitle=Ranging+hormones%3A+do+hormonal+contraceptives+ignore+human+biological+variation+and+evolution%3F&rft.issn=0077-8923&rft.date=1994&rft.volume=709&rft.issue=&rft.spage=201&rft.epage=3&rft.artnum=&rft.au=Bentley+GR&rfe_dat=bpr3.included=1;bpr3.tags=Medicine%2CBiological+Anthropology%2C+Evolutionary+Anthropology%2C+Behavioral+Biology%2C+Developmental+Biology%2C+Ecology%2C+Evolutionary+Biology%2C+Endocrinology%2C+Medicine%2C+Nutrition%2C+Public+Health%2C+Cancer">Bentley GR (1994). Ranging hormones: do hormonal contraceptives ignore human biological variation and evolution? <span style="font-style: italic;">Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 709</span>, 201-3 PMID: <a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/8154705" rev="review">8154705</a></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: xx-small;">Bentley GR. 1996. Evidence for interpopulation variation in normal ovarian function and consequences for hormonal contraception. In: Rosetta LaM-T, C.G.N., editor. Variability in human fertility. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. p 46-65.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: xx-small;">Clark, L. (2004). Menstrual irregularity from hormonal contraception triggers significant reproductive health fears in adolescent girls <span style="font-style: italic;">Journal of Adolescent Health, 34</span> (2), 123-124 DOI: <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jadohealth.2003.11.091" rev="review">10.1016/j.jadohealth.2003.11.091</a></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: xx-small;">Clark, L. (2001). Will the Pill Make Me Sterile? Addressing Reproductive Health Concerns and Strategies to Improve Adherence to Hormonal Contraceptive Regimens in Adolescent Girls <span style="font-style: italic;">Journal of Pediatric and Adolescent Gynecology, 14</span> (4), 153-162 DOI: <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S1083-3188(01)00123-1" rev="review">10.1016/S1083-3188(01)00123-1</a></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: xx-small;">Collaborative group (1996). Breast cancer and hormonal contraceptives: collaborative reanalysis of individual data on 53 297 women with breast cancer and 100 239 women without breast cancer from 54 epidemiological studies <span style="font-style: italic;">The Lancet, 347</span> (9017), 1713-1727 DOI: <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(96)90806-5" rev="review">10.1016/S0140-6736(96)90806-5</a></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: xx-small;">Collaborative Group on Epidemiological Studies of Ovarian Cancer, Beral V, Doll R, Hermon C, Peto R, & Reeves G (2008). Ovarian cancer and oral contraceptives: collaborative reanalysis of data from 45 epidemiological studies including 23,257 women with ovarian cancer and 87,303 controls. <span style="font-style: italic;">Lancet, 371</span> (9609), 303-14 PMID: <a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18294997" rev="review">18294997</a></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: xx-small;">Collins, N., Dunkel-Schetter, C., Lobel, M., & Scrimshaw, S. (1993). Social support in pregnancy: Psychosocial correlates of birth outcomes and postpartum depression. <span style="font-style: italic;">Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 65</span> (6), 1243-1258 DOI: <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1037//0022-3514.65.6.1243" rev="review">10.1037//0022-3514.65.6.1243</a></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: xx-small;">D'Antona Ade O, Chelekis JA, D'Antona MF, & Siqueira AD (2009). Contraceptive discontinuation and non-use in Santarém, Brazilian Amazon. <span style="font-style: italic;">Cadernos de saude publica / Ministerio da Saude, Fundacao Oswaldo Cruz, Escola Nacional de Saude Publica, 25</span> (9), 2021-32 PMID: <a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19750389" rev="review">19750389</a></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: xx-small;">Feldman PJ, Dunkel-Schetter C, Sandman CA, & Wadhwa PD (2000). Maternal social support predicts birth weight and fetal growth in human pregnancy. <span style="font-style: italic;">Psychosomatic medicine, 62</span> (5), 715-25 PMID: <a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11020102" rev="review">11020102</a></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: xx-small;">Fraser IS, & Kovacs GT (2003). The efficacy of non-contraceptive uses for hormonal contraceptives. <span style="font-style: italic;">The Medical journal of Australia, 178</span> (12), 621-3 PMID: <a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12797849" rev="review">12797849</a></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: xx-small;">Gerschultz KL, Sucato GS, Hennon TR, Murray PJ, & Gold MA (2007). Extended cycling of combined hormonal contraceptives in adolescents: physician views and prescribing practices. <span style="font-style: italic;">The Journal of adolescent health : official publication of the Society for Adolescent Medicine, 40</span> (2), 151-7 PMID: <a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17259055" rev="review">17259055</a></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: xx-small;">Gubhaju, B. (2009). Barriers to Sustained Use of Contraception in Nepal: Quality of Care, Socioeconomic Status, and Method-Related Factors <span style="font-style: italic;">Biodemography and Social Biology, 55</span> (1), 52-70 DOI: <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/19485560903054671" rev="review">10.1080/19485560903054671</a></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: xx-small;">Gupta, N., Corrado, S., & Goldstein, M. (2008). Hormonal Contraception for the Adolescent <span style="font-style: italic;">Pediatrics in Review, 29</span> (11), 386-397 DOI: <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1542/pir.29-11-386" rev="review">10.1542/pir.29-11-386</a></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: xx-small;">Hawkes, K. (2003). Grandmothers and the evolution of human longevity <span style="font-style: italic;">American Journal of Human Biology, 15</span> (3), 380-400 DOI: <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/ajhb.10156" rev="review">10.1002/ajhb.10156</a></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: xx-small;">Hrdy SB. 2009. Mothers and others: the evolutionary origins of mutual understanding: Belknap Press.</span><br />
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<span class="Z3988" style="font-size: xx-small;" title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.jtitle=Evolutionary+Anthropology%3A+Issues%2C+News%2C+and+Reviews&rft_id=info%3Adoi%2F10.1002%2Fevan.20082&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fresearchblogging.org&rft.atitle=Children%27s+Help+and+the+Pace+of+Reproduction%3A+Cooperative+Breeding+in+Humans&rft.issn=10601538&rft.date=2005&rft.volume=14&rft.issue=6&rft.spage=224&rft.epage=237&rft.artnum=http%3A%2F%2Fdoi.wiley.com%2F10.1002%2Fevan.20082&rft.au=Kramer%2C+K.&rfe_dat=bpr3.included=1;bpr3.tags=Medicine%2CBiological+Anthropology%2C+Evolutionary+Anthropology%2C+Behavioral+Biology%2C+Developmental+Biology%2C+Ecology%2C+Evolutionary+Biology%2C+Endocrinology%2C+Medicine%2C+Nutrition%2C+Public+Health%2C+Cancer">Kramer, K. (2005). Children's Help and the Pace of Reproduction: Cooperative Breeding in Humans <span style="font-style: italic;">Evolutionary Anthropology: Issues, News, and Reviews, 14</span> (6), 224-237 DOI: <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/evan.20082" rev="review">10.1002/evan.20082</a></span><br />
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<span class="Z3988" style="font-size: xx-small;" title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.jtitle=American+journal+of+physical+anthropology&rft_id=info%3Apmid%2F18386795&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fresearchblogging.org&rft.atitle=Early+sexual+maturity+among+Pum%C3%A9+foragers+of+Venezuela%3A+fitness+implications+of+teen+motherhood.&rft.issn=0002-9483&rft.date=2008&rft.volume=136&rft.issue=3&rft.spage=338&rft.epage=50&rft.artnum=&rft.au=Kramer+KL&rfe_dat=bpr3.included=1;bpr3.tags=Medicine%2CBiological+Anthropology%2C+Evolutionary+Anthropology%2C+Behavioral+Biology%2C+Developmental+Biology%2C+Ecology%2C+Evolutionary+Biology%2C+Endocrinology%2C+Medicine%2C+Nutrition%2C+Public+Health%2C+Cancer">Kramer KL (2008). Early sexual maturity among Pumé foragers of Venezuela: fitness implications of teen motherhood. <span style="font-style: italic;">American journal of physical anthropology, 136</span> (3), 338-50 PMID: <a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18386795" rev="review">18386795</a></span><br />
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<span class="Z3988" style="font-size: xx-small;" title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.jtitle=Journal+of+Adolescent+Health&rft_id=info%3Adoi%2F10.1016%2Fj.jadohealth.2007.06.016&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fresearchblogging.org&rft.atitle=Adolescent+Females+and+Hormonal+Contraception%3A+A+Retrospective+Study+in+Primary+Care&rft.issn=1054139X&rft.date=2008&rft.volume=42&rft.issue=1&rft.spage=97&rft.epage=101&rft.artnum=http%3A%2F%2Flinkinghub.elsevier.com%2Fretrieve%2Fpii%2FS1054139X07002935&rft.au=KRISHNAMOORTHY%2C+N.&rft.au=SIMPSON%2C+C.&rft.au=TOWNEND%2C+J.&rft.au=HELMS%2C+P.&rft.au=MCLAY%2C+J.&rfe_dat=bpr3.included=1;bpr3.tags=Medicine%2CBiological+Anthropology%2C+Evolutionary+Anthropology%2C+Behavioral+Biology%2C+Developmental+Biology%2C+Ecology%2C+Evolutionary+Biology%2C+Endocrinology%2C+Medicine%2C+Nutrition%2C+Public+Health%2C+Cancer">KRISHNAMOORTHY, N., SIMPSON, C., TOWNEND, J., HELMS, P., & MCLAY, J. (2008). Adolescent Females and Hormonal Contraception: A Retrospective Study in Primary Care <span style="font-style: italic;">Journal of Adolescent Health, 42</span> (1), 97-101 DOI: <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jadohealth.2007.06.016" rev="review">10.1016/j.jadohealth.2007.06.016</a></span><br />
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<span class="Z3988" style="font-size: xx-small;" title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.jtitle=American+Journal+of+Human+Biology&rft_id=info%3Adoi%2F10.1002%2Fajhb.20510&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fresearchblogging.org&rft.atitle=Growth+rates+and+life+histories+in+twenty-two+small-scale+societies&rft.issn=1042-0533&rft.date=2006&rft.volume=18&rft.issue=3&rft.spage=295&rft.epage=311&rft.artnum=http%3A%2F%2Fdoi.wiley.com%2F10.1002%2Fajhb.20510&rft.au=Walker%2C+R.&rft.au=Gurven%2C+M.&rft.au=Hill%2C+K.&rft.au=Migliano%2C+A.&rft.au=Chagnon%2C+N.&rft.au=De+Souza%2C+R.&rft.au=Djurovic%2C+G.&rft.au=Hames%2C+R.&rft.au=Hurtado%2C+A.&rft.au=Kaplan%2C+H.&rft.au=Kramer%2C+K.&rft.au=Oliver%2C+W.&rft.au=Valeggia%2C+C.&rft.au=Yamauchi%2C+T.&rfe_dat=bpr3.included=1;bpr3.tags=Medicine%2CBiological+Anthropology%2C+Evolutionary+Anthropology%2C+Behavioral+Biology%2C+Developmental+Biology%2C+Ecology%2C+Evolutionary+Biology%2C+Endocrinology%2C+Medicine%2C+Nutrition%2C+Public+Health%2C+Cancer">Walker, R., Gurven, M., Hill, K., Migliano, A., Chagnon, N., De Souza, R., Djurovic, G., Hames, R., Hurtado, A., Kaplan, H., Kramer, K., Oliver, W., Valeggia, C., & Yamauchi, T. (2006). Growth rates and life histories in twenty-two small-scale societies <span style="font-style: italic;">American Journal of Human Biology, 18</span> (3), 295-311 DOI: <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/ajhb.20510" rev="review">10.1002/ajhb.20510</a></span><br />
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<span class="Z3988" style="font-size: xx-small;" title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.jtitle=Journal+of+Pediatric+and+Adolescent+Gynecology&rft_id=info%3Adoi%2F10.1016%2FS1083-3188%2800%2986633-4&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fresearchblogging.org&rft.atitle=Comparison+of+continuation+rates+for+hormonal+contraception+among+adolescents&rft.issn=10833188&rft.date=1999&rft.volume=12&rft.issue=2&rft.spage=90&rft.epage=94&rft.artnum=http%3A%2F%2Flinkinghub.elsevier.com%2Fretrieve%2Fpii%2FS1083318800866334&rft.au=ZIBNERS%2C+A.&rft.au=CROMER%2C+B.&rft.au=HAYES%2C+J.&rfe_dat=bpr3.included=1;bpr3.tags=Medicine%2CBiological+Anthropology%2C+Evolutionary+Anthropology%2C+Behavioral+Biology%2C+Developmental+Biology%2C+Ecology%2C+Evolutionary+Biology%2C+Endocrinology%2C+Medicine%2C+Nutrition%2C+Public+Health%2C+Cancer">ZIBNERS, A., CROMER, B., & HAYES, J. (1999). Comparison of continuation rates for hormonal contraception among adolescents <span style="font-style: italic;">Journal of Pediatric and Adolescent Gynecology, 12</span> (2), 90-94 DOI: <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S1083-3188(00)86633-4" rev="review">10.1016/S1083-3188(00)86633-4</a></span>KateClancyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10266484364483890008noreply@blogger.com18tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7100452276682801125.post-11609832534272400512011-04-16T09:15:00.000-05:002011-04-16T09:15:21.908-05:00The Scorpion and the Frog: don't try and tell me why I do thisOn April 8th, I was fortunate to be in the company of <a href="http://www.mattrichtel.com/">Matt Richtel</a>, <a href="http://www.ae.illinois.edu/people/faculty/white.html">Scott White</a>, <a href="http://news.illinois.edu/about_staff/about_yates.html">Diana Yates</a> and <a href="http://dansimons.com/">Dan Simons</a> as part of a talk and panel discussion sponsored by the <a href="http://www.beckman.illinois.edu/index.aspx">Beckman Institute</a> and the <a href="http://media.illinois.edu/">College of Media</a> at the University of Illinois. Matt Richtel is a Pulitzer prize-winning journalist for the New York Times who has written on <a href="http://topics.nytimes.com/top/news/technology/series/driven_to_distraction/index.html#">distracted driving</a>, <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/07/technology/07brain.html">your brain on computers</a>, and, as many of you know, <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/16/technology/16brain.html">neuroscientists on a raft</a>. Matt also writes a comic and has published <a href="http://mattrichtel.wordpress.com/devils-plaything/">two</a> <a href="http://mattrichtel.wordpress.com/hooked/">works</a> of fiction. It was a pleasure getting to know a journalist so committed to respecting scientists and getting the story, and the science, right.<br />
<br />
Matt began the event with a short, engaging talk on the interaction between scientists and journalists. He started with the fable of the scorpion and the frog, yet never quite resolved for the audience whether he saw the scorpion as the journalist or scientist. He shared several experiences with scientists who were uninterested in talking to the press, some who pushed him to add complexity or uncertainty to a story, and some who managed to convey simple, compelling ideas in their quotes. I want to briefly describe what he said about these three populations.<br />
<br />
For those uninterested in talking to the press, Matt suggested that, for some, this may be due to a distrust of the press, or fear of how one will be represented to colleagues. He described a time that a female scientist agreed to talk to him, on the condition of not having her picture taken for the story. She was a former model, she explained, and didn’t want her image associated with her science, lest her colleagues take her less seriously. Unfortunately, I think there are plenty of fields where this is a legitimate issue, if past <a href="http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/intersection/category/women-in-science/">issues in the science blogosphere</a> <a href="http://professorkateclancy.blogspot.com/2011/01/science-online-2011-even-when-we-want.html">are any indication</a>. That said, I think he makes a good point that while you do take a risk in talking to the press, and there may be times where your work isn’t perfectly represented (and even times where it is grossly misrepresented), most of our colleagues know not to just blame the scientist. Besides, if you have a colleague that is that punitive, they aren’t a very good colleague!<br />
<br />
Matt told a story about a scientist who worked with him on a piece, then backed out and asked that all of his material be removed. Over the course of a difficult conversation, the scientist revealed his fear that his colleagues would judge his quotes as overstating the results of the evidence. Eventually, they worked out an alternative quote that simply added in a qualifier (I believe it was the word “almost” but I don’t remember). Keeping the qualifier, or pushing for its inclusion, can satisfy a lot of scientists talking to the press, and in doing so it adds a necessary element of uncertainty. The scientific method s not about proving things, it is about disproving them. You want to disprove the null hypothesis (an example of this would be that your hypothesis is that estrogen varies with lifestyle, and the null hypothesis is that there is no difference in estrogen based on lifestyle). And, when you get evidence that supports your hypothesis, this doesn’t prove a thing. All it does is support the hypothesis in the context of that particular study’s parameters. Given this understanding of the scientific method, perhaps journalists could see how much scientists chafe at bold conclusions or words like “proof” or “fact!”<br />
<br />
Finally, Matt described a class of scientists who are not only good to work with, but provide statements that convey complex ideas in an engaging, easy to understand way. He calls these scientists Quote Monkeys. Quote Monkeys not only distill a difficult idea for a lay audience, yet convey excitement and delight in science. He used the example from his “your brain on computers” series where one scientist said “Bring back boredom!” This captures the idea that not multi-tasking all the time, that having downtime to process events rather than always being plugged in, is good for our brains. (So, if you’re reading this on your phone in the bathroom, put the phone down. You know who you are!)<br />
<br />
After Matt’s wonderful talk, Scott, Diana and I served as panelists, with Dan Simons moderating. Scott White is a professor in Aerospace Engineering who has had some media attention for his supercool self-healing materials. I appreciated his approachable, dry style. Diana Yates is a journalist who covers the life science beat for the University of Illinois News Bureau, and she has done an amazing job over the years showing the rest of the world why the science that happens here at Illinois is so exciting. Dan Simons co-authored a great popular science book <a href="http://www.theinvisiblegorilla.com/"><i>The Invisible Gorilla</i></a> (I bought it for my brother in law this past winter before I realized Dan was on campus), and has a social media presence as well, curating interesting material mostly on cognitive psychology. We each gave a little introduction to ourselves regarding our experiences with journalists; I largely talked about how social media is what has connected me to science journalists, and my experiences with CNN.com and USA Today writers (both positive).<br />
<br />
The questions we received were good ones, ranging from how to keep from looking like a fool while talking to journalists to how to write science stories without resorting to clichés or self-help hooks. For the first issue, we discussed the importance of asking a journalist for her/his timeline (is your story due in 20 minutes, hours or days?) and that one should request seeing the quotes that will be used before the story goes live. You also don’t have to say yes to every request; if the timeline is too short or you have looked up the journalist and they or their employer aren’t reputable, just move on. For the second question, I talked about reframing the question that captures the audience’s interest from “how does this affect me?” to “why should I care?” or “why is this cool?” I mentioned <a href="http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/notrocketscience">Ed Yong</a> as an excellent example of a writer who delights the reader, regardless of whether he is discussing <a href="http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/notrocketscience/2011/04/05/solar-salamanders-have-algae-in-their-cells/">algae</a>, <a href="http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/notrocketscience/2010/05/27/racial-bias-weakens-our-ability-to-feel-someone-else%e2%80%99s-pain/">racism</a>, or <a href="http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/notrocketscience/2009/10/27/holy-fellatio-batman-fruit-bats-use-oral-sex-to-prolong-actual-sex/">bat fellatio</a>. He shares his excitement and is a guide, not a sage; I think Ed’s work is compelling for the same reasons NPR’s <a href="http://www.radiolab.org/">Radiolab</a> is so good. You get the sense the narrator is learning along with you, though in Ed’s case I think you also get the sense that he has scientific expertise to add credibility to his analysis and what he chooses to cover.<br />
<br />
One audience member made a rather bold, critical claim that journalists and scientists were in cahoots to promote the journalists and get the scientists tenure. The other panelists handled this one delicately. I did not (what, you are surprised?). Academic readers of this blog are likely aware that writing a blog is a professional risk, as is talking to journalists, especially when one is a junior faculty member. As <a href="http://johnhawks.net/weblog">John Hawks</a> said in his panel on blogging in the academy at <a href="http://www.scienceonline2011.com/">Science Online 2011</a>, blogging is at best a tertiary activity. But if you use your blog not only to reach out to layfolks but also to make broader claims about your field, you may have critics as well as fans. I know the risks I take every time I put up a new blog post or agree to talk to a journalist. But I have also decided that my enjoyment, and the benefits to my own goals of scientific outreach, far outweigh the risks. I want women to read my posts and pass them on to their daughters. I want readers of sites like Jezebel and Feministe getting excited about biology. And I want every person who has found evolutionary psychology claims intuitive to think on the bias that produces that false intuition.<br />
<br />
When I was a child, my parents had the following Man of La Mancha quote in our bathroom, on a poster directly opposite the toilet:<br />
<blockquote>Too much sanity<br />
May be madness<br />
But the maddest of all<br />
Is to see life as it is<br />
And not as it should be.</blockquote>I learned to read with that quote. I sang it in my head. And when I was younger, it meant absolutely nothing to me. I don’t remember the moment exactly when it went from something I chanted in my head to something that defined my own outlook on the world. But I want to make this job into the job it should be, not the job it is. To me, that means blogging, talking to laypeople about science, and interacting with science communicators and journalists.<br />
<br />
But don’t tell me I do it to get tenure.KateClancyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10266484364483890008noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7100452276682801125.post-22293655954621337842011-04-12T14:49:00.000-05:002011-04-12T14:49:03.829-05:00Come hang out with the cool kids: the 2011 American Association of Physical Anthropology Meetings, MinneapolisBiological anthropologists are a cool lot. We study bones, death, fossils, phylogenetics (how things are related to each other), hominin evolution, behavior, reproduction, physiology, primates, communication, cognition, genetics, migration and more. We study how these things vary, what produces their variation, and why that variation is meaningful. So the AAPAs tend to be a fun conference full of lively conversation, strong sessions, and engaged attendees.<br />
<br />
Plus, you see a lot of people wearing sandals with socks.<br />
<br />
This year, that particular population might be slightly underrepresented, because we are having the meetings in Minneapolis, where snow is predicted on Friday and Saturday. While that has impacted the wardrobe that will be crammed into my carry-on luggage tomorrow, I still expect a great meeting, because there are several wonderful symposia planned, a lunch event for women in biological anthropology, and a BANDIT Happy Hour on Saturday at 5pm. Julienne Rutherford has curated a great list that can be found by reading the <a href="http://aapabandit.blogspot.com/search/label/AAPA">posts under her AAPA label</a>.<br />
<br />
Me? I'm going to self-promote, but <b>I'll encourage you to do the same in the comments</b>.<br />
<br />
On Thursday morning you can find me in Session 3, the invited podium symposium chaired by <a href="http://www.europubhealth.org/us/staff/42/Gra%C5%BCyna%20Jasie%C5%84ska/">Grazyna Jasienska</a> and <a href="http://www.emerson.edu/academics/departments/communication-sciences-disorders/faculty?facultyID=2524&filter=F">Diana Sherry</a> entitled "<b>Evolution and Health over the Life Course</b>" in Salon C. The session starts at 8am with what looks to be a great talk by Beverly Strassmann, "Evolution and health from infancy to adolescence in the Dogon of Mali."<br />
<br />
My talk is at 9:30am, is co-authored with my former students Theresa Emmerling and Ashley Higgins, and is entitled "<b>Variation in adolescent menstrual cycles, doctor-patient relationships, and why we shouldn't prescribe hormonal contraceptives to twelve year olds</b>." I'll be talking about what we know of adolescent menstrual cycle variation, what we know of the impact of hormonal contraception on different reproductively-aged women, and some pilot data from our focus groups on doctor-patient relationships. I hope the last bit will provide a bit of framework for understanding how and why US women use hormonal contraception in such comparatively high proportions for off-label use.<br />
<br />
On Friday afternoon, you can find me in Session 31, the invited podium symposium chaired by <a href="http://sites.google.com/site/juliennerutherford/">Julienne Rutherford</a> and me entitled "<b>Eating for Two: Maternal Ecology and Nutrition in Human and Non-Human Primates</b>" in Marquette V/VI. The session starts at 2pm with a talk by Betsey Abrams and Julienne Rutherford entitled "Risky business: an evolutionary perspective on placental nutrient transport and postpartum hemorrage." I am VERY excited to hear this paper!<br />
<br />
My talk is next, at 2:15pm, and is called "<b>Pro- and anti-inflammatory food proteins and their impact on maternal ecology</b>." This talk is co-authored by two of my students, Laura Klein and Katherine Tribble. I'll be doing a bit of a review of the literature to place this topic in context, and discussing some pilot data.<br />
<br />
I may be biased, but the rest of this symposium is pretty kick-ass.<br />
<ul><li>2:30 Yildirim et al speak on vaginal microbial communities and maternal ecology (University of Illinois research!)<br />
</li>
<li>2:45 Milich et al discuss habitat quality and reproduction in female red colobus monkeys (University of Illinois research!)<br />
</li>
<li>3:00 Julienne Rutherford has prepared a version of her talk to be shown at 3pm on energetics and life history plasticity in callitrichine primates as she is on maternal hiatus<br />
</li>
<li>3:15 Valeggia shares insights into the metaboliv regulation of postpartum fecundity<br />
</li>
<li>3:30 Nyberg discusses HPA activity in pregnant and lactating Tsimane' women<br />
</li>
<li>3:45 Miller shares recent work on breastmilk immunity in Ariaal women<br />
</li>
<li>4:00 <b>Pablo Nepomnaschy will be the discussant for the first half of our symposium.</b><br />
</li>
<li>4:15 In our second half, Hinde et al discuss commensal gut bacteria and breastmilk<br />
</li>
<li>4:30 Quinn and Kuzawa developmental trajectories in infants and later milk composition<br />
</li>
<li>4:45 Fairbanks shares her work on nutrition, energetics and vervet maternal investment<br />
</li>
<li>5:00 Piperata and Guatelli-Steinberg discuss how social support may impact the costs of reproduction<br />
</li>
<li>5:15 Dunsworth et al look at some very interesting data on energetics versus pelvic constraint in determining human gestational length<br />
</li>
<li>5:30 <b>Finally, Leslie Aiello wraps it up as the discussant of the second half of our symposium.</b></li>
</ul><br />
Science bloggers and writers, like any of the topics above? Consider interviewing some of these symposium participants! You won't be disappointed.KateClancyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10266484364483890008noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7100452276682801125.post-73893702702409719122011-04-07T08:30:00.000-05:002011-04-07T08:30:49.628-05:00Panel today, 11am: "The Scorpion and the Frog, How Journalists and Scientists Can Learn To Trust Each Other (though occasionally they shouldn't)."Come see me blather on about how social media can bring the scorpions and frogs together. The main speaker is Matt Richtel, New York Times science journalist.<br />
<center>* * *</center><br />
Matt Richtel, Pulitzer Price winning journalist from the New York Times, will present a special lecture on Thursday, April 7 at 11:00 a.m. in the Beckman Auditorium. His talk is entitled "The Scorpion and the Frog, How Journalists and Scientists Can Learn To Trust Each Other (though occasionally they shouldn't)."<br />
<br />
Matt's talk (about 30 minutes) will be followed by a discussion of Science and Journalism with a small panel of colleagues from science and the media (Kathryn Clancy, Diana Yates, Brant Houston, Dan Simons & Scott White).<br />
<br />
Abstract for Matt Richtel's presentation:<br />
<br />
More so than ever, journalists and scientists need to be great partners in disseminating discovery and truth. But they need to learn to better understand each other's needs and methods. Here are some concrete tips for so doing, told through war stories (some personally embarrassing to the speaker, some to the scientists), and as told too through the examples from the Pulitzer Prize winning series "Driven to Distraction" about the risks of multitasking behind the wheel.<br />
<br />
Matt Richtel's Bio:<br />
<br />
Matt Richtel is a Pulitzer-prize winning journalist and novelist. Since<br />
2000, he has worked in the San Francisco bureau of the New York Times, covering technology and its impact on society. His recent series "Your Brain On Computers," focuses on how heavy technology use impacts behavior and the brain. His series about distracted driving won the 2010 Pulitzer Prize for National Reporting. His first novel, Hooked, was a critically-acclaimed tech-centric thriller. The sequel, Devil's Plaything, hits bookstores in May, 2011.KateClancyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10266484364483890008noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7100452276682801125.post-85244482209027684922011-04-06T11:54:00.000-05:002011-04-06T11:54:07.505-05:00If I objectify you, will it make you feel bad enough to objectify yourself? On shopping, sexiness and hormones.<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg62rp6Nbo9JIjlpdS7yIWyDZOyW-LCu4Kb6x8YfYth61u5Z0xyfgGf3tu2PijknoOldfJJPZAT2PV9bzgchlA5PauZNHFKawZDg4QFITpH68K8blfz9qmXnGdRWJOE0ioCMzq1bMhYU_w/s1600/warning+hormonal.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg62rp6Nbo9JIjlpdS7yIWyDZOyW-LCu4Kb6x8YfYth61u5Z0xyfgGf3tu2PijknoOldfJJPZAT2PV9bzgchlA5PauZNHFKawZDg4QFITpH68K8blfz9qmXnGdRWJOE0ioCMzq1bMhYU_w/s200/warning+hormonal.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Found <a href="http://www.nordoniapreschoolparents.com/hormonal-disorders-i.htm">here</a>.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>When I was younger, periods were not a fun time, and I was plagued with dysmenorrhea, which is a fancy term for really bad cramps. In high school, I would often take 1000 mg of ibuprofen every four hours to alleviate symptoms to get through all my classes, band, sports practice, and homework (what, it took you this long to realize I was, and am, a dork?).<br />
<br />
After having my daughter in 2008, and the thirteen months of lactational amenorrhea that followed it (lactational amenorrhea means absence of periods due to lactation), my periods resumed. Pain during my periods has almost totally ceased, but I have noticed more cycle-related variation in emotion. In particular, my patience and tolerance for rude behavior, and my tendency to cry sentimentally at even the lamest greeting card, skyrocket in my premenstrual phase. I already have low tolerance for rudeness, and I already cry easily. But something about progesterone decline -- which is a normal process towards the end of ovulatory cycles -- seems to make it harder for me to repress these behaviors in order to fit in culturally with those around me.<br />
<br />
I tell this to you to say, I don't doubt that hormones, and hormonal variation through the cycle, plays some role in variation in female behavior and emotion. And I find this kind of work inherently interesting. I hate to repeat myself, but you will find <a href="http://professorkateclancy.blogspot.com/2011/03/mate-magnet-madness-when-range-of.html">echoes of my structural and methodological concerns with evolutionary psychology</a> in this post as well.<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">* * *</div><br />
Durante et al (2011) observe that women spend more money on their appearance than men, and claim that this sex difference is cross-culturally consistent (I wonder, is this consistent across cultures without money?). In order to understand this sex difference, they wish to see whether spending or shopping behavior is dependent on cycle phase. Therefore the authors hypothesize that women choose sexier clothing during ovulation -- "even if the women themselves are not consciously aware of this biological fact" (Durante et al 2011: 922), a problematic turn of phase if I ever saw one, but I'll get to that later. They also consider the effects of priming a shopping woman with images of attractive women and hypothesize there is a greater effect of this priming on high-fertility women.<br />
<br />
<b>Methods</b><br />
<br />
The participants were female undergraduates and were compensated with course credit or money. The authors claim the participants had no idea the study had anything to do with the menstrual cycle, but the participants had to use LH strips at midcycle to see when she was ovulating (this is a urine test to check for a luteinizing hormone peak, which comes before ovulation).<br />
<br />
Here's the important part, for me:<br />
<blockquote>"The first urine test was scheduled 2 days before the expected day of ovulation. If an LH surge was not detected, women came back each day until an LH surge was detected or six tests had been completed, whichever came first" (Durante et al 2011: 924).</blockquote>Here are my questions: what is 2 days before the expected day of ovulation? The follicular phase -- that's from menstruation to ovulation -- is the most variable phase of the menstrual cycle (Fehring et al. 2006; Lenton et al. 1984). I wonder how many ovulations they missed because of this. Perhaps even worse, how many participants had six LH tests and didn't have a detectable LH surge? It sounds like they were included in the project. But, they either ovulated before the authors started testing, or they had an anovulatory cycle. <b>That means the authors were including participants in their study that weren't ovulating... in a study of behavior during ovulation.</b><br />
<br />
Participants viewed a made-up shopping website on a high-fertility (near the LH surge) and low-fertility (about eight days later) day, where they had to select ten items they would like to buy that day. They were randomized into two groups: one shown a site featuring casual clothes, the other featuring clothes and accessories. The clothing on these made-up sites were "pretested to be sexy" (Durante et al 2011: 925). While that is a phrase I never expected to write on this blog, the separate validation they did to determine sexy versus nonsexy clothing seems fine.<br />
<br />
<b>Results</b><br />
<blockquote><b>Hypothesis 1:</b> Near ovulation, women should be more likely to choose sexier and revealing clothing and other fashion items rather than items that are less revealing and sexy (Durante et al 2011: 923).</blockquote>Women chose a greater percentage of sexy clothing and accessory items near ovulation: 59.8% ± 21.6 during ovulation, 51.3% ± 22.4 during low fertility. This was a statistically significant difference, but they did a repeated measures ANOVA, and I don't understand why they didn't do a paired t-test. Further, statistically significant or not, I question how meaningful it is when the averages are so close and the standard deviations almost completely overlap.<br />
<blockquote><b>H2:</b> Ovulation should lead women to be especially likely to choose sexier products when women are primed to compare themselves to attractive female rivals (Durante et al 2011: 924).<br />
<br />
<b>H3:</b> There should be no differences in product choice between ovulating and nonovulating women when women are primed with unattractive women or men (Durante et al 2011: 924).</blockquote>Follow-up studies primed sub-sets of participants (so a different cohort, same recruitment methods as above) to think about 1) attractive local women, 2) unattractive local women, 3) attractive local men, 4) unattractive local men. They did this by showing photographs of people who they claimed to be local and asking participants to rate their attractiveness.<br />
<br />
When primed with attractive women, the percentages of sexy items chosen were 62.7% for ovulating women and 38.2% for low fertility women (I could not find standard deviations for these values so have no idea how much the two groups overlap). Priming with unattractive women, attractive men, or unattractive men produced no significant difference between low and high fertility women.<br />
<blockquote><b>H4:</b> Ovulation should lead women to choose sexier products when primed to think about local attractive women who constitute potential direct rivals. However, ovulation should not influence product choice when women are primed to think about women from distant locations because such women do not constitute direct rivals (Durante et al 2011: 924).</blockquote>The authors used a different method for assessing fertility this time; they asked women their normal menstrual cycle length and counted back from menses to estimate when ovulation would be. So AGAIN, we don't know how many women actually ovulated in this study, and we don't know whether a significant portion of women were then grouped in the high-fertility group who shouldn't have been.<br />
<br />
This study is like the previous one in terms of photo priming, but this time the photos were said to be local or distant, and were of women only (so the four groups were local attractive, local unattractive, distant attractive, distant unattractive).<br />
<br />
The authors claimed that the relationship between fertility, photo attractiveness and location was "marginally significant," but the p-value was 0.09. That is, in fact, not significant, as significance is generally only considered under 0.05 unless you cheat and say your study is special and should consider a different limit (they don't say this in their study).<br />
<br />
That said, the only significant effect found of photo priming on high versus low fertility women was in the local attractive women group: high fertility women chose 65.8% sexy items versus low fertility's 39.1% (I could not find standard deviations for these values so have no idea how much the two groups overlap). These results are almost identical to those found when priming women with attractive women without saying if they are local or not.<br />
<br />
<b>How biological are we talking here?</b><br />
<br />
The authors claim a biological cause for the differences found above. And maybe there is, to some extent. But there are two major issues with the authors’ conclusions.<br />
<br />
First, there is the major methodological flaw of including women who probably aren't ovulating in their high-fertility group. Heads up to people who don't study female physiology: women, even healthy women with “normal” cycle lengths, don't ovulate every cycle. So if understanding a behavior during ovulation is important to your hypotheses, you need daily hormones on top of that LH test. Then, you know, if you can't document ovulation, you need to exclude those women from your sample. Oh, and while we're discussing methods, the authors don't mention whether the participants were in a relationship or not, or what their sexualities were, or their races or socioeconomic statuses. These are all important to understanding variation in female-female competition (Campbell 2004). And since ornamentation is likely related to honest signals of health, it would be good to know waist to hip ratios, or BMI, or facial symmetry (Streeter and McBurney 2003) (hello, I’m handing someone a dissertation here! Just remember to <a href="http://www.ehow.com/how_5871935_cite-blogs-journals.html">cite me correctly</a>).<br />
<br />
But the second issue relates to the theme I saw throughout this paper, that changes in mood or choice behavior due to ovulation or presence of attractive women is a "biological fact." Female-female competition is certainly found within human behavior, and behavior changes through the menstrual cycle. But is it fair to call these behaviors strictly biological, or should we have a more nuanced understanding of the interaction between biology and culture?<br />
<br />
There are alternative cultural theories out there. Objectification theory proposes that there are consequences to living in a culture that sexually objectifies women: when women are continually appraised based on their looks, it leads to a disconnect between their body and individual (Moffitt and Szymanski 2011). This disempowers women and leads to them feeling as though their bodies exist for the pleasure of others. And if this is what women learn they have to offer others, and they seek affirmation, praise or attention from those around them, it makes sense for women to compete around attractiveness, particularly sexiness.<br />
<br />
I would posit that shopping, particularly when primed with the image of an attractive woman, is a kind of objectification. So really, what Durante et al (2011) are measuring are the results of objectifying their study participants. Under these circumstances, a woman is more likely to start treating herself as an object to be evaluated on the basis of her appearance, so it makes sense that she would choose sexier clothing, in an effort to produce a culturally-appropriate, attractive body.<br />
<br />
As the study stands, there is no way to parse out the impact of biology or culture -- and many cultures encourage objectification, female-female competition and female attractiveness towards men. As for how that interacts with high versus low fertility samples... that's the interesting part of this paper. If we can trust how the women are parsed. Which we can't, since some of the high-fertility sample might not have been ovulating.<br />
<br />
<b>These high heels are made of deer antlers</b><br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAaMJrWmqANyw8ZPHN9vzkQBN0ZtORt-TJha50fenFAh52V3mNaPbY7h_9q-Z5F1UEc4KPWNS0OaTpEklEoBwk6l33UhESEWi9hU3zoH5ewDPxFHkhaF8Z0AGnqSNkPWiHlqA-MMtKT44/s1600/antler+bootie.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAaMJrWmqANyw8ZPHN9vzkQBN0ZtORt-TJha50fenFAh52V3mNaPbY7h_9q-Z5F1UEc4KPWNS0OaTpEklEoBwk6l33UhESEWi9hU3zoH5ewDPxFHkhaF8Z0AGnqSNkPWiHlqA-MMtKT44/s320/antler+bootie.jpg" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Antler booties from <a href="http://www.mychameleon.com.au/antler-spear-platform-bootie-p-497.html">Camilla Skovgaard</a>.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>The authors also seemed enamored with the idea of comparing their female participants to male animals. Twice they mention the idea that they want to determine whether sexy clothing is analogous to a peacock's tail, a deer's antlers, or a lion's mane (really). These three examples, according to the authors, reflect a courtship function, a same-sex competition function, or both functions respectively. The authors go on to say that their results suggest that sexy dressing in women is like deer's antlers, or, a same-sex competition function.<br />
<br />
First, since when are a deer's antlers only a same-sex competition function? Second, doesn't it say something that they couldn't find any examples of this kind of display in a female animal? This begs the question of why female humans do so much more displaying and maintenance of their appearance compared to other female animals, and again, this suggests interactions between biology and culture (Smuts 1995).<br />
<br />
We can spin all the stories we want to explain why many human females make efforts to be physically attractive. And I do think Durante et al (2011) are on to something here as, despite methodological concerns they did find differences in high- and low-fertility choices. But if we continue to do this research on undergraduates in western contexts without sufficient hormone analysis, I'm unsure that its meaning extends beyond the participant pool.<br />
<br />
<b>References</b><br />
<br />
<span class="Z3988" title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.jtitle=Journal+of+Sex+Research&rft_id=info%3Adoi%2F10.1080%2F00224490409552210&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fresearchblogging.org&rft.atitle=Female+competition%3A+Causes%2C+constraints%2C+content%2C+and+contexts&rft.issn=0022-4499&rft.date=2004&rft.volume=41&rft.issue=1&rft.spage=16&rft.epage=26&rft.artnum=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.informaworld.com%2Fopenurl%3Fgenre%3Darticle%26doi%3D10.1080%2F00224490409552210%26magic%3Dcrossref%7C%7CD404A21C5BB053405B1A640AFFD44AE3&rft.au=Campbell%2C+A.&rfe_dat=bpr3.included=1;bpr3.tags=Anthropology%2CBiology%2CMedicine%2CPsychology%2CSocial+Science%2CBiological+Anthropology%2C+Evolutionary+Anthropology%2C+Behavioral+Biology%2C+Developmental+Biology%2C+Ecology%2C+Evolutionary+Biology%2C+Endocrinology%2C+Medicine%2C+Nutrition%2C+Public+Health%2C+Cancer">Campbell, A. (2004). Female competition: Causes, constraints, content, and contexts <span style="font-style: italic;">Journal of Sex Research, 41</span> (1), 16-26 DOI: <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/00224490409552210" rev="review">10.1080/00224490409552210</a></span><br />
<br />
<span class="Z3988" title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.jtitle=Journal+of+Consumer+Research&rft_id=info%3A%2F&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fresearchblogging.org&rft.atitle=Ovulation%2C+female+competition%2C+and+product+choice%3A+hormonal+influences+on+consumer+behavior&rft.issn=&rft.date=2011&rft.volume=37&rft.issue=6&rft.spage=921&rft.epage=934&rft.artnum=&rft.au=Durante%2C+KM&rft.au=Griskevicius%2C+V&rft.au=Hill%2C+SE&rft.au=Perilloux%2C+C&rft.au=Li%2C+NP&rfe_dat=bpr3.included=1;bpr3.tags=Medicine%2CBiological+Anthropology%2C+Evolutionary+Anthropology%2C+Behavioral+Biology%2C+Developmental+Biology%2C+Ecology%2C+Evolutionary+Biology%2C+Endocrinology%2C+Medicine%2C+Nutrition%2C+Public+Health%2C+Cancer">Durante, KM, Griskevicius, V, Hill, SE, Perilloux, C, & Li, NP (2011). Ovulation, female competition, and product choice: hormonal influences on consumer behavior <span style="font-style: italic;">Journal of Consumer Research, 37</span> (6), 921-934</span><br />
<br />
<span class="Z3988" title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.jtitle=Journal+of+Obstetric%2C+Gynecologic%2C++Neonatal+Nursing&rft_id=info%3Adoi%2F10.1111%2Fj.1552-6909.2006.00051.x&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fresearchblogging.org&rft.atitle=Variability+in+the+Phases+of+the+Menstrual+Cycle&rft.issn=0884-2175&rft.date=2006&rft.volume=35&rft.issue=3&rft.spage=376&rft.epage=384&rft.artnum=http%3A%2F%2Fdoi.wiley.com%2F10.1111%2Fj.1552-6909.2006.00051.x&rft.au=Fehring%2C+R.&rft.au=Schneider%2C+M.&rft.au=Raviele%2C+K.&rfe_dat=bpr3.included=1;bpr3.tags=Medicine%2CBiological+Anthropology%2C+Evolutionary+Anthropology%2C+Behavioral+Biology%2C+Developmental+Biology%2C+Ecology%2C+Evolutionary+Biology%2C+Endocrinology%2C+Medicine%2C+Nutrition%2C+Public+Health%2C+Cancer">Fehring, R., Schneider, M., & Raviele, K. (2006). Variability in the Phases of the Menstrual Cycle <span style="font-style: italic;">Journal of Obstetric, Gynecologic, Neonatal Nursing, 35</span> (3), 376-384 DOI: <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1552-6909.2006.00051.x" rev="review">10.1111/j.1552-6909.2006.00051.x</a></span><br />
<br />
<span class="Z3988" title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.jtitle=British+journal+of+obstetrics+and+gynaecology&rft_id=info%3Apmid%2F6743609&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fresearchblogging.org&rft.atitle=Normal+variation+in+the+length+of+the+follicular+phase+of+the+menstrual+cycle%3A+effect+of+chronological+age.&rft.issn=0306-5456&rft.date=1984&rft.volume=91&rft.issue=7&rft.spage=681&rft.epage=4&rft.artnum=&rft.au=Lenton+EA&rft.au=Landgren+BM&rft.au=Sexton+L&rft.au=Harper+R&rfe_dat=bpr3.included=1;bpr3.tags=Medicine%2CBiological+Anthropology%2C+Evolutionary+Anthropology%2C+Behavioral+Biology%2C+Developmental+Biology%2C+Ecology%2C+Evolutionary+Biology%2C+Endocrinology%2C+Medicine%2C+Nutrition%2C+Public+Health%2C+Cancer">Lenton EA, Landgren BM, Sexton L, & Harper R (1984). Normal variation in the length of the follicular phase of the menstrual cycle: effect of chronological age. <span style="font-style: italic;">British journal of obstetrics and gynaecology, 91</span> (7), 681-4 PMID: <a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/6743609" rev="review">6743609</a></span><br />
<br />
<span class="Z3988" title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.jtitle=The+Counseling+Psychologist&rft_id=info%3Adoi%2F10.1177%2F0011000010364551&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fresearchblogging.org&rft.atitle=Experiencing+Sexually+Objectifying+Environments%3A+A+Qualitative+Study&rft.issn=0011-0000&rft.date=2010&rft.volume=39&rft.issue=1&rft.spage=67&rft.epage=106&rft.artnum=http%3A%2F%2Ftcp.sagepub.com%2Fcgi%2Fdoi%2F10.1177%2F0011000010364551&rft.au=Moffitt%2C+L.&rft.au=Szymanski%2C+D.&rfe_dat=bpr3.included=1;bpr3.tags=Anthropology%2CPsychology%2CBiological+Anthropology%2C+Cognitive+Psychology%2C+Evolutionary+Psychology%2C+Social+Psychology%2C+Sociocultural+Anthropology">Moffitt, L., & Szymanski, D. (2010). Experiencing Sexually Objectifying Environments: A Qualitative Study <span style="font-style: italic;">The Counseling Psychologist, 39</span> (1), 67-106 DOI: <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0011000010364551" rev="review">10.1177/0011000010364551</a></span><br />
<br />
<span class="Z3988" title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.jtitle=Human+Nature&rft_id=info%3Adoi%2F10.1007%2FBF02734133&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fresearchblogging.org&rft.atitle=The+evolutionary+origins+of+patriarchy&rft.issn=1045-6767&rft.date=1995&rft.volume=6&rft.issue=1&rft.spage=1&rft.epage=32&rft.artnum=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.springerlink.com%2Findex%2F10.1007%2FBF02734133&rft.au=Smuts%2C+B.&rfe_dat=bpr3.included=1;bpr3.tags=Medicine%2CBiological+Anthropology%2C+Evolutionary+Anthropology%2C+Behavioral+Biology%2C+Developmental+Biology%2C+Ecology%2C+Evolutionary+Biology%2C+Endocrinology%2C+Medicine%2C+Nutrition%2C+Public+Health%2C+Cancer">Smuts, B. (1995). The evolutionary origins of patriarchy <span style="font-style: italic;">Human Nature, 6</span> (1), 1-32 DOI: <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/BF02734133" rev="review">10.1007/BF02734133</a></span><br />
<br />
<span class="Z3988" title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.jtitle=Evolution+and+Human+Behavior&rft_id=info%3Adoi%2F10.1016%2FS1090-5138%2802%2900121-6&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fresearchblogging.org&rft.atitle=Waist%E2%80%93hip+ratio+and+attractiveness+New+evidence+and+a+critique+of+%E2%80%9Ca+critical+test%E2%80%9D&rft.issn=10905138&rft.date=2003&rft.volume=24&rft.issue=2&rft.spage=88&rft.epage=98&rft.artnum=http%3A%2F%2Flinkinghub.elsevier.com%2Fretrieve%2Fpii%2FS1090513802001216&rft.au=Streeter%2C+S.&rfe_dat=bpr3.included=1;bpr3.tags=Medicine%2CBiological+Anthropology%2C+Evolutionary+Anthropology%2C+Behavioral+Biology%2C+Developmental+Biology%2C+Ecology%2C+Evolutionary+Biology%2C+Endocrinology%2C+Medicine%2C+Nutrition%2C+Public+Health%2C+Cancer">Streeter, S. (2003). Waist–hip ratio and attractiveness New evidence and a critique of “a critical test” <span style="font-style: italic;">Evolution and Human Behavior, 24</span> (2), 88-98 DOI: <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S1090-5138(02)00121-6" rev="review">10.1016/S1090-5138(02)00121-6</a></span>KateClancyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10266484364483890008noreply@blogger.com21tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7100452276682801125.post-33128422803900466392011-03-24T14:01:00.000-05:002011-03-24T14:01:07.675-05:00Around the web: put attention where it needs to be putYesterday I submitted a book chapter and a journal manuscript. I have two substantial blog posts I'm working on, but neither will be ready for this week. However, I have been slowly accumulating Posts of Awesome that I'd like to share. I want to highlight people, writing, and topics that need and deserve more attention in the science blogosphere. I mention a lot of these things on Twitter, but I know a lot of my followers don't use Twitter. So here goes.<br />
<br />
<b>Ladybusiness</b><br />
<br />
If you have any interest in pregnancy, labor and birth, I do hope you're reading <a href="http://www.scienceandsensibility.org/">Science and Sensibility</a>. S&S is a evidence-based blog written by practitioners and scientists, sponsored by <a href="http://www.lamaze.org/">Lamaze International</a>. I really like their more technical, informative posts on labor and birth, and today's post on <a href="http://www.scienceandsensibility.org/?p=2457">positioning during the second stage of labor is a winner</a>. The writing is always accessible for layfolks, yet still provides great information for scientists and medical folk.<br />
<br />
Remember that Wax et al (2010) article showing homebirth had a mortality rate three times higher than a hospital birth (and the sensational <i>Lancet</i> editorial)? A lot of folks came down hard on the article when it first came out, <a href="http://professorkateclancy.blogspot.com/2010/09/repost-which-is-more-safe-home-birth-or.html">myself included</a>, but two more pieces came out yesterday that call into question the authors' conclusions. The first issue is that <a href="http://www.lastwordonnothing.com/2011/03/21/seeking-clarity-for-the-toughest-decisions-of-all/">there were actual mathematical errors in the data</a> (meaning, the data was probably entered into an excel sheet incorrectly), the second is that they <a href="http://www.nature.com/news/2011/110318/full/news.2011.162.html">fundamentally did the meta-analysis wrong</a>. Wrong. As in, according to one statistician who had no stake in the story or topic, so wrong as to overlook all its other problems.<br />
<br />
A few more spicy tidbits: <a href="http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/03/21/a-decade-of-boosting-breast-size/?ref=healthupdate&nl=health&emc=healthupdateemb2">cosmetic breast surgery is on the rise</a>, and <a href="http://www.theunnecesarean.com/blog/2009/5/9/kendall-regional-in-florida-boasts-70-percent-c-section-rate.html">one county in Florida has a 70% cesarean rate</a>. Seventy. Percent. Due to some smart marketing and bad decisions, a treatment to prevent pre-term birth that used to be affordable is <a href="http://www.preemieprimer.com/progesterone-to-prevent-preterm-delivery-is-now-more-expensive-than-gold/">now more expensive than gold</a>.<br />
<br />
Something a little more fun: <a href="http://rspb.royalsocietypublishing.org/content/early/2011/03/10/rspb.2011.0168">older female elephants make better leaders</a>. Here's <a href="http://news.sciencemag.org/sciencenow/2011/03/video-old-female-elephants-make.html">a video to go with the paper</a>.<br />
<br />
Finally, this is sort of ladybusiness, but as Dr. Isis points out, it should really be family (or even just human) business: <a href="http://agora.forwomeninscience.com/index.php/2011/03/why-its-alright-to-not-be-your-mother/">Why it's alright to not be your mother</a>, a guest post on AGORA.<br />
<br />
<b>Queering biology</b><br />
<br />
The reverberations from Jesse Bering's post on homophobia as an adaptation continue. And the responses have been brilliant. I especially love Jeremy Yoder's take over at his blog, Denim and Tweed: <a href="http://www.denimandtweed.com/2011/03/adaptive-fairytale-with-no-happy-ending.html">An adaptive fairytale with no happy ending</a>.<br />
<br />
And then today, <a href="http://www.twitter.com/tdelene">DeLene Beeland</a> shared this great post on Twitter: <a href="http://www.orionmagazine.org/index.php/articles/article/6166">How to Queer Ecology: One Goose at a Time</a> over at Orion Magazine. This is a beautifully-written, thoughtful takedown of the naturalistic fallacy.<br />
<br />
<b>Other things to read right now</b><br />
<br />
Danielle Lee has two great pieces worth reading (and I found them both because of <a href="http://scienceblogs.com/gregladen/2011/03/dn_lees_stuff.php?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+GregLadensBlog+%28Greg+Laden%27s+Blog%29">Greg Laden</a>): an article on <a href="http://theloop21.com/society/Henrietta-Lacks-Contribution-Science-Still-Being-Felt-Today">the contribution of Henrietta Lacks, and the Black community, to cell culture</a>, and <a href="http://www.essence.com/hair/hair_story/natural_hair_diary_danielle_n_lee_scient.php">a profile on Danielle in a natural hair series at Essence.com</a>.<br />
<br />
I read this article today by Gina Trapani on <a href="http://smarterware.org/7550/designers-women-and-hostility-in-open-source">her work to make the technical world more friendly to women and other underrepresented or new folks</a>.<br />
<br />
An interesting interview and review of the book <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Consumption-Kevin-Patterson/dp/0307278948?ie=UTF8&tag=widgetsamazon-20&link_code=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969" target="_blank">Consumption</a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=widgetsamazon-20&l=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=0307278948" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important; padding: 0px !important;" width="1" />, by Kevin Patterson: <a href="http://www.npr.org/2011/03/24/132745785/how-western-diets-are-making-the-world-sick?ft=1&f=1032&sc=tw&utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter">How western diets are making the world sick</a>.<br />
<br />
A piece on <a href="http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=great-pretenders">Impostor Syndrome</a> at SciAm (behind a paywall). I don't want to pathologize all underrepresented groups in science (because frankly, these feelings make sense in the context of environment, even if it's desirable to move beyond them), but issues around impostor syndrome resonate with me.<br />
<br />
The video for the MLK, Jr session from Science Online 2011 is <a href="http://scienceonline2011.com/watch-2/mlk-jr-memorial-session/">now up</a>. <a href="http://www.minoritypostdoc.org">Alberto Roca</a>, <a href="http://urbanscienceadventures.blogspot.com">Danielle Lee</a> and <a href="http://cenblog.org/terra-sigillata/">David Kroll</a> are the fabulous panelists.<br />
<br />
<b>Things I wish I didn't have to link to</b><br />
<br />
Our amusement with Charlie Sheen just demonstrates how little we care about violence against women -- especially certain kinds of women. Read <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/04/opinion/04holmes.html?pagewanted=1">The Disposable Woman</a>.<br />
<br />
Skepchick Rebecca Watson shares some of her hate mail, and why she doesn't feel like internetting today: <a href="http://skepchick.org/2011/03/why-i-deserved-to-be-called-an-offensive-bitch/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=twitter&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+Skepchick+%28Skepchick%29">Why I deserved to be called an offensive bitch</a>.<br />
<br />
Pat Campbell reposted a twelve-year-old manifesto on gender and education that still holds true: <a href="http://www.fairerscience.org/fs-blogs/2011/03/the_gender_wars_must_cease.html">The Gender Wars Must Cease</a>.<br />
<br />
<b>Some LOLz and some cutes: a section I added because the last three links were so depressing</b><br />
<br />
This first link doesn't exactly bring the LOLz, but is an enjoyable read: Female Science Professor continues her series on <a href="http://science-professor.blogspot.com/2011/03/academic-novels-latest.html">Academic Novels</a>.<br />
<br />
Some great apes from Zooborns: a <a href="http://www.zooborns.com/zooborns/2011/03/two-baby-orangutans-make-their-public-debut.html">two new baby orangs</a>, and <a href="http://www.zooborns.com/zooborns/2011/03/nori-the-explorer.html">baby chimp</a>. They put my maternal instinct into overdrive.<br />
<br />
And a LOLcat via <a href="http://www.twitter.com/scicurious">Scicurious</a>: <a href="http://cheezburger.com/View/4582775040">I'z in yer papers, messin' wit yer stats</a>.<br />
<br />
<b>References</b><br />
<br />
<span class="Z3988" title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.jtitle=American+Journal+of+Obstetrics+and+Gynecology&rft_id=info%3Adoi%2F10.1016%2Fj.ajog.2010.05.028&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fresearchblogging.org&rft.atitle=Maternal+and+newborn+outcomes+in+planned+home+birth+vs+planned+hospital+births%3A+a+metaanalysis&rft.issn=00029378&rft.date=2010&rft.volume=&rft.issue=&rft.spage=&rft.epage=&rft.artnum=http%3A%2F%2Flinkinghub.elsevier.com%2Fretrieve%2Fpii%2FS000293781000671X&rft.au=Wax%2C+J.&rft.au=Lucas%2C+F.&rft.au=Lamont%2C+M.&rft.au=Pinette%2C+M.&rft.au=Cartin%2C+A.&rft.au=Blackstone%2C+J.&rfe_dat=bpr3.included=1;bpr3.tags=Anthropology%2CHealth%2CBiological+Anthropology%2C+Women%27s+Health%2C+Pregnancy%2C+Birth">Wax, J., Lucas, F., Lamont, M., Pinette, M., Cartin, A., & Blackstone, J. (2010). Maternal and newborn outcomes in planned home birth vs planned hospital births: a metaanalysis <span style="font-style: italic;">American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology</span> DOI: <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ajog.2010.05.028" rev="review">10.1016/j.ajog.2010.05.028</a></span><br />
<br />
<span class="Z3988" title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.jtitle=Lancet&rft_id=info%3Apmid%2F20674705&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fresearchblogging.org&rft.atitle=Home+birth--proceed+with+caution.&rft.issn=0140-6736&rft.date=2010&rft.volume=376&rft.issue=9738&rft.spage=303&rft.epage=&rft.artnum=&rft.au=Editorial+staff&rfe_dat=bpr3.included=1;bpr3.tags=Anthropology%2CBiological+Anthropology%2C+Women%27s+Health%2C+Pregnancy%2C+Birth">Editorial staff (2010). Home birth--proceed with caution. <span style="font-style: italic;">Lancet, 376</span> (9738) PMID: <a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20674705" rev="review">20674705</a></span>KateClancyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10266484364483890008noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7100452276682801125.post-18642616261724289562011-03-22T08:57:00.000-05:002011-03-22T08:57:43.872-05:00The Open Laboratory 2010: for sale now!Looking for once place to read the best science writing of 2010? Want a peer-reviewed resource that you can show your colleagues that are social media naysayers to demonstrate the power of science blogs? Look no more: <a href="http://blog.coturnix.org/2011/03/21/the-open-laboratory-2010-now-up-for-sale/">Open Lab 2010</a> is now available for <a href="http://go2.wordpress.com/?id=725X584219&site=coturnix.wordpress.com&xs=1&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.lulu.com%2Fproduct%2Fpaperback%2Fthe-open-laboratory-2010%2F15156343&sref=http%3A%2F%2Fblog.coturnix.org%2F2011%2F03%2F21%2Fthe-open-laboratory-2010-now-up-for-sale%2F">purchase at Lulu.com</a>!<br />
<br />
Two of my posts on IVF were selected for Open Lab (to be put into one essay). I'm brushing shoulders with some very fancy writers. I do hope you'll <a href="http://go2.wordpress.com/?id=725X584219&site=coturnix.wordpress.com&xs=1&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.lulu.com%2Fproduct%2Fpaperback%2Fthe-open-laboratory-2010%2F15156343&sref=http%3A%2F%2Fblog.coturnix.org%2F2011%2F03%2F21%2Fthe-open-laboratory-2010-now-up-for-sale%2F">buy it</a>.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVVZ4w5JrNt2Qz_PH4N_WKJOG1RPGGmTus6941EyDdlJZp5Zi-6TVJ2CZ80d5J9kk5Z1FF3Fi5M2SDhZYSfFPThXobFtexA9h0l_r5FpjCjYdU4tQvxAfv-Wf_bJRWiE7iaPgAfvu9O4c/s1600/openlabalfinalproofcflat.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left:1em; margin-right:1em"><img border="0" height="320" width="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVVZ4w5JrNt2Qz_PH4N_WKJOG1RPGGmTus6941EyDdlJZp5Zi-6TVJ2CZ80d5J9kk5Z1FF3Fi5M2SDhZYSfFPThXobFtexA9h0l_r5FpjCjYdU4tQvxAfv-Wf_bJRWiE7iaPgAfvu9O4c/s320/openlabalfinalproofcflat.jpg" /></a></div>KateClancyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10266484364483890008noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7100452276682801125.post-31404338196458726872011-03-17T13:36:00.000-05:002011-03-17T13:36:52.129-05:00Science Online 2011: Perils of blogging as a woman under a real nameIf you haven't seen it yet, or just want to relive it, our women in science blogging panel is now available for viewing:<br />
<br />
<iframe src="http://player.vimeo.com/video/20945205" width="400" height="225" frameborder="0"></iframe><p><a href="http://vimeo.com/20945205">Perils of Blogging as a Woman under a Real Name</a> from <a href="http://vimeo.com/user2419982">Smartley-Dunn</a> on <a href="http://vimeo.com">Vimeo</a>.</p><br />
Key highlights: when I told the audience about how I squatted over a toilet to birth my baby. Oh, there was also a lot of great feminism in there too.<br />
<br />
This is the panel that inspired <a href="http://professorkateclancy.blogspot.com/2011/01/science-online-2011-even-when-we-want.html">this post</a>, and then <a href="http://professorkateclancy.blogspot.com/2011/01/women-scienceblogging-revolution.html">these great posts</a>.KateClancyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10266484364483890008noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7100452276682801125.post-29110054167654763972011-03-16T11:27:00.000-05:002011-03-16T11:27:53.142-05:00On bad first drafts<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggm4u_M5BbSqFq-Y4jb3PnC46ERhYeQJJsDf4IXMwKx_6SsxGrR_I73hQKEjYkffSmUNwILFDGAZB1od5kCltfX0N15xx6w-O3myKvRmGhAfa2pThdi5gw5RC_rD5s4Vr4gOwtbs3fhVo/s1600/lolcat+headdesk.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggm4u_M5BbSqFq-Y4jb3PnC46ERhYeQJJsDf4IXMwKx_6SsxGrR_I73hQKEjYkffSmUNwILFDGAZB1od5kCltfX0N15xx6w-O3myKvRmGhAfa2pThdi5gw5RC_rD5s4Vr4gOwtbs3fhVo/s320/lolcat+headdesk.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">From <a href="http://cheezburger.com/Caghs/lolz/View/3027015680">I Can Haz Cheezburger</a>.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>My blogging mojo has been channeled almost entirely towards a book project I've undertaken with<a href="http://sites.google.com/site/juliennerutherford/"> Julienne Rutherford</a> of UIC and <a href="http://kjhinde.bol.ucla.edu/">Katie Hinde</a> of UCLA (though shortly to be of <a href="http://www.heb.fas.harvard.edu/faculty.html">Harvard</a>). The book is called <i>Building Babies: Primate Development in Proximate and Ultimate Perspective</i> and it will be published by Springer in 2012. Each co-editor has a chapter in there, and then we have a number of other rather fancy-pants contributors as well.<br />
<br />
The first drafts of the chapters were due yesterday. I did not submit my chapter (er, to myself). I'm running about a week late. I thought I would come clean with this, because there are a number of elements of the writing process that I think remain obscure for students and other junior scholars. And after I share a few thoughts about academic writing, I thought I would show you some of the draft I'm working on.<br />
<br />
<b>First drafts suck</b><br />
<br />
They really, really do. If you think your first draft is amazing, give it to someone else, and that someone else can't be a pet, spouse or parent. First drafts suck because we write the most obvious things in them, the most vague. First drafts don't have enough context. First drafts are where you use cliches because you haven't figured out how to say what you're saying in a sophisticated way. They are often under-cited. They are out of order. And, they aren't that compelling.<br />
<br />
This is why so much student writing is bad -- but it's not their fault. Close together deadlines, ones that align with other projects, and little teaching of time management means most students start writing projects just before they are due. So they essentially submit first drafts of papers, with a little copyediting if you're lucky. Plus, somehow a lot of students have picked up this idea that first drafts are better or more authentic than revisions. This is patently false. They are simply the place our favorite worst stuff goes to die (this is why revision is so often called killing our darlings, to use a term from <a href="http://www.scienceonline2011.com/">scio11</a>, though its origin is <a href="http://www.everydayfiction.com/flashfictionblog/killing-darlings/">much older</a>).<br />
<br />
But everyone has bad first drafts, so it is absolutely useless to feel bad about them. Give them to your advisor or your colleague if they have said they will read a first draft (otherwise, revise it after consulting with someone else first). They write bad first drafts too. You have to write a first draft in order to get to the revision, and to me, this was a liberating realization. Get it all out now! Don't worry about using the right word! Just get the words on the page, get about the right content in about the right order, and if something is repetitive, just leave it for now. Because after a little breather away from it, or a look from a trusted colleague or advisor, you will hack it up and remake it into something far better.<br />
<br />
<b>Revising only sucks sometimes</b><br />
<br />
Revising sucks when you get your first comments back from a colleague, because it is terrifying to share that vulnerable, bad first draft with another person (ever had that moment after you print it out or hit send when you realize your prized metaphor was a trembling nod to your failed attempt as a fiction writer?). It sucks at those moments when you feel at cross-purposes with the thesis of your paper. And it's frustrating, also, that revising is the most important yet under-taught skill in academic writing.<br />
<br />
But here's the thing. Revising can be glorious. If you abandon any sense that you own your words, and remember only to own your mind, it allows you to be merciless in cutting out all the badness of that first draft: the cliches, the vague repetition, the jargon. If you return again and again to your outline, or abstract, or data, or whatever materials you keep to help you remember what the paper is about, you will start to see the right shape of the piece. And then you can also build in the context.<br />
<br />
The best moments of revision are when you remember why you were writing the piece in the first place. Do you want to produce a fundamental review that will be useful to other practitioners in your field? Do you have an amazing piece of data to share? A well-grounded hypothesis that you want to articulate? What was surprising or compelling about that work when you first set fingers to keyboard?<br />
<br />
One last thing I'll say about revising is that owning your mind is not the same as owning your ideas. You need to be willing to let go of being right, and you need to be willing to change if the evidence is against you. Accepting reality and working with it in an interesting way is the mark of a good scientist, and a good revision.<br />
<br />
<b>My first drafts suck</b><br />
<br />
The title of my chapter is: "Inflammatory factors that produce variation in ovarian and endometrial functioning" (eventually, I think, I will need to change the title to better reflect the manuscript). I thought this would be an easy piece for me, since I have been doing a lot of work on C-reactive protein, a biomarker for systemic inflammation, and I have been studying the endometrium and ovaries for many years.<br />
<br />
I was wrong. Oh, so wrong.<br />
<br />
A few quick searches pulled up an embarrassingly large number of citations for chemokines and cytokines, for toll-like receptors, natural killer cells, and other immunological terms I barely remembered from high school and college. So I re-drafted my outline, set aside a lot of time for reading (as in, several days straight), and then finally set to work.<br />
<br />
The problem with the literature on this topic is that it is wholly mechanistic. I can now tell you what interleukins are expressed in the periovulatory phase versus the implantation window, or which ones are suppressed or overexpressed for certain pathologies, but I can't tell you what that means in a broader sense, or what produces variation in any of these immunological factors in a systemic way that might impact local inflammation in the female reproductive system.<br />
<br />
Here is my section on normal endometrial functioning (alas, given the literature, the section on pathology in the endometrium is far, far longer). First draft ahead! Remember, I am sharing this embarrassingly bad prose for the good of SCIENCE.<br />
<blockquote>The endometrium is composed of the functionalis and basalis layers; the functionalis comprises two thirds of the endometrium and is the part that proliferates and sheds each reproductive cycle. The basalis is adjacent to the myometrium, and is the place from which the endometrium regenerates after menses. The proliferative (also known as follicular) phase is when estradiol promotes proliferation of endometrial tissue, where the secretory (also known as luteal) phase is characterized by progesterone control of decidualization and menstruation. The endometrium typically proliferates with narrow, straight glands and a thin surface epithelium, and angiongenesis continues as ovulation nears (King and Critchley 2010). After ovulation and during the secretory phase, the endometrium differentiates: endometrial glands become increasingly secretory, and by the late secretory phase spiral arterioles form. If implantation does not occur, the corpus luteum degrades, progesterone declines, and this triggers a cascade of events to produce menstruation.<br />
<br />
Menstruation is a key inflammatory process of the endometrium. Menstruation is when the functionalis are shed at the end of the human reproductive cycle. The basalis regenerates over the course of the next cycle. The demise of the corpus luteum and the associated withdrawal of progesterone precipitate inflammatory mediators that cause tissue degradation. For instance, progesterone inhibits nuclear factor κ B (NF-κB), which increases the expression of inflammatory cytokines like IL-1 and IL-6 (Maybin et al. 2011). The withdrawal of progesterone is also associated with an increase in endometrial leukocytes and IL-8, which regulate the repair process (Maybin et al. 2011). At this time other inflammatory factors promote MMP production to break down endometrial tissue (Maybin et al. 2011). Further, it is thought that progesterone withdrawal, not an increase in estradiol concentrations, leads to the repair of the endometrium so that it can resume activity for the next cycle (Maybin et al. 2011). Thus, variation in progesterone concentrations may lead to variation in inflammatory activity, degradation, repair and cycling in the endometrium.</blockquote>First question: why should I care about any of the above? So what if any of this happens? Then, you might not know this, but I do: the only two citations in these two paragraphs are both review papers, and one of the authors overlap between them. Therefore, it's quite under-cited. To be fair, in this section it is less important that I demonstrate the depth of the literature, but a review that only cites two other reviews isn't doing its job.<br />
<br />
Do I inspire excitement in my field? No. Do I provide an appropriate context for this material in order to situate the reader? Not so much. Right now, these two paragraphs contain the exact information I wanted them to contain, based on what was in my outline. That is, I've described the basic functioning of the endometrium, and menstruation. It's flat because that's all that I did.<br />
<br />
My job in this chapter is to take this vast reproductive immunological literature, pair it with what little we have in anthropology and ecology that helps us understand the way genes and environment might produce this variation, and then describe the necessary context in future work to understand these mechanisms. In some places, a lack of context may help me make my case, because it will demonstrate why anthropologists need to be in the field. But if my whole manuscript looks like the two paragraphs above, it will be an unreadable yawnfest that doesn't contribute a thing to anthropology.<br />
<br />
So, I guess I would expand the "kill your darlings" advice. First, accept your darlings. Accept that you have them like everyone else, and that darlings aren't just turns of phrase but entire ideas, hypotheses, fields of thought. Then, once you have accepted that your darlings make you just like every other academic writer out there, from the middle schooler to the full professor, kill them. With fire. Finally, make sure you provide what is left with context or else there is no reason to read what you wrote.<br />
<br />
And now, I have been sufficiently inspired to go finish my bad first draft.<br />
<br />
<b>References</b><br />
<br />
<span class="Z3988" title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.jtitle=The+Journal+of+Steroid+Biochemistry+and+Molecular+Biology&rft_id=info%3Adoi%2F10.1016%2Fj.jsbmb.2010.01.003&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fresearchblogging.org&rft.atitle=Oestrogen+and+progesterone+regulation+of+inflammatory+processes+in+the+human+endometrium&rft.issn=09600760&rft.date=2010&rft.volume=120&rft.issue=2-3&rft.spage=116&rft.epage=126&rft.artnum=http%3A%2F%2Flinkinghub.elsevier.com%2Fretrieve%2Fpii%2FS096007601000004X&rft.au=King%2C+A.&rft.au=Critchley%2C+H.&rfe_dat=bpr3.included=1;bpr3.tags=Anthropology%2CBiology%2CMedicine%2CBiological+Anthropology%2C+Evolutionary+Anthropology%2C+Behavioral+Biology%2C+Developmental+Biology%2C+Ecology%2C+Evolutionary+Biology%2C+Endocrinology%2C+Medicine%2C+Nutrition%2C+Public+Health%2C+Cancer">King, A., & Critchley, H. (2010). Oestrogen and progesterone regulation of inflammatory processes in the human endometrium <span style="font-style: italic;">The Journal of Steroid Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, 120</span> (2-3), 116-126 DOI: <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jsbmb.2010.01.003" rev="review">10.1016/j.jsbmb.2010.01.003</a></span><br />
<br />
<span class="Z3988" title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.jtitle=Molecular+and+cellular+endocrinology&rft_id=info%3Apmid%2F20723578&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fresearchblogging.org&rft.atitle=Inflammatory+pathways+in+endometrial+disorders.&rft.issn=0303-7207&rft.date=2011&rft.volume=335&rft.issue=1&rft.spage=42&rft.epage=51&rft.artnum=&rft.au=Maybin+JA&rft.au=Critchley+HO&rft.au=Jabbour+HN&rfe_dat=bpr3.included=1;bpr3.tags=Anthropology%2CBiology%2CMedicine%2CHealth%2CBiological+Anthropology%2C+Evolutionary+Anthropology%2C+Behavioral+Biology%2C+Developmental+Biology%2C+Ecology%2C+Evolutionary+Biology%2C+Endocrinology%2C+Medicine%2C+Nutrition%2C+Public+Health%2C+Cancer">Maybin JA, Critchley HO, & Jabbour HN (2011). Inflammatory pathways in endometrial disorders. <span style="font-style: italic;">Molecular and cellular endocrinology, 335</span> (1), 42-51 PMID: <a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20723578" rev="review">20723578</a></span>KateClancyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10266484364483890008noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7100452276682801125.post-35026977951626787622011-03-09T11:10:00.004-06:002011-03-09T11:26:32.204-06:00Around the web: sex, birth, brainzThis semester I have decided not to do weekly roundups of links useful to the courses I teach, because last semester it was exhausting to me, and as it turns out only minimally read by my students. However, I continue to bookmark stuff I find interesting, and I have reached such a critical mass that I've decided to share it. Some of what I want to share is focused on the ladybusiness, but I also want to share some links on brainz, and for students.<br />
<br />
<b>Let's talk about sex</b><br />
<br />
A few posts have come out recently on sex: who wants it, who gets it, and the sexual health of adolescents. Mark Regnerus writes "<a href="http://www.slate.com/id/2286240/">Sex is Cheap: Why young men have the upper hand, even when they're failing at life</a>," which I thought was reductive and pretty disparaging to both young men and women. I was surprised at how the author talked only about heterosexual sex (why is this ok? why is this interesting?), and how he shared a single quote for each woman he interviewed, and magically it fit nicely into his own narrative. It seems like the story here is in the choices young women and men are making... so it would make sense to share the more nuanced results of the interviews Regnerus says he conducted. That said, I did learn a few things, the most disheartening related to unwanted sex:<br />
<blockquote>"Finally, as my colleagues and I discovered in our interviews, striking numbers of young women are participating in unwanted sex—either particular acts they dislike or more frequent intercourse than they'd prefer or mimicking porn (being in a dating relationship is correlated to greater acceptance of and use of porn among women)."</blockquote><div>Unwanted sex is one of those gray areas where the sex is technically consensual... but one partner doesn't really want to do it. How have we gotten to the point that more young women don't feel it's ok to say no to their partners? I don't think it's because of a poor dating pool as seems to be the working hypothesis of the author, but I'd be interested to hear your thoughts.</div><div><br />
</div><div>To contrast, <i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Yes-Means-Visions-Female-Without/dp/1580052576?ie=UTF8&tag=widgetsamazon-20&link_code=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969" target="_blank">Yes Means Yes</a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=widgetsamazon-20&l=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=1580052576" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important; padding: 0px !important;" width="1" /></i> is an anthology edited by Jaclyn Friedman and Jessica Valenti that became a blog to continue the conversation on rape culture and female sexual empowerment. In a post on said blog, <a href="https://yesmeansyesblog.wordpress.com/2011/03/03/gender-differences-and-casual-sex-the-new-research/">Gender Differences and Casual Sex: The New Research</a> they look at some of the same material as the post above, as well as a new paper by Terri Conley showing that men and women aren't that different in their perspectives on casual sex as was once thought. The blog contributor, named Thomas, does a great rundown of the study's findings and explains how earlier studies of casual sex -- like the study many of you have likely heard of, where men and women are randomly propositioned in public -- is both unlikely and particularly repulsive to women given rape culture, and therefore sets up a sex difference that a more nuanced study easily demolishes.</div><div><br />
</div><div><b>Birth and babies</b></div><div><br />
</div><div>Randi Hutter Epstein, author of <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Get-Me-Out-History-Childbirth/dp/0393339068?ie=UTF8&tag=widgetsamazon-20&link_code=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969" target="_blank">Get Me Out: A History of Childbirth from the Garden of Eden to the Sperm Bank</a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=widgetsamazon-20&l=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=0393339068" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important; padding: 0px !important;" width="1" />, wrote a short but sweet <a href="http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/birth-babies-and-beyond/201103/push-reduce-birth-inductions">piece on labor inductions in Psychology Today</a>. She shares some of the shortcomings of a medical model that thinks that any labor over thirty seven weeks can be safely induced. This relates to <a href="http://couriernews.suntimes.com/news/3172575-418/hospital-baby-deliveries-early-medical.html">a recent story</a> about a March of Dimes initiative to reduce early inductions, and some hospitals in the Chicago area are taking part.</div><div><br />
</div><div>And, <a href="http://professorkateclancy.blogspot.com/2010/09/repost-which-is-more-safe-home-birth-or.html">while I wrote this a little while ago</a>, it seems important to link the above to the kerfuffle that arose when a study came out last year claiming that home births were far more dangerous than hospital births, and the editors of the <i>Lancet</i> used the study as a chance to jump up and down on home birth. Given that only half of a percent of women in the US do home births, it makes more sense to use this as an opportunity not to bash home births but have a frank conversation about whether the cascade of interventions guaranteed by stepping into a hospital to give birth leads to a safer delivery for mom and baby.<br />
<br />
Next, Scicurious of <a href="http://scientopia.org/blogs/scicurious/2011/02/21/the-cerebellum-and-premenstrual-dysphoric-disorder/">tag-team</a> <a href="http://professorkateclancy.blogspot.com/2011/02/tag-teaming-research-blogging-me-and.html">blogging</a> fame and general awesomeness, has a real winner. Today, she reviewed cool <a href="http://scientopia.org/blogs/scicurious/2011/03/09/baby-boy-baby-girl-baby-x/">research on sex roles from the seventies</a>. She shows how our perception of the gender of a baby impacts how we treat it (and how dolls might make better toys than footballs for babies, no matter what).</div><div><br />
</div><div>And then, for your dose of cute (well, cute if you don't mind amniotic sacs and vaginas, which I don't), here are <a href="http://www.environmentalgraffiti.com/news-miraculous-animal-births">Five Miraculous Animal Births</a> (don't know why they are miraculous, but they are certainly cool).</div><div><br />
</div><div><b>Brainz</b></div><div><br />
</div><div>First, Sci has another great post, this time on research on <a href="http://scientopia.org/blogs/scicurious/2011/03/02/train-your-muscles-embiggen-your-hippocampus/">exercise, hippocampus size and memory in the elderly</a> that made me vow to play derby until I need a cane to skate.<br />
<br />
You might have seen the recent buzz about PKMZeta, a protein that may aid in strengthening old memories. Ed Yong of <a href="http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/notrocketscience/">Not Exactly Rocket Science</a> (check out the spiffy new banner!) has a <a href="http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/notrocketscience/tag/pkmzeta/">three-part series</a> on it. I also loved David Dobbs's piece exploring problems in cognitive science: <a href="http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2011/02/is-cognitive-science-full-of-crap/">Is Cognitive Science Full of Crap?</a> (Yes. Well, sometimes. Maybe. Except sometimes not and then it's really very cool.) John Hawks also has an interesting piece called <a href="http://johnhawks.net/weblog/reviews/brain/language/number-as-cognitive-technology-2011.html">Numbers as Cognitive Technology</a>: this post explores how we understand numbers, at a population variation (regarding language), developmental (regarding John's twins, who I imagine to be very cute, with thought bubbles of fingers and toes above their heads) and even comparative (Alex the Parrot!) level.<br />
<br />
Then, a more devastating piece that, to me, highlights some of the problems with the medical metaphor of humans as machines: Daniel Lende at Neuroanthropology writes about a <i>New York Times</i> piece about how the <a href="http://blogs.plos.org/neuroanthropology/2011/03/06/psychiatry-all-meds-no-talk/">field of psychiatry has changed with time</a>.</div><div><br />
</div><div>Oh, and this one was absolutely nothing to do with brainz, but it's written by Dr. Zen of NeuroDojo so I've shoehorned him in here :). Dr. Zen <a href="http://neurodojo.blogspot.com/2011/03/arsenic-life-four-months-later-pay-no.html">looks at the two peer-reviewed papers to come out after the #arseniclife fiasco</a> and shows how one in particular intentionally miscategorizes the great post-peer review that happened on blogs as "anonymous electronic communications," since in fact the majority of the commenters were using their own names (and even if they weren't, again, there is a big difference between anonymous and pseudonymous). This sounds an awful lot like the response that came out after #aaafail, where, rather than addressing the many <a href="http://blogs.plos.org/neuroanthropology/2010/12/11/anthropology-after-the-science-controversy-were-moving-ahead/">critical, thoughtful bloggers</a>, it all got labeled as "outside commentary."</div><div><br />
</div><div><b>Learning links</b></div><div><br />
</div><div>First, for graduate students: <a href="http://www.andrea-zellner.com/archives/588">Mamacademic: How I hack parenthood, grad school, etc</a>. A nice piece on the perils of parenthood, because it is constructive. Then, a related post both on<a href="http://www.academichic.com/2011/03/07/7-march-2011-pregnancy-in-academia/"> pregnancy style and how to deal with questions around parenting in graduate school</a>. And while this next post isn't directly about grad students, GayProf discusses a disturbing panel he attended where <a href="http://centerofgravitas.blogspot.com/2011/03/baby-nation.html">faculty recommended having children in order to achieve work/life balance</a>, a way that was clearly not situated in the context of whether one wants to have children, and who ends up doing most of the work of childrearing. Not to mention, you know, the rampant heterosexism.<br />
<br />
But on to the links you actually expected under this heading. Dan Simons, fellow prof here at the University of Illinois and co-author of <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Invisible-Gorilla-Other-Intuitions-Deceive/dp/0307459659?ie=UTF8&tag=widgetsamazon-20&link_code=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969" target="_blank">The Invisible Gorilla</a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=widgetsamazon-20&l=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=0307459659" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important; padding: 0px !important;" width="1" />, wrote a great piece on <a href="http://theinvisiblegorilla.com/blog/2011/01/25/think-you-know-the-best-way-to-study-better-test-yourself/">study habits and what students think they know versus what they actually know</a>. Read it, then study the way he tells you to! Hint: re-reading the text is not how you learn the material.<br />
<br />
Then there is this perspective over at Observations, a Scientific American blog, that posits we should <a href="http://www.scientificamerican.com/blog/post.cfm?id=schools-should-teach-kids-more-abou-2011-02-22">teach kids more about the process of science</a>. How can this translate into better science ed in higher ed as well? I'd love to hear your thoughts. Most of what I do centers on having students do actual studies, or assist in research in my lab, or sometimes propose avenues of research as part of a project. But maybe there are more fun things we can be doing in a classroom setting that would lead to more students understanding the scientific method and the process of science.<br />
<br />
I also want to share this <a href="http://svpow.wordpress.com/2011/02/03/tutorial-12-how-to-find-problems-to-work-on/">great tutorial on how to choose a research project</a>. This is useful for students at all levels... and post-docs and faculty, too.<br />
<br />
<b>Your dose of random</b><br />
<br />
<a href="http://blogs.plos.org/neurotribes/2011/03/08/autism-vaccines-and-community-straight-talk-with-seth-mnookin/">Steve Silberman interviews Seth Mnookin</a> regarding his new book <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Panic-Virus-Story-Medicine-Science/dp/1439158649?ie=UTF8&tag=widgetsamazon-20&link_code=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969" target="_blank">The Panic Virus</a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=widgetsamazon-20&l=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=1439158649" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important; padding: 0px !important;" width="1" />. I've been avidly reading all of Mnookin's press materials and look forward to reading the book, but as always Silberman does an exceptional job so I particularly recommend his post.<br />
<br />
This article made the rounds in the twittersphere on <a href="http://www.poynter.org/how-tos/digital-strategies/121664/a-5-minute-framework-for-fostering-better-conversations-in-comments-sections/">how to improve comment sections</a>. I just liked it a lot and found it a great tutorial on fostering online communities.<br />
<br />
Then, for my anthropology peeps, an important article on <a href="http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/how-the-diabetes-linked-thrifty-gene-triumphed-with-prejudice-over-proof/article1921859/singlepage/#articlecontent">problematizing the thrifty gene</a>, particularly around race and racism. Something to share with your students.<br />
<br />
People have been rocking out in the SciAm Guest Blog. Check out <a href="http://www.scientificamerican.com/blog/post.cfm?id=book-review-tabloid-medicine-how-th-2011-02-23">this book review</a> of <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Tabloid-Medicine-Internet-Medical-Science/dp/1607147270?ie=UTF8&tag=widgetsamazon-20&link_code=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969" target="_blank">Tabloid Medicine: How the Internet is Being Used to Hijack Medical Science for Fear and Profit</a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=widgetsamazon-20&l=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=1607147270" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important; padding: 0px !important;" width="1" /> by Valerie Jones.<br />
<br />
If you haven't had enough counter-evidence to the idea of science blogs as an echo chamber, check out <a href="http://colinschultz.wordpress.com/2010/08/11/science-bloggers-diversifying-the-news/">Colin Schultz's treatment</a> of a recent paper on linking patterns in science blogs versus traditional journalism.<br />
<br />
Finally, check out <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2011/03/06/weekinreview/20110306-happiness.html?ref=weekinreviewleepDisorders/25206">this interactive map on well-being in the US</a> in the <i>New York Times</i>. I found a lot of the patterns really interesting, in terms of what portions of the US lit up when.<br />
<br />
<i>[11:26am CST: Edited to add two links for Scicurious, because the links were on my list but then I forgot.]</i></div>KateClancyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10266484364483890008noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7100452276682801125.post-81253346083175353082011-03-07T15:26:00.000-06:002011-03-07T15:26:05.817-06:00USA Today piece on evolutionary psychologyFor those of you who don't follow me on Twitter, just a quick note to let you know that I was interviewed for a piece on voice pitch and infidelity for USA Today by journalist Dan Vergano. It was a great experience, and a thoughtful piece.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.usatoday.com/tech/science/columnist/vergano/2011-03-06-voices-infidelity_N.htm">Deep voices trigger infidelity jitters</a>.KateClancyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10266484364483890008noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7100452276682801125.post-63994178852926934332011-03-04T10:06:00.000-06:002011-03-04T10:06:49.179-06:00Mate magnet madness: When the range of possible explanations exceeds your own hypothesis<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhI2GJPQXRZnyZNDlw6-ZVdUEmMy2ZU4Jzop_yhvAyzpNF_WLZOrY9N0nu0rOSWR49rSB1fW3U5Dfbxu1rBWqjtv8TEWifIGo1gb-KJVtKsoBMAY2bTZz-nq-RFi_XA4Spkx1-cmJcSPc/s1600/dora_explorer_wallpaper_1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhI2GJPQXRZnyZNDlw6-ZVdUEmMy2ZU4Jzop_yhvAyzpNF_WLZOrY9N0nu0rOSWR49rSB1fW3U5Dfbxu1rBWqjtv8TEWifIGo1gb-KJVtKsoBMAY2bTZz-nq-RFi_XA4Spkx1-cmJcSPc/s200/dora_explorer_wallpaper_1.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Figure 1. My apologies to Baby Jaguar<br />
for not finding a picture that included<br />
him.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>My daughter will be three in just a few weeks. She loves telling stories. These stories have the same, uncomplicated arc every time: she and her friends Dora, Diego, Boots and Baby Jaguar go on an adventure to rescue Mommy from the giant condor. Or sometimes Mommy and Dora and Diego and Boots and Baby Jaguar are rescuing her. Or sometimes Daddy does the rescuing.<br />
<br />
There is almost always a net, then a pair of Rescue Scissors needed to cut the captive free. But the variation in these stories is very small, the framework borrowed heavily from one of the few mythologies known to my little girl: <a href="http://www.nickjr.com/dora-the-explorer/">Dora the Explorer</a>.<br />
<br />
Evolutionary psychology is often a kind of story-telling, and instead of borrowing from a preschool cartoon they borrow from the concept of anisogamy. Anisogamy is sexual reproduction formed by unequal gametes, in our lineage a big egg made by females and little sperm made by males. This provides the foundation for differential reproductive investment, where females often put in the time and effort of gestation, lactation and care. From here, proponents of EP see essential differences between what men and women want in relationships, and the kinds of relationships that are optimal, and a model this broad makes it possible to shoehorn any behavior into its adaptive framework.<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfDbVqt4oMNyhvLQhrvqjmQleUdKhEpmLTTxkvq2GEgXxmO5lgoEjpfc706dhQFsV-MZN3vgx-LVEW513IYr_8DJ8mGPoJL-hUTfsf1Zso_eGzIE0eflf2srbcdiTprqBoTcQYxDfYADM/s1600/ladymagnet.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfDbVqt4oMNyhvLQhrvqjmQleUdKhEpmLTTxkvq2GEgXxmO5lgoEjpfc706dhQFsV-MZN3vgx-LVEW513IYr_8DJ8mGPoJL-hUTfsf1Zso_eGzIE0eflf2srbcdiTprqBoTcQYxDfYADM/s1600/ladymagnet.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Figure 2. The actual image that<br />
accompanied Tierney's column.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>Enter John Tierney, my (not) favorite journalist for the <i>New York Times</i>. This is the man who thinks that sexism is a radical act (I am referring to his <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/08/science/08tier.html?ref=johntierney">charming</a> <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/15/science/15tier.html?ref=johntierney">articles</a> on gender disparities in science). So I suppose I shouldn’t have been surprised when he outed himself as an EP fanboi in his most recent piece, “<a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/22/science/22tier.html?_r=1&ref=johntierney">The Threatening Scent of Fertile Women</a>.”<br />
<br />
Tierney covered the work of Jon Maner and others who have studied relationship maintenance – the suite of behaviors that keeps a couple together. In particular, Tierney focuses on the problem of the wandering eye, or rather, the possible mechanisms that prevent it in a monogamous couple. The idea here is that relationship maintenance is evolutionarily adaptive, because when a couple stays together it is easier to raise offspring and increase reproductive success.<br />
<br />
<b>The range of explanations</b><br />
<br />
The study that frames Tierney’s column is Miller and Maner (2010). Thirty eight undergraduate men rated the attractiveness of a woman with whom they interact, at several points over her menstrual cycle. The authors found NO relationship between where a woman is in her cycle and how attractive a single man finds her, but a negative relationship between the chance a woman is fertile and how attractive a partnered man finds her.<br />
<br />
What do Miller and Maner (2010) discuss, and what is the idea Tierney is so enamored with?<br />
<blockquote>“It’s possible that some of the men in Florida were just trying to look virtuous by downgrading the woman’s attractiveness, the way a husband will instantly dismiss any woman pointed out by his wife. (That Victoria’s Secret model? Ugh! A skeleton with silicone.) But Jon Maner, a co-author of the study, says that’s unlikely because the men filled out their answers in private and didn’t expect the ratings to be seen by anyone except the researchers.<br />
<br />
“It seems the men were truly trying to ward off any temptation they felt toward the ovulating woman,” said Dr. Maner, who did the work with Saul Miller, a fellow psychologist at Florida State. “They were trying to convince themselves that she was undesirable. I suspect some men really came to believe what they said. Others might still have felt the undercurrent of their forbidden desire, but I bet just voicing their lack of attraction helped them suppress it.””</blockquote>This conjecture is unconnected to the study’s methodology and results. Nowhere in that study did they assess the participants’ state of mind or ask them how they felt about this. How do we know they were trying to convince themselves of anything? This finding, while interesting, does not test their hypothesis for an evolutionary framework for relationship maintenance that includes adaptively suppressing attraction to others.<br />
<br />
Maner et al (2009) studied the attention people pay to images of attractive people of the opposite sex when first exposed to sexual words like “lust” and “kiss.” They recruited 120 straight undergraduates, thirty six of whom were in committed relationships. Individuals in committed relationships paid far less attention to the attractive images than those not in relationships. Tierney titters,<br />
<blockquote>“The subliminal priming with words related to sex apparently activated some unconscious protective mechanism: <i>Tempt me not! I see nothing! I see nothing!</i>”</blockquote>I’ve done my own share of human subjects research, and subjects will often tell you or do what they think you want, or they will just not be honest if they don’t want you to know the truth. What if, as originally posed by Tierney himself, the respondents weren’t warding off temptation but wanted to look virtuous? What if, now bear with me because this might seem crazy, the people in these studies were in love with their partners and genuinely uninterested in anyone else? Too often EP wants to provide a single explanation for a behavior, when the range of possible explanations far exceeds their hypothesis.<br />
<br />
<b>An anthropological perspective</b><br />
<br />
Jamie Jones, Associate Professor at Stanford and blogger at Monkey’s Uncle <a href="http://monkeysuncle.stanford.edu/?p=819">describes anthropology like this</a>,<br />
<blockquote>“…[A]nthropology is the science charged with explaining the origin and maintenance of human diversity in all its forms. To achieve this end, anthropology must be unapologetically grand in its scope. How can we explain human diversity without documenting its full extent, through both time and space, and across cultures? … Where does the tapestry of human diversity come from and how is it that we continually manage to resist powerful homogenizing forces and hang on to our diversity? What commonalities transcend local difference to unite all humanity? How is it that civilizations rise and fall? And what is the fate of humanity?”</blockquote>Jamie beautifully depicts the importance of documenting and understanding diversity even in the face of efforts to simplify human nature. Thus, to me, an anthropological perspective is often at odds with EP explanations for behavior.<br />
<br />
An anthropological perspective asks, what happens if you take these basic observations and, instead of deciding on a favorite explanation and applying it to everyone, put them into a model in which you can vary context (age/sex specific mortality rates, distribution of resources, what have you) and see what range of strategies actually give fitness benefits? That is, when you actually throw some variation into the equation, is this still the best strategy for the partnered men with whom Tierney feels simpatico?<br />
<br />
Right now we don’t know. Much psychological empiricism rests on undergraduates who participate in studies for course credit. When one wants to make connections to evolutionary adaptedness, they may be a place to start, but not end.<br />
<br />
I have a real problem with continuing to use this population to make statements of universality for all humans. Undergraduates usually are trying to avoid pregnancy and build their financial and social capital, so relationship maintenance for the sake of reproductive success rarely exists. Until we can show that relationship maintenance, and the particular behaviors Miller, Maner and others study within that are shown across many populations, and particularly across reproductively-aged folks, their argument for adaptation fails.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilK0RJFW1FMdj4w8UquzSexXBs87b-AOu3wh0t45K7VJI4buzXxR9qdzi4zHasfFzEXgECt3iVzVALZ-ukdUnBEcHb6FFbdcCBs3t0MU08ncW5JLoyAtip0RgoNJLNSTidX9-HQoxBL_Y/s1600/2c9a6e542cdc54ab_alg_gay_marriage.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="229" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilK0RJFW1FMdj4w8UquzSexXBs87b-AOu3wh0t45K7VJI4buzXxR9qdzi4zHasfFzEXgECt3iVzVALZ-ukdUnBEcHb6FFbdcCBs3t0MU08ncW5JLoyAtip0RgoNJLNSTidX9-HQoxBL_Y/s320/2c9a6e542cdc54ab_alg_gay_marriage.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Figure 3. Celebrations of marriage.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>Another problem is that most work on relationships in EP tends to be heteronormative, meaning that they think nothing of assuming that either everyone is straight, or the universally best behavioral strategy is to be straight. They also tend to assume that the best strategy is to be monogamous, with occasional sneaky infidelity permitted if one can get better genes or more offspring that way (keep in mind that there is a difference between what might be biologically advantageous in a certain context, and what is culturally appropriate – the argument here is not against the culture of monogamy).<br />
<br />
But heterosexual monogamy is only one reproductive strategy of many that humans employ. Depending on how you measure it, monogamy and polygyny (single male, multi female marriage) vie for the most frequent strategy – in fact, polygyny occurs in about 80% of modern human societies (Murdock and White 1969). There are even a few rare populations that practice polyandry, which is the marriage of a single female and multiple males. And, even in those populations where monogamy is practiced, serial monogamy is far more frequent than lifetime monogamy: this means that individuals have a series of monogamous relationships rather than find one mate for life (so no, divorce is not a modern human invention).<br />
<br />
When taking an even broader, comparative perspective, monogamy isn’t practiced by our closest relatives at all. Chimpanzees and bonobos, both equally related to us, are promiscuous. This is a scientific term for a reproductive strategy that involves females and males making reproductive decisions to mate with many individuals at each fertile period. Bonobos are also promiscuous, but they also use heterosexual and homosexual sex to reduce stress and aggression, and form bonds among one another. Gorillas, our next closest relative, are polygynous. Orangutans are very solitary, but essentially promiscuous. It’s only once you delve into the lesser apes, the gibbons, that you see any monogamy, and they are far less monogamous than we first thought (Brockelman et al 1998).<br />
<br />
Maintaining a heterosexual, monogamous relationship is certainly advantageous at certain times, in certain contexts. But it is not universally adaptive, even within humans. Without anyone studying these behaviors in populations that use different reproductive strategies, and in the absence of comparative data to support these assertions, we are at an impasse.<br />
<br />
<b>Conclusion</b><br />
<br />
In the words of a friend, EP is plugged into evolutionary theory with little more than a ratty old extension cord. EP takes some very basic, ancestral conditions, like differential costs of reproduction, and uses it in a sufficiently vague way that any behavior can relate to females generally being the ones to put in all the time and effort into making babies. Yet EP often ignores the three conditions necessary for natural selection, the mechanism for evolution. For natural selection to act on a trait, the trait must be variable, heritable, and produce differential reproductive success. Rarely does EP understand variation in a trait, rarely does it examine whether said trait has a genetic component, and rarely does it test whether their trait confers a reproductive advantage.<br />
<br />
Are fertile women a threat to partnered harmony, their scents providing a temptation that noble men must suppress? I can’t rule it out, but I also think it is one of the least likely of many possible explanations.<br />
<br />
Unfortunately for readers of the <i>New York Times</i>, Tierney loved this idea more than he loved interrogating it.<br />
<br />
<b>Acknowledgements</b><br />
<br />
I’d like to thank <a href="http://www.anthro.illinois.edu/people/croseman">Charles Roseman</a>, friend, faculty curmudgeon and Bastard Colleague from Hell, for taking a look at an early draft of this post and providing commentary crucial to its improvement. Any rhetorical or scientific errors are my own.<br />
<br />
<b>References</b><br />
<br />
<span class="Z3988" title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.jtitle=Behavioral+Ecology+and+Sociobiology&rft_id=info%3Adoi%2F10.1007%2Fs002650050445&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fresearchblogging.org&rft.atitle=Dispersal%2C+pair+formation+and+social+structure+in+gibbons+%28+Hylobates+lar+%29&rft.issn=0340-5443&rft.date=1998&rft.volume=42&rft.issue=5&rft.spage=329&rft.epage=339&rft.artnum=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.springerlink.com%2Fopenurl.asp%3Fgenre%3Darticle%26id%3Ddoi%3A10.1007%2Fs002650050445&rft.au=Brockelman%2C+W.&rft.au=Reichard%2C+U.&rft.au=Treesucon%2C+U.&rft.au=Raemaekers%2C+J.&rfe_dat=bpr3.included=1;bpr3.tags=Anthropology%2CBiology%2CMedicine%2CBiological+Anthropology%2C+Evolutionary+Anthropology%2C+Behavioral+Biology%2C+Developmental+Biology%2C+Ecology%2C+Evolutionary+Biology%2C+Endocrinology%2C+Medicine%2C+Nutrition%2C+Public+Health%2C+Cancer">Brockelman, W., Reichard, U., Treesucon, U., & Raemaekers, J. (1998). Dispersal, pair formation and social structure in gibbons ( Hylobates lar ) <span style="font-style: italic;">Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology, 42</span> (5), 329-339 DOI: <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s002650050445" rev="review">10.1007/s002650050445</a></span><br />
<br />
<span class="Z3988" title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.jtitle=Journal+of+Experimental+Social+Psychology&rft_id=info%3Adoi%2F10.1016%2Fj.jesp.2008.08.002&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fresearchblogging.org&rft.atitle=The+implicit+cognition+of+relationship+maintenance%3A+Inattention+to+attractive+alternatives&rft.issn=00221031&rft.date=2009&rft.volume=45&rft.issue=1&rft.spage=174&rft.epage=179&rft.artnum=http%3A%2F%2Flinkinghub.elsevier.com%2Fretrieve%2Fpii%2FS002210310800142X&rft.au=MANER%2C+J.&rft.au=GAILLIOT%2C+M.&rft.au=MILLER%2C+S.&rfe_dat=bpr3.included=1;bpr3.tags=Medicine%2CPsychology%2CBiological+Anthropology%2C+Evolutionary+Anthropology%2C+Behavioral+Biology%2C+Developmental+Biology%2C+Ecology%2C+Evolutionary+Biology%2C+Endocrinology%2C+Medicine%2C+Nutrition%2C+Public+Health%2C+Cancer">MANER, J., GAILLIOT, M., & MILLER, S. (2009). The implicit cognition of relationship maintenance: Inattention to attractive alternatives <span style="font-style: italic;">Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 45</span> (1), 174-179 DOI: <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jesp.2008.08.002" rev="review">10.1016/j.jesp.2008.08.002</a></span><br />
<br />
<span class="Z3988" title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.jtitle=Journal+of+Experimental+Social+Psychology&rft_id=info%3A%2F&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fresearchblogging.org&rft.atitle=Evolution+and+relationship+maintenance%3A+Fertility+cues+lead+committed+men+to+devalue+relationship+alternatives&rft.issn=&rft.date=2010&rft.volume=46&rft.issue=&rft.spage=1081&rft.epage=1084&rft.artnum=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.sciencedirect.com%2Fscience%3F_ob%3DArticleURL%26_udi%3DB6WJB-50JPNF6-3%26_user%3D10%26_coverDate%3D11%252F30%252F2010%26_rdoc%3D1%26_fmt%3Dhigh%26_orig%3Dsearch%26_origin%3Dsearch%26_sort%3Dd%26_docanchor%3D%26view%3Dc%26_searchStrId%3D1650117112%26_rerunOrigin%3Dgoogle%26_acct%3DC000050221%26_version%3D1%26_u&rft.au=Miller%2C+S&rft.au=Maner%2C+J&rfe_dat=bpr3.included=1;bpr3.tags=Medicine%2CPsychology%2CBiological+Anthropology%2C+Evolutionary+Anthropology%2C+Behavioral+Biology%2C+Developmental+Biology%2C+Ecology%2C+Evolutionary+Biology%2C+Endocrinology%2C+Medicine%2C+Nutrition%2C+Public+Health%2C+Cancer%2C+Evolutionary+Psychology">Miller, S, & Maner, J (2010). Evolution and relationship maintenance: Fertility cues lead committed men to devalue relationship alternatives <span style="font-style: italic;">Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 46</span>, 1081-1084</span><br />
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<span class="Z3988" title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.jtitle=Ethnology&rft_id=info%3Adoi%2F10.2307%2F3772907&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fresearchblogging.org&rft.atitle=Standard+Cross-Cultural+Sample&rft.issn=00141828&rft.date=1969&rft.volume=8&rft.issue=4&rft.spage=329&rft.epage=&rft.artnum=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.jstor.org%2Fstable%2F3772907%3Forigin%3Dcrossref&rft.au=Murdock%2C+G.&rft.au=White%2C+D.&rfe_dat=bpr3.included=1;bpr3.tags=Medicine%2CBiological+Anthropology%2C+Evolutionary+Anthropology%2C+Behavioral+Biology%2C+Developmental+Biology%2C+Ecology%2C+Evolutionary+Biology%2C+Endocrinology%2C+Medicine%2C+Nutrition%2C+Public+Health%2C+Cancer">Murdock, G., & White, D. (1969). Standard Cross-Cultural Sample <span style="font-style: italic;">Ethnology, 8</span> (4) DOI: <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.2307/3772907" rev="review">10.2307/3772907</a></span><br />
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<b>Image sources</b><br />
<br />
Dora picture: <a href="http://www.doratheexplorertvshow.com/dora/dora-explora-pics.htm">http://www.doratheexplorertvshow.com/dora/dora-explora-pics.htm</a><br />
Lady magnet: <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/22/science/22tier.html?_r=2&ref=johntierney">http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/22/science/22tier.html?_r=2&ref=johntierney</a><br />
Same-sex marriage: <a href="http://markusisthedrug.onsugar.com/date/2009/05/07">http://markusisthedrug.onsugar.com/date/2009/05/07</a>KateClancyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10266484364483890008noreply@blogger.com21tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7100452276682801125.post-23966121050490105612011-02-24T15:43:00.000-06:002011-02-24T15:43:37.674-06:00ResearchBlogging Editor's Selections: PMDDJust a quick note to let you all know that my PMDD post was chosen by both <a href="http://researchblogging.org/news/?p=2362">Krystal D'Kosta</a> and <a href="http://researchblogging.org/news/?p=2356">Jason Goldman</a> for their Editor's Selections this week over at <a href="http://www.ResearchBlogging.org">ResearchBlogging.org</a>.KateClancyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10266484364483890008noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7100452276682801125.post-26030835408078070912011-02-22T11:02:00.000-06:002011-02-22T11:02:56.622-06:00Join me in a conversation about hormonal contraceptives! Eat free food!Women in the United States use hormonal contraceptives more than any other nation in the world. Doctors and patients in other countries report a hesitance to prescribe hormonal contraceptives for off-label use (to improve the skin, or regulate the cycle) where most pharmaceutical advertisements in the US celebrate exactly those uses.<br />
<br />
Why do women in the US use hormonal contraceptives more frequently? How did you and your doctor decide that this prescription was right for you?<br />
<br />
If you live in or near Champaign-Urbana, we would like to have you come participate in a focus group on exactly this topic! We would like to validate a survey that will be used online, but also get freeform responses from real women about their real experiences.<br />
<br />
Please <a href="mailto:labevoendo@gmail.com">email us</a> to participate! We can answer any questions you may have. You must be:<br />
<ul><li>Over eighteen years old<br />
</li>
<li>Female<br />
</li>
<li>Have been prescribed hormonal contraceptives at least once</li>
</ul>Participation involves: <br />
<ul><li>Filling out an eligibility survey and indicating your time preference for the focus group (5 minutes)<br />
</li>
<li>Attending a focus group, where you will fill out a survey and discuss your broader experiences with hormonal contraceptives (90 minutes)</li>
</ul>We will provide you with some tasty snacks during the focus group. So far we have found that participants have really loved being a part of this, because it’s given them a chance to reflect on their own contraceptive choices. Join us! <a href="mailto:labevoendo@gmail.com">Email us</a> today! You will be helping us put together a comprehensive research program to understand why US women take hormonal contraceptives far more than women from other developed countries.<br />
<br />
IRB approval for this message: #12269, amendment 02/22/2010KateClancyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10266484364483890008noreply@blogger.com4