As a corner of Africa heats up, new research by Chris Drea shows how the future of the species rests with powerful matriarchs making tough choices for survival. read more about Why Alpha Females Reign Supreme in Meerkat World »
Duke’s Trinity College of Arts & Sciences has invited its faculty to submit proposals for the creation of new research initiatives on campus.Following the successful launches of the SPACE Initiative and the Society-Centered AI Initiative, the Trinity Research Initiative will support new directions for interdisciplinary research through seed funding for nascent research collaborations, community-building, and complementary educational and outreach activities.Open to all areas of research and… read more about Trinity College of Arts & Sciences Invites Proposals for New Research Initiatives »
In 2018, Hannah Salomons began a research journey that would span five years, several cities and more than 100 puppies training to be service animals.A project that began in her first year as a Ph.D. student evolved into one of the most detailed longitudinal studies ever conducted on puppy cognition.The goal? To understand how puppies develop thinking skills such as memory, impulse control, and the ability to interpret human gestures. She also is looking to uncover clues about how these skills evolved, and whether early… read more about Inside the Minds of Puppies: How Do They Develop Their Thinking Skills? »
Colder weather means it’s time to curl up with a book. New readings from Duke authors include everything from a mystery and a middle-grade novel to books on privacy, hip-hop and fast fashion. Below is a roundup of some of the most recent and upcoming published titles. Many of the books, including new editions of previous titles, can be found on the “Duke Authors” display shelves near the circulation desk in Perkins Library. Some are available as e-books for quick download. Most can also be purchased through the… read more about Books for When There’s a Chill in the Air »
Whether you realize it or not, you spend a large chunk of your day weighing conflicting evidence. It is a hallmark of human rationality that shows up in many of our decisions. But new research shows we might not be alone in our ability to revise our beliefs in light of new information—chimpanzees can do it, too.Belief revision is the process by which humans evaluate an overall set of evidence and make the best choice, discarding weaker evidence in favor of stronger evidence, like a jury does during a witness testimony. It’s… read more about Brian Hare Quoted on Chimpanzees Weighing Evidence to Make a Smart Choice »
I walked into Penn Pavilion with the plan to stop by one or two tables for a quick chat. I left hours later with a bag full of free goodies and a newfound understanding of what being a student at Duke can look like.The seemingly endless aisles of tables featuring academic departments, certificate programs and student resources felt like a maze of different opportunities and possibilities. Each table was decorated to be its own vibrant universe. While I may have stopped by a few tables for their bowls full of treats or the… read more about A First-Year Student’s Perspective on the Majors Fair »
Jane Goodall, pioneering chimpanzee researcher, conservationist, and animal rights activist, died on Wednesday at the age of 91.Here & Now's Scott Tong speaks about Goodall's life, work and legacy with Dr. Anne Pusey, former director of the Jane Goodall Institute Center for Primate Studies and emeritus professor at Duke University. read more about Anne Pusey: Remembering Jane Goodall's Life and Work »
I owe my career to Jane Goodall.In 1970, she had already been studying chimpanzees in Gombe National Park, Tanzania for 10 years and was seeking a research assistant to join her team. I was finishing my zoology degree at Oxford and in search of graduate school opportunities to study animal behavior. Her former PhD advisor in Cambridge received our letters at the same time and put us in touch, changing my life forever.I worked with Jane and her team following the chimpanzees daily over five magical years. After gaining my… read more about Anne Pusey: Remembering Jane Goodall »
What’s the science of what makes humans special? Neil deGrasse Tyson, Chuck Nice, and Gary O’Reilly explore how we evolved to be different from each other, what's up with Neanderthal DNA, and humanity's superpower with evolutionary anthropologist, Herman Pontzer. read more about The Power of Adaptability with Herman Pontzer »
We think of friendship as offering people we meet in the course of our lives our support without strings – not stemming from family ties, sexual attraction, personal gain or duty. Friendship works on an emotional level to enhance our lives in ways that cannot always be quantified. read more about Duke Study Explored the Social Lives of 37 Female Chimpanzees to See if Sisterhood Exists in the Animal World – with Amazing Results »
A newly released study from Duke University’s Pontzer Lab, housed in the Department of Evolutionary Anthropology in Trinity College of Arts & Sciences, looks at the correlations between economic development, daily energy expenditure and the rise in a country’s obesity level. While many experts have offered that rising obesity rates are due to declining physical activity as societies become more industrialized, the findings show that people in wealthier countries expend just as much — or even more — energy daily. In… read more about New Duke Study Finds Obesity Rises with Caloric Intake, Not Couch Time »
Obesity is uncommon among Hadza hunter-gatherers in Tanzania, Tsimane forager-farmers in Bolivia, Tuvan herder-farmers in Siberia and other people in less-developed nations. But it’s widespread among those of us in wealthy, highly industrialized nations. Why? A major study published this week in PNAS brings surprising clarity to that question. Using objective data about metabolic rates and energy expenditure among more than 4,000 men and women living in dozens of nations across a broad spectrum of socioeconomic… read more about What Causes Obesity? A Major New Study from Duke Researchers Is Upending Common Wisdom »
Pastoralist animal herders in northern Kenya endure some of the harshest conditions on the planet. But efforts to improve their health may be undermining their most successful survival strategies. read more about Health Lessons From Animal Herders in Kenya »
What can lemurs tell us about inflammation and aging, aka “inflammaging” in humans? That’s the question Elaine Guevara, a biological anthropologist who studies the evolution of life history and aging in primates, set out to understand.In newly published research on age-related inflammation in ring-tailed and sifaka lemurs, Guevara discovered that perhaps we should rethink the inevitability of inflammaging in humans.Although similar in many ways, ring-tailed and sifaka lemurs show differences in life pacing and lifespan,… read more about Study Suggests Lemurs Age Differently Than Humans »
In chimpanzee communities, strong social ties can be a matter of life and death not just for the adults who form them, but for their kids, too.A new federally-funded study of wild eastern chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes schweinfurthii) from Gombe National Park shows that female chimpanzees who were more socially integrated with other females in the year before giving birth were more likely to raise surviving offspring.The findings, published online on June 18 in iScience, show that these survival… read more about It Takes a Village: Chimpanzee Babies Do Better When Their Moms Have Social Connections »
The following is a partial list of national, university, school and departmental awards presented to the members of the Class of 2025. In some awards where there are multiple winners, only members of the Class of 2025 are included. read more about Department Honors and Laurels for the Class of 2025 »
Anna Tornatore is a graduating senior with majors in Evolutionary Anthropology and Biology. She has served as a Trinity Ambassador for Evolutionary Anthropology. Trinity Ambassadors are student volunteers, nominated by their departments, to serve in this unique and important role.We asked a few of the ambassadors from the Class of 2025 to share their favorite memories from Duke. The below interview has been slightly edited for clarity. What was one of the most impactful classes you took during your time at Duke… read more about Notes From the Class of 2025: Celebrating Differences and the Power of Relentless Aspiration »
If there was a contest for biggest female bullies of the animal world, lemurs would be near the top of the list. In these distant primate cousins, it’s the ladies who call the shots, relying on physical aggression to get their way and keep males in line.Not all lemur societies are built about female rule, however. In one branch of the lemur family tree, some species have evolved, within the last million years, to have a more harmonious relationship between the sexes.Now, new findings suggest that this amiable shift in… read more about How Changes in Lemur Brains Made Some Mean Girls Nice »
My guest is Dr. Herman Pontzer, Ph.D., a professor of evolutionary anthropology and global health at Duke University, known for his research on human bioenergetics, particularly energy expenditure and the exercise paradox. We discuss his work comparing highly active hunter-gatherer groups to more sedentary cultures, exploring their total energy expenditure and the surprising similarities.We examine the impact of factors such as age, sex, exercise, and pregnancy on daily energy expenditure. We also break down whether diet or… read more about Herman Pontzer: How We Really Burn Calories & Lose Weight »
DURHAM, N.C. -- As erratic weather upends the seasonal rhythms that crops depend on, farmers in the island nation of Madagascar are feeling the effects but struggle to adapt to the new normal.That’s one of the key takeaways of a recent survey of nearly 500 small-scale farmers in the country’s northern Sava region, which produces about two thirds of the world’s vanilla beans.One farmer said she is noticing streams and rivers drying up, making it harder to work the rice paddy that provides the mainstay of her household’s diet… read more about In the Heart of Vanilla Country, Farmers on the Climate Frontlines Struggle to Adapt »
Duke’s newest evolutionary anthropologist, Charles Musiba, grew up in Tanzania, and it is to that verdant East African country he still returns to try to understand who humans are and how we got here. But the newly arrived full professor isn’t solely focused on our past — he also wants to understand how humans adapt to dramatic changes in climate, to help us prepare for our future.“I grew up on the shores of Lake Victoria,” he said. “As a kid, I climbed Mount Kilimanjaro, which was actually covered with beautiful… read more about “We Still Don’t Understand Who We Are” »
Emily Sandberg is a graduating senior with majors in Evolutionary Anthropology and Psychology. She has served as a Trinity Ambassador for the Department of Evolutionary Anthropology. Trinity Ambassadors are student volunteers, nominated by their departments, to serve in this unique and important role. We asked a few of the ambassadors from the Class of 2024 to share their favorite memories from Duke. The below interview has been slightly edited for clarity. What was one of the most impactful classes you took… read more about Class of 2024: Emily Sandberg »
Five Duke faculty have been elected to the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) in recognition of their distinguished and continuing achievements in original research. The NAS elected a total of 120 new members and 24 new international members. The new NAS members from Duke are: John Aldrich, PhD, Pfizer Inc./Edmund T. Pratt Jr. University Distinguished Professor in the Department of Political Science. His scholarship focuses on American politics and elections. David Beratan… read more about Four Trinity Faculty Elected to National Academy of Sciences »