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December 2009

Well, coming up on a year after my last "latest" post, there's not too much news to report data-wise; 2009 has been about getting set-up.

I decided to join Bernardo Sabatini's lab for my PhD. After starting in June, I've been in almost ecstatic delight at the quality of people and science. I have the best lab partner in the world, Genia Kozorovitskiy, and together we're driving neuronal activity with light in the mouse striatum.

December 2008

Great news! Lila and I just had our paper characterizing the molecular basis and population genetic effects of female meiotic drive in Mimulus published in Science! Check out the article (PDF available here). Deborah Charlesworth also wrote a very nice 'Perspectives' piece framing the research.

In other more neuroscience related news, I'll be starting my first lab rotation with Bernardo Sabatini in January. 2009???? The year of the hot data.

March 2008

David and Greg Anderson are also the stars of "The Linguists", a documentary by Seth Kramer and Daniel Miller which premiered at Sundance in 2008. "The Linguists" follows David and Greg as they adventure across continents seeking out and recording from speakers of languages on the brink of extinction. "The Linguists" is a fantastically entertaining film that draws much needed attention to the current massive erosion of human language and culture. This film introduces the public to the often-overlooked role linguists play in documenting this diversity, essential data for understanding both human pre-history and the workings of the human mind. Check it out! And bring the kids!

March 2007

Check out K.David Harrison's new book, "When Languages Die: The Extinction of the World's Languages and the Erosion of Human Knowledge."

I am a huge supporter of this book and believe it fills an important role in illustrating, through specific examples, what human society is currently losing as indigenous languages are abandoned. My own small contribution was helping David research the chapter on ethnotaxonomy. Written with a narrative style, this book is super accessible and would be a wonderful read for anyone interested in the science of language, the impact of globalization on indigenous society or just plain nerdy adventure. Here's the link to the book on Amazon and a link to David's professional website and to the foundation he co-founded called Living Tongues.