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Embodiment in Anthropological Epigenetics Research
Get PDFThis paper reviews literature in human epigenetic research as a case study in order to examine and critique the dominant framework of embodiment as unidirectional or bidirectional and mechanistically driven. We identify three major critiques to this approach: 1) A treatment of epigenetic traits as a mechanism of embodiment, rather than one of the multidirectional components of the dynamic and ongoing embodiment process; 2) A tendency to view changing epigenetic traits as both the cause and solution for embodied social inequalities rather than examining the need for systemic change; and 3) A loss of the complexity of varied lived experiences within epigenetic studies. We suggest weaving in humanistic frameworks and expanding towards a multidirectional definition of embodiment in the field as a way forward
A Review of Anthropological Adaptations of Humans Living in Extreme Conditions and Health Implications
No full textUnderstanding gene variations in people living under extreme conditions has the potential of curing diseases caused by exposure to heat, cold, fatty diets, hypoxia, and pathogens. One candidate gene associated with heat resistance is ACE1, encoding angiotensin-converting enzyme 1. Associations have also been made between cold resistance or fatty diets and polymorphisms of several genes, including ACTN3, encoding alpha-actinin-3, and CPTIA, encoding carnitine palmitoyltransferase 1A. A prominent role in resistance to hypoxia has been recognized for polymorphisms of EPAS1, encoding endothelial PAS domain protein 1, and EGLN1, encoding Egl-9 family hypoxia inducible factor 1. Variants conferring human resistance to pathogens include HBB, encoding hemoglobin subunit beta, and ACE2, encoding angiotensin-converting enzyme 2. Genetic knowledge concerning such diseases as malaria and conditions such as hypoxia should continue to promote advances in gene therapy
Investigation of the Prevalence of Polymorphisms of IFITM3 rs12252 and rs34481144 in the Turkish Population: A Pilot Study and Survey Conducted during the COVID-19 Pandemic
Get PDFInterferon-induced transmembrane protein 3 (IFITM3) plays a substantial role in the immune system by repressing viral entry into host cells and restricting virus replication. Recent research suggests that specific polymorphisms of the IFITM3 gene, rs34481144 and rs12252, contribute to susceptibility to viral infections across populations dependent on their population frequencies, which needs further clarification. This population-based study determined the prevalence of two regulator SNPs in the Turkish population and evaluated genotype and allele frequencies in individuals stratified into groups based on a pilot survey conducted during the COVID-19 pandemic. Tetra-Primer Arms PCR assays and Sanger sequencing methods were used to genotype rs34481144 and rs12252; all participants (n = 200) answered a questionnaire on individual experiences (e.g., disease severity, vaccine side effects) during the COVID-19 pandemic. Distributions of genotype frequencies and pairwise linkage disequilibrium correlations were calculated and compared to publicly available data from worldwide populations. The minor allele frequencies for rs12252-G and rs34481144-T were 0.128 and 0.324, respectively, in the total sample. Our preliminary survey data gave no concrete evidence of a correlation between the analyzed SNPs and COVID-19 severity or vaccine side effects yet pinpointed a trend for an association between rs12252-G and symptom burdens, which merits further investigation. Overall, our results present genotype and allele distributions of two IFITM3 polymorphisms in the Turkish population and provide preliminary data on previously suggested correlations of genotype with COVID-19 in our population
Distribution of Variant rs10974944 of the JAK2 Gene in Mestizos and Native Americans from Mexico and from Worldwide Association Studies of Myeloproliferative Diseases
Get PDFThe genetic variant rs10974944 (C\u3eG) in the JAK2 gene is associated with a higher risk of myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPNs) by increasing the probability of the somatic mutation V617F in the JAK2 protein. For this reason, we evaluated the distribution of rs10974944 in Mexican populations, including published data from association studies in worldwide populations. We analyzed five Mestizo (admixed; n = 200) and four Native American (n = 200) population samples from Mexico, representing the northern, central, western, and southern regions of the country, genotyping rs10974944 by quantitative PCR using Taqman probes. Allele and genotype frequencies were estimated in each population sample. The wild-type allele C, the homozygous C/C, and the heterozygous C/G variants were the most frequent in all Mexican populations, and the genotype distribution in all samples was in Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium. Interestingly, genetic distances clustered most of the worldwide patient samples, including Tarahumaras and Mayas, which differed from Mexican and control samples. Although higher genetic susceptibility to MPNs could be predicted in these Native American populations, the homogeneous allele distribution among Mexican and worldwide control populations warrants analysis of further genetic and nongenetic factors. In sum, although worldwide population samples displayed homogeneous distribution for rs10974944, genetic clustering of worldwide patients supports the claimed association with MPNs
On Samuel’s Northern Exposure: A Cultural History
No full textNorthern Exposure: A Cultural History. By Michael Samuel. Lanham, MD: Rowman and Littlefield, 2021. 208 pp., ISBN 978–1538117446 (hc) $40.00
“The Queen of the House”: The Irony and Satire of the “Snow White” Sequel in Edo Lilipoupoli, a Greek Radio Show for Children of the Late 1970s
No full textIn the wake of the cliché phrase “and they lived happily ever after,” Snow White and the Prince become a typical middle-class married couple of the 1970s in Edo Lilipoupoli, a children’s daily radio broadcast. The essay connects this satirical fairy-tale adaptation with Greek jocular stories that focus on marriage and stubbornness, and it analyzes one episode’s narrative, musical, and verbal elements, aiming to highlight the scriptwriters’ feminist perspective on the status of women at the time