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Complex Societies in PNAS

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Sergey Gavrilets has a new open-access paper in PNAS, which is getting a great deal of media attention in places like Nature (links below).  The paper is entitled, “War, space, and the evolution of Old World complex societies.”

Turchin, P; Currie, TE; Turner, EAL; Gavrilets, S.  2013.  War, space, and the evolution of Old World complex societies. PNAS. doi:10.1073/pnas.1308825110.

Significance: How did human societies evolve from small groups, integrated by face-to-face cooperation, to huge anonymous societies of today? Why is there so much variation in the ability of different human populations to construct viable states? We developed a model that uses cultural evolution mechanisms to predict where and when the largest-scale complex societies should have arisen in human history. The model was simulated within a realistic landscape of the Afroeurasian landmass, and its predictions were tested against real data. Overall, the model did an excellent job predicting empirical patterns. Our results suggest a possible explanation as to why a long history of statehood is positively correlated with political stability, institutional quality, and income per capita.

Press Coverage:

Austrian Tribune Nature
The Conversation Pacific Standard
El Mundo Popular Mechanics
Huffington Post Science World Report
Los Angeles Times Smithsonian
National Monitor Wired

NIMBioS Renewal

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The National Science Foundation (NSF) has awarded $18.6 million to the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, for the National Institute for Mathematical and Biological Synthesis (NIMBioS) to continue its interdisciplinary efforts in developing new mathematical approaches to problems across biology, from the level of the genome to individuals to entire ecosystems.  EEB’s Lou Gross has been the director of NIMBioS since its inception in September 2008.

Epigenetics and homosexuality

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A recent paper by Bill Rice, Urban Fridberg, and UTK EEB faculty member Sergey Gavrilets, proposes that epigenetic factors, the switching on or off of genes by factors other than other genes, may lead to homosexuality. This work arises from a working group at the National Institute for Mathematical and Biological Synthesis (NIMBioS), which is on the UT Knoxville campus. For more information, see the press release and the original article.

EEB grad students and NIMBioS staff meet with Sen. Corker staff

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(From left) Kelly Sturner (NIMBioS), Jessica Bryant (EEB), and Emily Austin (EEB) met with Hunter Bethea, a legislative assistant of Sen. Corker.

(From left) Kelly Sturner (NIMBioS), Jessica Bryant (EEB), and Emily Austin (EEB) met with Hunter Bethea, a legislative assistant of Sen. Corker.

Ecology & Evolutionary Biology (EEB) Department graduate students Emily Austin and Jessica Bryant along with Kelly Sturner, NIMBioS Education & Outreach Coordinator, were invited to visit the office of U.S. Sen. Bob Corker (R-TN) to talk about NIMBioS’ and EEB’s involvement in the USA Science & Engineering Festival. The group spoke with Hunter Bethea, legislative assistant to Corker, about how participation in federally-supported science education and outreach programs, such as NSF research experiences for undergraduates and Department of Energy education programs, led them to pursue science careers, and now inspire them to give back through participating in science outreach.

EEB/NIMBioS at USA Science and Engineering Festival

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Sarah Wood, undergraduate in the Classen lab, teaches elementary students how to measure plant traits.





The USA Science and Engineering Festival on April 28 and 29 in Washington, DC brought the excitement of science to people from around the country. EEB and NIMBioS teamed up and presented two booths in the festival. Emily Austin and Jessica Bryant, Classen lab graduate students, taught Science Fest attendees about fungal decomposition of wood using decaying logs in terrariums. Sarah Wood, an undergraduate in the Classen Lab, and Kelly Sturner, education and outreach coordinator in NIMBioS, taught visitors about intra- and inter-specific variation in Solidago plants by having them measure stem and leaf traits. Both booths encouraged observations, data collection and graphical analysis. Many Science Fest attendees were families with elementary or middle school-aged children, but several teachers were there to pick up science project ideas for their classrooms. In all, an estimated 300,000 people left the event having learned at least one thing: science is exciting!

EEB grad students and NIMBioS staff meet with Se. Corker staff

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(From left) Kelly Sturner (NIMBioS), Jessica Bryant (EEB), and Emily Austin (EEB) met with Hunter Bethea, a legislative assistant of Sen. Corker.

(From left) Kelly Sturner (NIMBioS), Jessica Bryant (EEB), and Emily Austin (EEB) met with Hunter Bethea, a legislative assistant of Sen. Corker.

Ecology & Evolutionary Biology (EEB) Department graduate students Emily Austin and Jessica Bryant along with Kelly Sturner, NIMBioS Education & Outreach Coordinator, were invited to visit the office of U.S. Sen. Bob Corker (R-TN) to talk about NIMBioS’ and EEB’s involvement in the USA Science & Engineering Festival. The group spoke with Hunter Bethea, legislative assistant to Corker, about how participation in federally-supported science education and outreach programs, such as NSF research experiences for undergraduates and Department of Energy education programs, led them to pursue science careers, and now inspire them to give back through participating in science outreach.

EEB/NIMBioS at USA Science and Engineering Festival

by

Sarah Wood, undergraduate in the Classen lab, teaches elementary students how to measure plant traits.





The USA Science and Engineering Festival on April 28 and 29 in Washington, DC brought the excitement of science to people from around the country. EEB and NIMBioS teamed up and presented two booths in the festival. Emily Austin and Jessica Bryant, Classen lab graduate students, taught Science Fest attendees about fungal decomposition of wood using decaying logs in terrariums. Sarah Wood, an undergraduate in the Classen Lab, and Kelly Sturner, education and outreach coordinator in NIMBioS, taught visitors about intra- and inter-specific variation in Solidago plants by having them measure stem and leaf traits. Both booths encouraged observations, data collection and graphical analysis. Many Science Fest attendees were families with elementary or middle school-aged children, but several teachers were there to pick up science project ideas for their classrooms. In all, an estimated 300,000 people left the event having learned at least one thing: science is exciting!

NIMBioS postdocs

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Call for Postdoctoral Fellowship Applications at NIMBioS

The National Institute for Mathematical and Biological Synthesis (NIMBioS), located at the Univ. of Tennessee, Knoxville, is currently accepting applications for postdoctoral scholarship at the interface between mathematics and biology. Highest priority will be given to those with explicit plans to develop their ability to effectively carry on research across these fields. We are particularly interested in requests to support research that integrates diverse fields, requires synthesis at multiple scales, and/or makes use of or requires development of new mathematical/computational approaches. NIMBioS Postdoctoral Fellows are chosen based upon indications that the applicant’s research plans are consistent with the mission of NIMBioS, the applicant has the demonstrated ability to carry out the proposed research, and the opportunities provided through NIMBioS will enhance the capacity for the research to be completed in an efficient and timely manner. For additional information on NIMBioS, visit www.nimbios.org. Support: annual stipend of $51,000, full University of Tennessee employee fringe benefits, and an annual travel allowance of $2,000. Requests for Support: Submit a brief project description, references, and CV following the guidelines available at http://www.nimbios.org/postdocs/ to Dr. Chris Welsh at cwelsh@utk.edu. Deadline: NIMBioS postdoctoral requests for support are reviewed three times per year, and the selected researchers are offered positions at NIMBioS where they conduct research that is mostly self-directed. The deadline for activities beginning in early 2012 is Sept. 1, 2011. All letters of recommendation should be submitted before the request deadline.

NIMBioS postdocs

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Call for Postdoctoral Fellowship Applications at NIMBioS

The National Institute for Mathematical and Biological Synthesis (NIMBioS), located at the Univ. of Tennessee, Knoxville, is currently accepting applications for postdoctoral scholarship at the interface between mathematics and biology. Highest priority will be given to those with explicit plans to develop their ability to effectively carry on research across these fields. We are particularly interested in requests to support research that integrates diverse fields, requires synthesis at multiple scales, and/or makes use of or requires development of new mathematical/computational approaches. NIMBioS Postdoctoral Fellows are chosen based upon indications that the applicant’s research plans are consistent with the mission of NIMBioS, the applicant has the demonstrated ability to carry out the proposed research, and the opportunities provided through NIMBioS will enhance the capacity for the research to be completed in an efficient and timely manner. For additional information on NIMBioS, visit www.nimbios.org. Support: annual stipend of $51,000, full University of Tennessee employee fringe benefits, and an annual travel allowance of $2,000. Requests for Support: Submit a brief project description, references, and CV following the guidelines available at http://www.nimbios.org/postdocs/ to Dr. Chris Welsh at cwelsh@utk.edu. Deadline: NIMBioS postdoctoral requests for support are reviewed three times per year, and the selected researchers are offered positions at NIMBioS where they conduct research that is mostly self-directed. The deadline for activities beginning in early 2012 is Sept. 1, 2011. All letters of recommendation should be submitted before the request deadline.