Origins of Human Uniqueness and Behavioral Modernity
Monday, March 1st, 2010
The title above is the theme of a recent workshop at Arizona University where representatives from varied disciplines such as anthropology, primatology, cognitive science, psychology, paleontology, archaeology, evolutionary biology and genetics participated.
The workshop sessions explored the question of how an overwhelmingly weak species of humans could come to dominate other species that outdid it in speed, agility, jaws and claws. The participants agreed that an “underlying capacity to produce complexity” defined human uniqueness and that behavioral modernity consisted of expressing this uniqueness.
The three C’s of Cognition, Culture and Cooperation were the key characteristics whose expression the participants focused upon. They sought to pinpoint markers for each of these expressions, using these to identify the emergence of humans.
Development of larger brains led to human cognition that enabled the species to create stone tools and weapons, and to other demonstrations of a capacity for thinking and innovation. Curiously, fire helped sustain the larger brain that required more metabolic energy. Fire freed up energy needs by softening foods, denaturing proteins and breaking down toxins.
Read more details of the fascinating story including how Culture and Cooperation appeared and their impact, at Scientific American.
Tags: cognition, cooperation, culture, evolution, human uniqueness
Posted in behavior, cognitive science, culture, thinking skills | No Comments »
What Strategies do Successful Biotechnology Companies Use?
Monday, March 1st, 2010
Aarkstore has announced the publication of a report titled “The Fastest Growing Biotechnology Companies: Growth strategies, comparative analyses and company profiles.”
Biotechnology is providing more and more solutions in healthcare field and the interest of pharmaceutical companies in these solutions are driving them to partnerships with biotech companies. Drug discovery is becoming more science-intensive and biotech scientists are in a position to help.
Biotech companies do R&D for the big pharmaceutical companies on a contract basis and receive their financial help to meet high R&D costs and commercial pressures. The pharma companies, in turn are coming to depend on the biotech companies ever more.
The Aarkstore report claims to be based on research into the strategies adopted by the fastest growing biotech companies. According to the publisher’s release, the report looks at the structure and organization of the biopharmaceutical industry and analyses the growth strategies adopted by the biotech companies to meet cost pressures and competition from generics, complex pricing, government regulations and globalization.
Read more details of the report at: Aarkstore Market Research
Tags: biopharmaceutical industry, biotech industry challenges, biotechnology, drug discovery
Posted in biopharmaceutical, biotechnology | No Comments »
