Keeping the humanities alive

November 19, 2010 • 3:09 pm

There’s an unusual but wonderful piece by Gregory Petsko at Genome Biology.  (Petsko, a biochemistry professor at Brandeis and member of the National Academy of Sciences, writes a monthly column in the journal.)  It’s an open letter to George M. Philip, President of the State University of New York at Albany, who unwisely decided to close the departments of classics, theater arts, French, Italian, and Russian because they attracted only a “paucity of students.”

Petsko rips Philip a new one, using along the way many allusions to the literature he studied in college.  Do read it; here’s two excerpts:

I guess I shouldn’t be surprised that you have trouble understanding the importance of maintaining programs in unglamorous or even seemingly ‘dead’ subjects. From your biography, you don’t actually have a PhD or other high degree, and have never really taught or done research at a university. Perhaps my own background will interest you. I started out as a classics major. I’m now Professor of Biochemistry and Chemistry. Of all the courses I took in college and graduate school, the ones that have benefited me the most in my career as a scientist are the courses in classics, art history, sociology, and English literature. These courses didn’t just give me a much better appreciation for my own culture; they taught me how to think, to analyze, and to write clearly. None of my sciences courses did any of that . . .

. . . No, I think you were simply trying to balance your budget at the expense of what you believe to be weak, outdated and powerless departments. I think you will find, in time, that you made a Faustian bargain. Faust is the title character in a play by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe. It was written around 1800 but still attracts the largest audiences of any play in Germany whenever it’s performed. Faust is the story of a scholar who makes a deal with the devil. The devil promises him anything he wants as long as he lives. In return, the devil will get – well, I’m sure you can guess how these sorts of deals usually go. If only you had a Theater department, which now, of course, you don’t, you could ask them to perform the play so you could see what happens. It’s awfully relevant to your situation. You see, Goethe believed that it profits a man nothing to give up his soul for the whole world. That’s the whole world, President Philip, not just a balanced budget. Although, I guess, to be fair, you haven’t given up your soul. Just the soul of your institution.

Bravo, Dr. Petsko!  I don’t know where I’d be now had I not gone to The College of William and Mary, a liberal arts school that enforced a wide education on everyone, even prospective scientists.  It was there that I took a fantastic fine arts course from a charismatic professor who absolutely awakened my interest in art, leading to gazillions of museum visits in the last four decades.  I had courses in Old English, Beowulf, Greek tragedy, ethics, Indian (i.e., Asian) art, economics, German scientific literature, and modern American fiction.  Every one of these left a residuum in my neurons.  I still can’t pass up an article on Beowulf.

The best teachers are not the ones who instill knowledge in your brain, but those who instill a love of learning, making you autodidactic in their subject for the rest of your life.  I don’t think I’ve attained that ability as a professor, but I sure benefited from it in college.  And I don’t give two hoots for a scientist who cares nothing for music, art,  literature—or food!  They’re missing a great swath of the world’s wonder. Those other disciplines aren’t really “ways of knowing,” but they’re ways of experiencing, and to die without that panoply of experience, had it been available to you, is to have lived in vain.

h/t: Gail

Yet another Cartagena lunch: comida costeña

November 19, 2010 • 2:09 pm

It seems a bit churlish to post my lunch so soon after I’ve written about the tools of the Inquisition, but otherwise I’ll forget.

Today I decided to sup on comida costeña, the typical food of the Colombian coast, at La Casa de Socorro, one of the more famous fish restaurants in Cartagena.

The first course, accompanied by passionfruit juice, was patacones con tollo, dogfish shark with the wonderful mashed, fried plantain cakes:

Main course: bandejo de pargo a la cosquera (red snapper in seafood sauce with coconut milk). It was served with more patacones, a plate of coconut rice (a local speciality: rice steamed in coconut milk—yum!) and washed down with more passionfruit juice.

Jesus ‘n’ Mo ‘n’ Grayling

November 19, 2010 • 9:42 am

The Jesus and Mo artist (check out the refurbished website) has Anthony Grayling take a hit.

It’s curious, isn’t it, that Grayling, as strident as atheist as either Hitchens or Dawkins, seems immune to the criticisms of believers and accommodationists?  Do you suppose this is because he’s a philosopher? Or maybe it’s the hair: Pinker seems equally immune!

Hybridization and parthenogenesis in whiptail lizards

November 19, 2010 • 12:26 am

by Greg Mayer

Not much in the way of culinary pleasures here. (Although Jerry’s piece on the Inquisition killed my appetite, anyway). Reader Pete Moulton asked for some references on hybridization and parthenogenesis in whiptail lizards (Cnemidophorus [or Aspidoscelis] and related teiid lizards), in particular C. (A.) uniparens.

Desert grassland whiptail, by Davepape from Wikipedia.

A. uniparens is a triploid unisexual. It resulted from a cross of two bisexual species (A. inornata [mother] and A. burti [father]), which produced a diploid unisexual, which then backcrossed to inornata to produce the triploid uniparens. The unisexuals reproduce clonally, i.e. offspring are exact genetic copies of their mothers, except for new mutations. Courtship and ‘pseudocopulation’ between parthenogenetic females promotes reproduction. The situation is summarized nicely by Cole et al. (2010):

The natural origin of diploid parthenogenesis in whiptail lizards has been through interspecific hybridization. Genomes of the parthenogens indicate that they originated in one generation, as the lizards clone the F1 hybrid state. In addition, hybridization between diploid parthenogens and males of bisexual species has resulted in triploid parthenogenetic clones in nature. Consequently, the genus Aspidoscelis contains numerous gonochoristic (= bisexual) species and numerous unisexual species whose closest relatives are bisexual, and from whom they originated through instantaneous sympatric speciation and an abrupt and dramatic switch in reproductive biology.

The selection of papers below includes both classics and recent papers, with a preference towards ones where online full text was available (see pdf links below). These papers are all about whiptails of the family Teiidae. Laurie Vitt and Jana Caldwell, in their fine text Herpetology (Academic Press 2009), record about 50 species of  parthenogenetic lizards (adding in a few they missed) in eight families (including the whiptails), and one species of parthenogenetic snake.

Wright, J.W. and C.H. Lowe. 1968. Weeds, polyploids, parthenogenesis, and the geographical and ecological distribution of all-female species of Cnemidophorus. Copeia 1968: 128-138. no pdf (A classic on unisexual ecology.)

Parker, E.D. and R.K. Selander. 1976. The organization of genetic diversity in the parthenogenetic lizard Cnemidophorus tesselatus. Genetics 84:791-805. pdf (A classic on unisexual genetics.)

Crews, D. and K.T. Fitzgerald. 1980. “Sexual” behavior in parthenogenetic lizards (Cnemidophorus). Proceedings of the National Academy of Science USA 77: 499-502. pdf (A classic on unisexual behavior.)

Reeder, T.W., H.C. Dessauer, and C.J. Cole. 2002. Phylogenetic relationships of whiptail lizards of the genus Cnemidophorus (Squamata, Teiidae) : a test of monophyly, reevaluation of karyotypic evolution, and review of hybrid origins. American Museum Novitates 3365:1-62. pdf (In this paper, the genus Aspidoscelis is resurrected for part of the genus Cnemidophorus; because there is such a huge literature under the name Cnemidophorus prior to 2002, both names must be used when searching the literature. The part on hybrid origin begins on page 25.)

Cole, C.J., L.M. Hardy, H.C. Dessauer, H.L. Taylor, and C.R. Townsend. 2010. Laboratory hybridization among North American whiptail lizards, including Aspidoscelis inornata arizonae × A. tigris marmorata (Squamata: Teiidae), ancestors of unisexual clones in nature. American Museum Novitates 3698:1-43. pdf

The American Museum of Natural History’s Digital Library has pdf’s of all the Museum’s publications, and it has been a center for studies of parthenogenetic lizards. More papers can be found by going to the Digital Library site and searching on ‘Cnemidophorus’, ‘Aspidoscelis’, and ‘parthenogenesis’.

UPDATE. The numbers of parthenogenetic species of lizards and snakes compiled by Vitt and Caldwell and given above refers only to obligately (or nearly so) parthenogenetic species, not facultatively parthenogenetic ones (like Komodo dragons, boa constrictors, and some other snakes; they have a separate discussion of the facultative species in their book).

The instruments of torture

November 18, 2010 • 8:55 pm

The Inquisition in Cartagena, Colombia lasted from 1610 until (with sporadic interruptions) 1821. Some of the instruments used to extract confessions from heretics are on display at the Palace of the Inquisition.

I wasn’t going to show these, as they’re pretty grim, and even grimmer if you realize how they were used. But Eric MacDonald persuaded me otherwise.

Catholics, this used to be the business of your church, and not just in Europe.  How much pain would have been spared had there not been faith?

I’ll link each instrument to a description of how it was used.

The heretic’s fork:

The heretic’s fork was a torture device, loosely consisting of a length of metal with two opposed bi-pronged “forks” as well as an attached belt or strap. The device was placed between the breast bone and throat just under the chin and secured with a leather strap around the neck, while the victim was hung from the ceiling or otherwise suspended in a way so that they could not lie down. A person wearing it couldn’t fall asleep. The moment their head dropped with fatigue, the prongs pierced their throat or chest, causing great pain.This very simple instrument created long periods of sleep deprivation. People were awake for days, which made confessions more likely.  Traditionally, the fork was engraved with the Latin word abiuro(meaning “I recant”), and was used by the various Inquisitions.

The rack:

The rack is a torture device consisting of a rectangular, usually wooden frame, slightly raised from the ground, with a roller at one, or both, ends, having at one end a fixed bar to which the legs were fastened, and at the other a movable bar to which the hands were tied. The victim’s ankles are fastened to one roller, and the wrists are chained to the other.  As the interrogation progresses, a handle and ratchet attached to the top roller are used to very gradually stepwise increase the tension on the chains, inducing excruciating pain. By means of pulleys and levers this roller could be rotated on its own axis, thus straining the ropes until the sufferer’s joints were dislocated and eventually separated. Additionally, if muscle fibers are stretched excessively, they lose their ability to contract, rendering them ineffective.One gruesome aspect of being stretched too far on the rack is the loud popping noises made by snapping cartilage, ligaments, or bones. One powerful method for putting pressure upon prisoners was to force them to watch someone else being subjected to the rack.

The breast ripper, a device specially reserved for women:

Used as a way to punish women, the breast ripper was a painful and cruel way to mutilate a woman’s breasts.  This instrument was mostly reserved for women accused of conducting a miscarriage or those accused of adultery.  The claws were used either hot or cold on the victim’s exposed breasts. If the victim wasn’t killed she would be scarred for life as her breasts were literally torn apart.  A common variant of the breast ripper is often referred to as “The Spider” which is a similar instrument attached to a wall. The victim’s breasts were fixed to the claws and the woman was pulled by the torturer away from the wall; successfully removing them.

The saw:

I forgot to photograph this, but this is exactly what it looked like (along with a medieval illustration of its use):

There is not much that need be said after having examined the accompanying illustrations. The saw here on view is antique but cannot be associated specifically with the homonymous torture, a process that can be carried out with any large-toothed, four-handed woodsman’s saw. The present example is such a one, and certainly a couple of centuries old, or more.  History abounds in martyrs –religious, lay and antireligious– who suffered this fate, one that may be worse even than being burnt at the stake with a slow, small fire, or being dipped into boiling oil. Owing to his inverted position, which assures ample oxygenation of the brain and impedes the general loss of blood, the victim does not lose consciousness until the saw reaches the navel –and even the breast, if one is to believe accounts of the early eighteen-hundreds.

The garrote:

The garrote particularly refers to the execution device used by the Spaniards until as recently as 1974. In Spain, it was abolished, as well as the death penalty, in 1978 with the new constitution. Originally, it was an execution where the convict was killed by hitting him with a club (garrote in Spanish). Later, it was refined and consisted of a seat to restrain the condemned person, while the executioner tightened a metal band around his/her neck with a crank or a wheel until suffocation of the condemned person was accomplished.  Some versions of this device incorporated a fixed metal blade or spike directed at the spinal cord to hasten the breaking of the neck. [This version had an attachment to pierce the spinal cord.]

The head crusher:

The head crusher was widely used during most of the Middle Ages, especially the Inquisition. With the chin placed over the bottom bar and the head under the upper cap, the torturer slowly turned the screw pressing the bar against the cap.  This resulted in the head being slowly compressed. First the teeth are shattered into the jaw; then the victim slowly died with agonizing pain, but not before his eyes were squeezed from his sockets.  This instrument was a formidable way to extract confessions from victims as the period of pain could be prolonged for many hours if the torturer chose to. This could be done by repeatedly turning the screw both ways.  If the torture was stopped midway, the victim often had irreparable damage done to the brain, jaw or eyes.  Many variants of this instrument existed, some that had small containers in front of the eyes to receive them as they fell out of their sockets.


A creditable Cartagena lunch (without lizards)

November 18, 2010 • 1:46 pm

Today’s almuerzo was at a terrific local place: La Mulata. This is my second meal there, and I recommend it most highly.  First a small bowl of soup, then a huge bowl of the famous potato-and-chicken soup, ajiaco, and a tall frosty glass of “limonada de coco,” a lemonade heavily infused with coconut and milk. There are even more tropical fruit juices here than in Bogotá.

Total damage: the equivalent of $5.  This place has classy food at bargain prices.

That lizard was delicious– what kind was it?

November 18, 2010 • 11:21 am

by Greg Mayer

That’s more or the less the question Ngo Van Tri, a Vietnamese herpetologist, must have asked himself after having a meal like that shown below, which surely rivals anything Jerry’s had in Colombia.

Leiolepis ngovantrii. From Lee Grismer, via The Independent.

Tri contacted Lee Grismer of La Sierra University and his son Jesse Grismer, a graduate student at Villanova University, both herpetologists. They went to Vietnam and found that it was an undescribed species, which they named Leiolepis ngovantrii in Tri’s honor, in a paper (whose title oddly brings to mind the 2003 Red Sox) published this past spring in Zootaxa (abstract only).

All new species are interesting, but new ones are found all the time. What makes this one especially of note (besides being discovered on a dinner plate) is that it is a parthenogenetic species– consisting only of females, and reproducing asexually. This is a rather unusual mode of reproduction in vertebrates, but a fair number of lizards, including species in the families Teiidae, Lacertidae, Geckonidae, and (like Leiolepis) Agamidae, reproduce this way. Most parthenogenetic lizard species have arisen by hybridization between two sexual species. The Grismers, using mitochondrial DNA, have been able to identify the maternal parent species of L. ngovantrii, and also of the three other parthenogenetic species of Leiolepis, showing that parthenogenesis in this genus has arisen in the usual way for lizards. It’s also known to occur spontaneously in normally sexual species, such as the Komodo dragon, Varanus komodoensis.

The unusual method of discovery has attracted some media attention.

(And, I should mention that Lee Grismer is the author of one of the best “Animals of___” books ever: the magnificent Amphibians and Reptiles of Baja California, Including Its Pacific Islands and the Islands in the Sea of Cortés, University of California Press, 2002).

Grismer, J. and L.L. Grismer. 2010. Who’s your mommy? Identifying maternal ancestors of asexual species of Leiolepis Cuvier, 1829 and the description of a new endemic species of asexual Leiolepis Cuvier, 1829 from Southern Vietnam. Zootaxa 2433:47-61.

h/t: Steve Orzack, Fresh Pond Research Institute