I want to look at the clash in perceptions about race between forensic science and biological anthropology. We need to start off by talking about two dead white men: Carl Linnaeus (1707 – 1778) and Charles Darwin (1809 – 1882). Both of them wrote about human races, and their ideas continue to affect us in the modern world.

Linnaeus trained as a medical doctor, but his importance was in setting up the binomial system of classification (Homo sapiens was one of Linnaeus’ terms).  He imagined that every living organism had a specific type that was fixed; it was a once off thing that didn’t change.  His method of categorising  types into clusters of related species is known as typology.

In Linnaeus’ view every person came from a pure racial type that could be measured in anatomical terms. But Charles Darwin grasped something that Linnaeus didn’t: the idea of variation. Darwin realised that everybody varied a little bit, and that types were not clear and neat.

This concept of Darwinian variation on one side and Linnaean fixity on the other is why we are confused about our vision of race.

March

Geology: Maarten de Witt (Nelson Mandela University)

May

In time for Africa Day on 25 May: Linus Opara from Universtity of Stellenbosch

July/August

Biodiversity : Guy Midgeley (SANBI)

September

Dinosaurs: Anuysuyah Chinsamy- Turan (UCT)

November

Geomatics: Heinz Ruther (UCT)

Wine is one of the great joys of life and it is important to our economy. In our book Grape: Stories of the Vineyards in South Africa, Jeanne Viall, Jakes Gerwel and I used the grape to tell stories about the people who work with it as workers, winemakers, scientists, farmers and exporters. And we tell the story of Pinotage, South Africa’s only wine cultivar. 

Pinotage was developed by Abraham Perold by pollinating Hermitage (Cinsaut) with Pinot Noir to create a cross that had the best characteristics of the parents: the classic Burgundy taste with the easy-to-grow, disease-resistance of Cinsaut. His experiment yielded four seeds which were planted in his garden and later moved to Elsenburg Agricultural College.

The first commercial planting of Pinotage was on the farm Myrtle Grove near Sir Lowry’s Pass in 1943. In 1959 and 1961 Pinotages from Bellevue and Kanonkop caused a sensation at the Cape Wine Show when they emerged as champion wines ahead of classic red cultivars.

The native territory for the forebears of what became today’s domesticated grapes (Vitis vinifera) is the region that today makes up Iran, western Turkey, Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia,  where the ancestor to Vitis vinifera still grows wild.

Cold-weather states look to overcome wine grape obstacles - New grape varieties can take more than 20 years to breed and evaluate, and even longer to reach commercial success. Areas such as Iowa, relatively new to making wine, have far less experience. A recently awarded $2.5 million grant will help colder-weather states from Nebraska to Iowa to New York overcome obstacles in the vineyard, winery and tasting room and also improve tourism. Research will be led by Tim Martinson, project director and senior Extension associate at Cornell University, New York. Western Farm Press

Resveratrol Is No Fountain of Youth, Researchers Say - The red-wine chemical resveratrol has the potential to fight diabetes, cancer, heart disease and dementia, according to a flurry of studies in the past decade. And a more tantalizing theory for some medical researchers suggests that the chemical, found in grape skins and other plants, could extend lifespan. But a new study casts serious doubt on the original research that suggested that theory. Wine Spectator

Grape Britain! Growers have created new types of grapevine that thrive in our climate - British-grown grapevines have a reputation for being leafy monsters with scant, seedy fruit that is nothing like the bacchanalian bunches that hang from Mediterranean pergolas. But modern breeding and longer summers are yielding superb pickings, especially with regard to a new range of seedless varieties better suited to our climate, both for greenhouse growing and outdoors. Daily Mail

Next generation grapes streamline breeding process - Two grants totaling $4.5 million will fund projects, one led by Cornell grape breeder Bruce Reisch, professor of horticulture, and the other by senior Extension associate Tim Martinson, take complementary approaches to a common problem: how to make grape breeding more efficient, since new grape varieties can take more than 20 years to breed and evaluate and much longer to reach commercial success. The projects are funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) National Institute of Food and Agriculture Specialty Crop Research Initiative (SCRI). Western Farm Press

6-11 May 2012

Malawi-Liverpool-Wellcome Trust Clinical Research Programme, Blantyre, Malawi

Deadline for applications: 27 January 2012

Large-scale genetic studies have become a powerful tool for understanding resistance and susceptibility to disease. There is growing interest among medical researchers in Africa in applying these new methodologies to gain a better understanding of common diseases that affect African populations. This course aims to describe the key aspects of population genetics and genome wide association studies (GWAS); participants will be able to perform analyses in their own research. We will cover both theoretical and practical issues of genetic epidemiology via association analysis, illustrating particular concepts with examples from recent studies in Type 2 Diabetes, sickle cell disease and Malaria.

Cost: Free and bursaries are available to cover travel and accommodation costs (full details on our website).

www.wellcome.ac.uk/advancedcourses

Africa is the colossus amongst continents. It was at the heart of Pangaea at the time of the supercontinent. Over the past 10 million years, Africa is where each step in the evolution of Homo sapiens has occurred from the earliest pre-humans through to us today. It includes Earth’s podium geodiversity; and the hotspot of biodiveristy occurs here at the southern tip of Africa. 

Africa is home to the only intact mega-fauna. We talk of the big five – it is only on the African continent that we still find preserved the large mammals. They have become extinct on all other continents, either through our actions, or through natural climate change.

But, ironically, Africa is also the place of greatest human suffering.