Editor s Selections: Italian dialects, Skin color decoded, Mayan tobacco use, Navajo diets, and Blood-borne diseases

By Krystal D'Costa?| January 12, 2012 |??

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Part of my online life includes editorial duties at ResearchBlogging.org, where I serve as the Social Sciences Editor. Each Thursday, I pick notable posts on research in anthropology, philosophy, social science, and research to share on the ResearchBlogging.org News site. To help highlight this writing, I also share my selections here on AiP.

This week on ResearchBlogging.org:

• Is there a relationship between language density and habitat diversity? Tim DeChant explores this question at Per Square Mile with respect to Italian dialects.
• A post at EvoAnth reports that four genes for skin tones have been discovered, shedding further light on this variable physical trait.
• At Greg Laden?s blog, readers are treated to a bit of botany related to tobacco and we learn that physical evidence has been found linking the Maya to tobacco use.
• Navajos don?t eat fish, according to teofilo at Gambler?s House?and the taboo may apparently be traced linguistically.
• At Body Horrors, Rebecca Kreston discusses the dangers of unsanitary shaving practices that mark an important Hajj ritual that may be leaving devotees susceptible to a blood-borne disease.

I?ll be back next week with more from anthropology, philosophy, and research.

About the Author: Krystal D'Costa is an anthropologist working in digital media in New York City. You can follow AiP on Facebook. Follow on Twitter @krystaldcosta.

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The views expressed are those of the author and are not necessarily those of Scientific American.

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