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Series of talks by members of the Papuan Past Project

Conference at IndoLing: 6th Workshop on the Languages of Papua, 17th-18th of July Dr Nicolas Brucato participated in the IndoLing worshop on Papuan languages in Sorong, Southwest Papua, Indonesia (https://indoling.com/wlp/wlp-6/). He presented recent results on the ‘Genetics of the Trans-New-Guinean language family’. This study showed the matches and mismatches between the exceptional genetic and linguistic diversities of New Guinea, highlighting the anthropological complexity of the region.

Dr Nicolas Brucato at the IndoLing conference, Sorong, Southwest Papua, Indonesia, 17th of July 2023.

UPNG hosted two seminars given by Papuan Past Project members on the 12th of September. Both seminars focused on ‘The importance of studying ancient PNG history to understand current health status’.

Christopher Kinipi presented his recent new results on the influence of urbanisation in PNG on the biology of young adults. This study was based on the fieldwork conducted in Port Moresby, National Capital District and Glokopule, Southern Highlands between February and April 2023. During Christopher Kinipi’s visit to the EDB lab in France in May-June 2023, he analysed the physiological (eg: cortisol), psychological (eg: self-percetion of stress) and phenotypic (eg: blood glucose) traits of participants. These compelling results were communicated to the participants of the study. Many UPNG staff, students and previous participants attended Christopher Kinipi’s presentation, triggering interesting interesting discussions in the audience.

Christopher Kinipi presenting his work on stress in PNG, UPNG, Papua New Guinea 12th of September 2023.

Dr Irene Gallego Romero (Saint Vincent’s Institute, Melbourne, Australia) presented her recent work on the biological role of genetic markers inherited from Denisovan, an extinct member of hominins, in the New Guinean genome. This project, involving members of the PPP, was recently published in Plos Genetics (https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pgen.1010470). The analysis of the Denisovan inherited genetic markers in New Guineans revealed their importance for the immune response against pathogens. It shows how our past history has a direct impact on our current biology. Further research will be necessary to better understand the evolutionary mechanisms in place, which will require new calls for participation of Papua New Guineans.

Dr Irene Gallego Romero presenting her study on the biological role of Denisovan genetic inheritance in New Guineans, UPNG, Papua New Guinea, 12th of September 2023.

OpenEdition suggests that you cite this post as follows:
Papuan Past Project Editors (September 28, 2023). Series of talks by members of the Papuan Past Project. Papuan Past Project. Retrieved March 20, 2025 from https://doi.org/10.58079/snwa