International Big History Association

The Evolution of the Universe, Life, and Humankind
2022-08-17 10:00 - 12:00 (America/New_York) | Zoom, Russian Federation
A Most Improbable Story: The Evolution of the Universe, Life, and Humankind
by Steven J. Theroux Please join us on Wednesday, August 17 at 10 am (New York time) over Zoom at https://us06web.zoom.us/j/81260036126?pwd=[REDACTED] for Steven Theroux’s presentation, whose topic is also that of his just published book. His book and preseentation to us is a “Big History” of the evidence regarding how we came to be. It briefly explores philosophical thought and how our past might affect our future. The text summarizes different perspectives, including the strengths and weaknesses of each. The genesis of our planet is explored, especially the circumstances that must exist for complex life to arise. This journey highlights the history of life, the emergence of simple lifeforms, and the evolution of complex creatures, including humans. The book concludes with a discussion of why other humanoids went extinct while our species achieved dominance. The author considers potentialities awaiting humankind and our planet.This is the first “Big History” written from the perspective of a biologist.

The first “Big History” written from the perspective of a biologist
Summarizes multiple perspectives of history
Documents the unique conditions for the emergence of life
Speculates on the future

Please note that Chapter 12, which is entitled “The Genesis of Behaviorally Modern Homo sapiens. A Cognitively Advanced Human That Can Reflect Upon Its Existence”, is available to read via the open access platform established by Taylor and Francis.

Steven J. Theroux was Professor and Chair of the Natural Sciences department at Assumption University in Massachusetts. He currently teaches Genetics and Biology of Cancer at Harvard University and Assumption University
The webinar will be moderated by
Dr. Paul Narguizian
Professor
Department of Biological Sciences
California State University, Los Angeles

A Most Improbable Story: The Evolution of the Universe, Life, and Humankind
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Chapter|22 pages
Introduction
Perspective Matters, But Perspective Isn’t EverythingPart Part I|87 pages
The Making of a Habitable WorldChapter 1|18 pages
In the Beginning
The Genesis of the Universe
Chapter 2|12 pages
The Life and Death of a Star
Chapter 3|13 pages
The Milky Way
A Goldilocks Galaxy
Chapter 4|13 pages
The Galactic Cradle
Chapter 5|27 pages
The Inimitable Earth
Part Part II|175 pages
The Emergence of Life From a Lifeless World
Chapter 6|27 pages
Let There Be Life
The Rise of the Prokaryotes
Chapter 7|26 pages
Evolution
The Generator of Life’s Diversity
Chapter 8|19 pages
The Rise of the Superkingdoms
Bacteria, Archaea, and Eukarya
Chapter 9|12 pages
Partnering Up
The Journey From Single-Cell Eukaryotes to Multicellular Animals
Chapter 10|21 pages
The Blossoming of Terrestrial Life
Chapter 11|18 pages
The Emergence of the Genus Homo
Earth’s First Humans Come Into Being
Chapter 12|25 pages
The Genesis of Behaviorally Modern Homo sapiens
A Cognitively Advanced Human That Can Reflect Upon Its Existence
(Available for free download; please click here.)
Chapter 13|21 pages
The Future of Life on Earth
Abstract

International-Big History-Association is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting.
Topic: A Most Improbable Story: The Evolution of the Universe, Life, and Humankind
Time: Aug 17, 2022 10:00 Eastern Time (US and Canada)
Join Zoom Meeting
https://us06web.zoom.us/j/81260036126?pwd=[REDACTED]

Steven Theroux’s Publications & Editorships

cancer biologygeneticsmolecular biology

TITLE

CITED BY

YEAR

The epidermal growth factor receptor is covalently linked to ubiquitin.
Z Galcheva-Gargova, SJ Theroux, RJ Davis
Oncogene 11 (12), 2649-2655

166
1995

Spinal muscular atrophy disrupts the interaction of ZPR1 with the SMN protein
L Gangwani, M Mikrut, S Theroux, M Sharma, RJ Davis
Nature cell biology 3 (4), 376-383

146
2001

Signaling crossroads: the function of Raf kinase inhibitory protein in cancer, the central nervous system and reproduction
J Klysik, SJ Theroux, JM Sedivy, JS Moffit, K Boekelheide
Cellular signalling 20 (1), 1-9

132
2008

The cytoplasmic zinc finger protein ZPR1 accumulates in the nucleolus of proliferating cells
Z Galcheva-Gargova, L Gangwani, KN Konstantinov, M Mikrut, …
Molecular biology of the cell 9 (10), 2963-2971

89
1998

Raf kinase inhibitory protein knockout mice: expression in the brain and olfaction deficit
S Theroux, M Pereira, KS Casten, RD Burwell, KC Yeung, JM Sedivy, …
Brain research bulletin 71 (6), 559-567

65
2007

Signal transduction by the epidermal growth factor receptor is attenuated by a COOH-terminal domain serine phosphorylation site.
SJ Theroux, DA Latour, K Stanley, DL Raden, RJ Davis
Journal of Biological Chemistry 267 (23), 16620-16626

53
1992

Gene encoding the 5.7-kilodalton chlorosome protein of Chloroflexus aurantiacus: regulated message levels and a predicted carboxy-terminal protein extension
SJ Theroux, TE Redlinger, RC Fuller, SJ Robinson
Journal of bacteriology 172 (8), 4497-4504

42
1990

Increased oncogenic potential of ErbB is associated with the loss of a COOH-terminal domain serine phosphorylation site.
SJ Theroux, C Taglienti-Sian, N Nair, JL Countaway, HL Robinson, …
Journal of Biological Chemistry 267 (12), 7967-7970

30
1992

Mutational removal of the major site of serine phosphorylation of the epidermal growth factor receptor causes potentiation of signal transduction: role of receptor down-regulation.
SJ Theroux, K Stanley, DA Campbell, RJ Davis
Molecular Endocrinology 6 (11), 1849-1857

29
1992

Rapid screening of cloned DNA fragments for specific mutations.
SJ Theroux, RJ Davis
Nucleic acids research 20 (4), 915

5
1992

Protein-tyrosine kinase activity of alternate protien products of the Drosophila Dsrc28C locus
SJ Theroux, SC Wadsworth
FEBS letters 311 (1), 1-6

3
1992

Assembly of Chlorosomes during Photosynthetic Development in Chloroflexus aurantiacus
TE Redlinger, SJ Theroux, DL Driscoll, SJ Robinson, RC Fuller
Molecular Biology of Membrane-Bound Complexes in Phototrophic Bacteria, 275-284

2
1990

The Genesis of Behaviorally Modern Homo sapiens: A Cognitively Advanced Human That Can Reflect Upon Its Existence
SJ Theroux
A Most Improbable Story

2023

A Most Improbable Story: The Evolution of the Universe, Life, and Humankind
SJ Theroux
CRC Press

2022

Grants and Awards
NIH Academic Research Enhancement Grant from the National Institute of General Medical Sciences to study the Regulation of the EGF-Receptor
Nominated by Assumption College for the 2011 Carnegie Foundation for Advancement of Teaching U.S. Professor of the Year Award.
2013 Assumption College President’s Award for Excellence in Service
Outstanding Mentoring of Students by Junior Faculty, Assumption College, 1998

Members of the IBHA are committed to the widest possible availability of this presentation; it is open at no cost to all over Zoom. To support the programing of the IBHA and participate in our association, please consider joining and in making a donation.

Big History Webinar from Japan
2022-08-07 08:00 - 11:00
Big History Thought, Research, and Education:
The First Global Big-History Webinar from Japan
https://us06web.zoom.us/j/88589622743?pwd=[REDACTED]
Host: International Big History Association (IBHA)
Co-Host: Oberlin Big History Movement (OBHM)
This event is part of the IBHA’s series of webinars and part of the OBHM’s Big History Collegium based in J.F. Oberlin University, Tokyo.
Date: Sunday August 7th 2022
Time: 21:00–24:00 in Tokyo / 7–10 AM in Quito / 8–11 AM in NY / 9 AM–12 PM in Brasilia, Buenos Aires / 1–4PM in Yaoundé / 2–5 PM in Rome, Madrid, Amsterdam / 3–6 PM in Moscow, Helsinki, Ankara / 5:30–8:30 PM in New Delhi / 7–10 PM in Ho Chi Minh City / 8–11 PM in Beijing, HK, Taipei, Manila, Kuala Lumpur, Singapore / 9 PM–12 AM in Seoul / 10 PM–1 AM in Sydney
Venue: Zoom
Language: English (No translation into Japanese)
Participation: Free and Open to All
Release: This webinar will be recorded and uploaded on the IBHA’s YouTube channel later
Moderator: Yuri MATSUZAKI (Tokyo Institute of Technology)
◯ Opening Addresses (10 mins)
From the Host (3 mins) – Daniel BARREIROS (IBHA)
From the Co-Host (3 mins) – Hirofumi KATAYAMA (OBHM)
◯ Part 1: Big History Thought (40 mins)
Talk 1 (15 mins) – Hirofumi KATAYAMA (J.F. Oberlin University) “Cosmic Humanism: Beyond Julian Huxley’s evolutionary humanism”
Talk 2 (15 mins) – Hideki IWAKI (Soka University) “Islam and Big History: Islamic Wisdom for Peace and Coexistence”
Qs & As (10 mins)
◯ Part 2: Big History Research (40 mins)
Talk 3 (15 mins) – Nobuo TSUJIMURA (Institute for Global and Cosmic Peace) “A Forgotten Big Historian: Saburo Kitagawa and his vision of Synthetic Natural History”
Talk 4 (15 mins) – Kenji ICHIKAWA (Aletheia Shonan High School) “A Little Big History of Silicon”
Qs & As (10 mins)
― Break (10 mins) ―
◯ Part 3: Big History Education (60 mins)
Talk 5 (15 mins) – Martin ROBERT (Kyoto University) “The first Big History course for STEM freshmen in Japan: Why and how?”
Film + Talk 6 (35 mins) – Satoko LEE (Society for Chimukui) “Walk 46 Kilometers along Tamagawa Aqueduct with Learning 4.6 Billion-Year Earth History”
Qs & As (10 mins)

International-Big History-Association is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting.
Topic: Big-History Webinar from Japan
Time: Aug 7, 2022 08:00 Eastern Time (US and Canada)
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Members of the IBHA are committed to the widest possible availability of this presentation; it is open at no cost to all over Zoom. To support the programing of the IBHA and participate in our association, please consider joining and in making a donation.
