Alan writes:

“After much consideration, I decided to get an atom tattoo. But what atom? Given that I’m a graduate student in organic chemistry at the University of Michigan, carbon seemed like the obvious choice. It also has the advantage of being small enough not to look too crowded. I went for a retro 50’s Jetsons sort of look. Believe it or not, the general shape (though not the coloring) is based on a piece of Microsoft Office clip-art.”

Click here to go to the full Science Tattoo Emporium. 

Originally published June 18, 2008. Copyright 2008 Carl Zimmer.

Hey Angelenos! I hope you can come out to catch my next talk about Microcosm. It’s part of the Zocalo lecture series. I’ll be talking next Wednesday, June 25, at 7:30 pm at the Skirball Cultural Center. Here are the details. 

Originally published June 18, 2008. Copyright 2008 Carl Zimmer.

Jordan writes: “My tattoo is of the ‘glider’ formation from John Conway’s Game of Life. As a History of Science student I love this geometric arrangement and its promise of self-contained (not viral) reproduction, and travel.”Carl: For more on Conway’s primordial artificial life, see here.

Click here to go to the full Science Tattoo Emporium. 

Originally published June 17, 2008. Copyright 2008 Carl Zimmer.

Carrie writes:

“I am an immunologist, and a second-generation biologist; my mother was a cell biologist (she passed away from brain cancer, which influenced my choice of career). I find DNA to be elegant; the code is so simple, and yet capable of enormous complexity. So I had my artist make a stylized DNA double-helix for me. The two double-stranded breaks don’t bother me; adaptive immune cells have those as part of normal development. 😉 “

Click here to go to the full Science Tattoo Emporium. 

Originally published June 16, 2008. Copyright 2008 Carl Zimmer.

Sandra writes, “My tattoo is an intrinsically photosensitive retinal ganglion cell, my favourite type of neuron. Only discovered a few years ago, it detects light without vision and communicates directly to a part of the brain (the suprachiasmatic nucleus) that helps control circadian rhythms.”

Click here to go to the full Science Tattoo Emporium. 

Originally published June 15, 2008. Copyright 2008 Carl Zimmer.