“I thought I would send you mine : Paranthropus (Australopithecus depending on your school of thought) boisei.”–Gabrielle Russo, Hunter Colllege.

Carl: Paranthropus boisei existed from 2.3 million to 1 million years ago–a good run. It stood upright like us, but had a small brain and powerful jaws for biting tough food like seeds and roots. Paranthropus boisei is not our ancestor, not even a close cousin. Instead, it belonged to a separate branch of hominid evolution–one that may have been wiped out by a changing climate. Now it is remembered in museums and on at least one tattooed arm.

Continue reading “Almost Human” →

Skip Arey writes, “I am very devoted to the radio art and decided to show my devotion by way of Body Art. The tattoo is a copy of a schematic diagram of a basic Crystal Radio taken from page 132 of Practical Wireless Telegraphy by Elmer Bucher published in 1921.”

Click here to go to the full Science Tattoo Emporium. 

Originally published February 19, 2008. Copyright 2008 Carl Zimmer.

For years, fellow scienceblogger PZ Myers has taught us all well why we ought to adore squid, octopuses, and other cephalopods. But I came to a new degree of appreciation when I traveled up to Woods Hole to spend some time with the biologist Roger Hanlon. Hanlon studies how cephalopods disguise themselves, and boy do they ever. Right in front of your eyes, sitting in a little tub of water, the animals can practically disappear. Or, if they want to scare you, they turn a chocolately brown with bright stripes.

Continue reading “Smart Skin and Devious Cephalopods in Tomorrow’s NY Times” →

After six months of science tattoo madness, the ink keeps flowing. To keep up with the rising tide, please visit their new home: The Science Tattoo Emporium. (You can also get there via http://sciencetattoo.com) I have an amazing backlog of tattoos to post there, which I will be doing so once at day–with an increasing amount of my own commentary on the story behind the picture. 

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

Kim writes:

“This is my tattoo of Darwin. It’s from a political cartoon published in the late 1800’s. As I’m an anthropologist studying human evolution, it felt appropriate.” The original cartoon appeared in Hornet magazine in 1871, in the wake of Darwin’s publication of The Descent of Man. Here is the magazine editor’s note; if you then press “next” you can see the original. Wikipedia has a cleaner copy of the original.

Click here to go to the full Science Tattoo Emporium. 

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