Author: Matt Kristoffersen

The Toughest Bear in the Universe #scienceink

Posted on by Matt Kristoffersen

Spencer Debenport, a plant pathologist at Ohio State University, sports a tattoo of a tardigrade, a microscopic animal known as the water bear. “I have always loved microscopic critters, and there is none other as intriguing as the tardigrade,” he writes. “The fact that they are so hardy, yet still that odd mixture of ugly/cute drew me to them and the more I read up on them, the more I wanted one permanently on me. I am also a mycologist, so whenever I look at lichens I get to see loads of these little guys roaming around.”

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There’s just something about him…

Posted on by Matt Kristoffersen

If you’re a regular reader of the Loom, you’re no doubt familiar with the parasite Toxoplasma gondii. If you’re not, now is the perfect time to meet this sinister creature which may very well be residing in your brain. It seems like every year or two, it gets more remarkable, and today it’s taken another step into awesomeness.

Here’s a quick Toxoplasma primer. It’s a single-celled protozoan that reproduces inside the digestive tract of cats. The cats poop out egg-like Toxoplasma cells into kitty litter and dirt. Other animals take up the parasite, which makes its way into their tissues, especially the brain. There it forms cysts that can linger for years or decades. Only if that animal gets eaten by a cat can Toxoplasma complete its life cycle.

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Calling the #scienceink tribe in San Francisco and Los Angeles! I’m headed your way this week.

Posted on by Matt Kristoffersen

Today Science Ink is published! Amazon has already run out of copies to sell, but not to worry–the books are spitting out of printers as I blog this. Order your copy, and it will get to you soon. If you’re on the fence, check out this review from Nature (yes, that Nature, the venerable scientific journal): “Beautiful…packed with fascinating stories.” (It’s behind a paywall, alas…)

On Thursday, I’ll be heading off for the first of a bunch of events for the book. As part of the Bay Area Science Festival, I’ll be in San Francisco on Friday.

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Radiolab and Skeptically Speaking: For Your Listening Pleasure

Posted on by Matt Kristoffersen

If you’ve got some free time, here are a couple talks for your listening pleasure.

Radiolab presents a story I told about a fateful trip to Sudan on their latest podcast. I’ve embedded it here:

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Last week, I also talked about viruses on Skeptically Speaking, and they’ve posted our conversation here. (If you have trouble at that link, try here.) Among other things, we talk about the unimaginably huge number of viruses on Earth, and I offer my vote for the Worst Virus Ever. Fortunately, if you’re not a caterpillar, you don’t have anything to worry about.

Originally published October 31, 2011. Copyright 2011 Carl Zimmer.