The World Science Festival is going to kick off on Wednesday in New York (I’ll be speaking Thursday on a panel, on telling the stories of science in print and online.) The festival organizers have been publishing a blog on some of the topics that will be explored next week. Riffing on the session on sleep, I’ve just contributed a piece on some wonderful recent research on what it means for us to be asleep and to be awake–and the surprising porous wall that divides the two states of mind. Check it out.

[Image: Wikipedia]

Originally published May 28, 2011. Copyright 2011 Carl Zimmer.

It’s been six months since #arseniclife became one of my favorite hashtags on Twitter. Over at Slate, I look at how the online conversation has changed the way scientists do their work. Check it out.

Originally published May 27, 2011. Copyright 2011 Carl Zimmer.

Today I close out a month-long guest blog over at the University of Chicago Press to mark the publication of my book A Planet of Viruses. I’ve been talking with experts about some of the most thought-provoking areas of virus research–

1. Can viruses control our minds?

2. Should we eliminate smallpox?

3. How can we use viruses to cure disease?

Today I talk with Penny Chisholm of MIT about the viruses that fill the worlds oceans (a billion in every spoonful). They kill off half the bacteria in the ocean every day, dumping out carbon and having enormous ecological effects–and perhaps even effects on the planet’s climate. Chisholm and I speculate on whether we could use viruses to manipulate the planet as a whole. It’s extreme speculation to be sure–but, then again, when it comes to viruses, the truth can sometimes seem too fantastic to be real. Check it out!

Originally published May 27, 2011. Copyright 2011 Carl Zimmer.

Last week I announced that I had 17 autographed copies of the US hardback edition of Microcosm, and in 85 minutes you folks cleared me out. There were a few cries of “Arg!” later on Facebook and Twitter, to which I responded that I still needed to deal with more books in advance of our house renovation. And so (voice turning crazy), here’s the next deal: we’ve got 8 autographed copies of the British hardback edition of Microcosm: E. coli and the New Science of Life. It’s out of print, but between now and next Tuesday, it’s available for ten dollars from my Amazon store.

Again, here’s a quick description of Microcosm: In the book, I tilt at one of my favorite windmills–the definition of life. But rather than try to take on all of life on Earth, I chose one species–the one that we know best of all. That would be our gastrointestinal lodger, Escherichia coli, the little bug that helped build modern biology and launch the entire biotechnology industry. In my biography of this scrutinized germ, I explore the origin of life, our inner ecology, and the search for life on other planets. You can find out more about the book on at carlzimmer.com, or check out this review from Anthony Doerr in the Boston Globe, in which he calls it “quietly revolutionary.”

If we run out of these books, remember that the paperback and Kindle editions are still in print, and I have plenty of other autographed books to buy. And we still have too many books in the house, so more sales will be in the offing. Thanks again!

Originally published May 24, 2011. Copyright 2011 Carl Zimmer.