Why is ScienceOnline a meeting like no other? Because it’s the sort of meeting where a biologist named Rob Dunn can set up shop in the lobby to ask for samples of bellybutton shmutz that he can analyze for biological diversity. Not only is it a place where such a person will not be hustled out by security, but it’s a place where a whole bunch of people respond by grabbing Q-tips to do their part for science. And you can bet every last bit of your bellybutton lint that I was right up near the front of the line.

Ten days later, my sample is now thriving nicely on a Petri dish, awaiting a more detailed analysis of its DNA. And here are the rest of the samples from the meeting.

All I can say is, #974, what is going on in there?

Originally published January 25, 2011. Copyright 2011 Carl Zimmer.

I’ll be appearing on The Takeaway Tuesday morning to talk about smiles. I’ll be on at some point between 6:20 and 6:40 am, and you can catch my segment again in the 8 am hour (EST). Soon after, it will be archived here.

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

“If I may throw out a word of counsel to beginners, it is: Treasure your exceptions! When there are none, the work gets so dull that no one cares to carry it further. Keep them always uncovered and in sight. Exceptions are like the rough brickwork of a growing building which tells that there is more to come and shows where the next construction is to be.”

—William Bateson, in The Method and Scope of Genetics, 1908. [pdf]

[Image: National Portrait Gallery]

Originally published January 22, 2011. Copyright 2011 Carl Zimmer.