Happy New Year to one and all. 2010 has been a busy one here, full of tattoos, duck privates, and cannibal Neanderthals. Here are the top posts of the year at the Loom…[P.S.–These are top posts as measured by readership]
Author: Matt Kristoffersen
I’ve updated my post on the supposed evidence of Homo sapiens in Israel 400,000 years ago. We have a better idea of where this worldwide meme got started, and what the scientist behind the paper thinks about what happened…
Originally published December 31, 2010. Copyright 2010 Carl Zimmer.
Last year, I gave the keynote lecture at the first annual Northeast Conference on Science and Skepticism in New York. It was a nerve-wracking experience, given that James Randi was originally slated to give the keynote, but was too ill at the time to attend. So I brought some of my favorite head-slapping tales of the dysfunctional relationship between science and the media, from global warming disinformation to so-called missing links. My goals for the talk were laughter, tears, and a glimmer of hope.
Continue reading “Missing Links, George Will, and Other Train Wrecks: My Keynote Talk at NECSS”
On my new podcast, I talk to Martin Blaser of New York University about Helicobacter pylori, best known as the microbe that causes ulcers. It’s also an ancient passenger in our stomachs, and has evolved a delicate balance with its human hosts. In fact, Blaser is worried by the disappearance of H. pylori from the modern world, thanks to antibiotics and hygiene. We may have to pay a price for its extinction, in the form of higher rates of asthma, esophageal cancer, and perhaps even obsesity. Check it out.
With this episode, the American Society for Microbiology is bringing the Meet the Scientist podcast series to a close. In the coming year, they’re going to be focusing their online efforts on some new projects you can look forward to on the Microbe World web site. (And they’ll be keepingall the episodes of Meet the Scientist on the site.) I’ve had a wonderful time over the past year hosting the podcast, and I’d like to thank all the scientists who shared their work with me and all the people at ASM who made this experience possible.
Originally published December 30, 2010. Copyright 2010 Carl Zimmer.
Scientific American has pulled my article on the complexity of brain networks out in front of their paywall. Check it out!
Update: Ack! For some people, it seems to be behind a paywall. I’ll get it onto carlzimmer.com when I get a chance.
Originally published December 29, 2010. Copyright 2010 Carl Zimmer.