Last March I wrote here about a 50,000-year-old pinky bone found in a Siberian cave that might belong to a previously unknown kind of human. Scientists had isolated mitochondrial DNA from the bone, which suggested that it belonged to a separate lineage that was neither Neanderthal nor human.

Continue reading “Meet the Denisovans, the newest members of the human tree of life” →

In Tuesday’s New York Times, I have an article about an unlucky group of Neanderthals, massacred and cannibalized 50,000 years ago. Through some detective work, scientists have determined that they were members of an extended family. Here’s the paper (open access) if you want the gory details. While the interpretation the scientists present is not embraced by all the experts I contacted, they are excited at the prospect of this kind of fine-grained Neanderthal DNA sequencing. Of course, the lecture I gave last week now feels short a slide or two!

Originally published December 21, 2010. Copyright 2010 Carl Zimmer.

On my latest podcast, I talk to Jeff Gralnick of the University of Minnesota about electricity and life. In particular, we talk about how some bacteria generate electric currents as they feed–and how we might harness their power. Check it out.

Originally published December 20, 2010. Copyright 2010 Carl Zimmer.

Susan Perkins at the American Museum of Natural History is almost done with a truly heroic feat: overseeing a blog that features a new parasite every day in 2010. As we glide towards the end of the year, she’s launched “The Twelve Parasites of Christmas.” So far, mistletoe (that botanical equivalent of a tapeworm!), two turtle doves (and their blood parasites), and the cauliflower mushroom, bane of Christmas trees. What gifts await us in the next week?

Originally published December 19, 2010. Copyright 2010 Carl Zimmer.

Last month I wrote a piece for the New York Times about what ten scientists are looking forward to in 2011. One of the scientists, Rob Carlson, saw garage stem-cell research in our near future:

“It seems pretty likely within this year someone will show how to go from an adult peripheral blood draw to pluripotent stem cells. It means anyone who wants to try to make stem cells will be able to give it a whirl.”

Carlson took to his own blog to write at more length about what exactly he meant. For one thing, stem cell biohackers may want to think twice before sticking stem cells in their own bodies. They could end up with what Carlson calls DIY tumors. Check it out.

Originally published December 19, 2010. Copyright 2010 Carl Zimmer.