In tomorrow’s New York Times, I have an article about the Genomic Encyclopedia of Bacteria and Archaea, a new database that’s designed to span the vast diversity of our planet’s microbes. Check it out!

[Update: one of the scientists behind the encyclopedia, Jonathan Eisen, has blogged about the encyclopedia’s history here.]

Image: Flickr

Originally published December 28, 2009. Copyright 2009 Carl Zimmer.

“My name is Steve Kleinedler, supervising editor for the American Heritage Dictionary, where I have worked since 1997. One of my many responsibilities is pronunciation. The tattoo is a stylized version of a phonetic vowel chart — it shows the relative position of the tongue in the mouth when those vowel sounds are articulated. I had a smaller, simpler version done on my upper back in 1993, and I’ve been wanting to get the full version for quite some time.

“The design is by Kyle Nelson of Stoltze Design and the tattoo artist was Mike Helz of Stingray Body Art.”

Click here to go to the full Science Tattoo Emporium.

Originally published December 26, 2009. Copyright 2009 Carl Zimmer.

So the wife and I are ready to investigate our distant past and discover all sorts of unsettling things about our ancestors. Anyone care to recommend any particular genealogical DNA testing outfit? I know of the Genographic Project and a few others, but I don’t know how full or accurate a profile they offer.

Originally published December 25, 2009. Copyright 2009 Carl Zimmer.

How does a scientist study a million genes? In my latest podcast I talk to John Wooley, a leading figure in the new science of metagenomics. Check it out.

Originally published December 24, 2009. Copyright 2009 Carl Zimmer.

Photographer Alex Wild picks his favorite images of insects from the year. Bugilicious.

Originally published December 23, 2009. Copyright 2009 Carl Zimmer.