Author: Matt Kristoffersen

Friday’s Elk, March 18, 2016

Posted on by Matt Kristoffersen

Greetings–

It’s a quieter week this time around, but here are a few things for your enjoyment…
 

More Than Just A One-Night Stand

The study of ancient human DNA just keeps getting more interesting. In the New York Times, I write this week about a new survey of the Neanderthal and Denisovan DNA lurking in our genomes. It looks like there was even more interbreeding between our ancestors and these extinct humans than we previously thought. Here’s the story. P.S.: As a big fan of the comedian Harry Shearer, I was tickled to see on Twitter that the column inspired him to write a Neanderthal love song. Continue reading “Friday’s Elk, March 18, 2016” →

Friday’s Elk, March 11, 2016

Posted on by Matt Kristoffersen

Greetings–

An exciting week!

A Big Honor

Stephen Jay Gould, the late Harvard paleontologist, was a master of bringing evolution to a wide audience in books like Wonderful Life and The Panda’s Thumb. The Society for the Study of Evolution now honors his legacy with the Stephen Jay Gould Prize. I’m delighted to be this year’s winner. I’ll be giving a public lecture in conjunction with the award ceremony. If you’re in Austin on June 17, please come by. Details here. Continue reading “Friday’s Elk, March 11, 2016” →

Staying Afloat in the Rising Tide of Science

Posted on by Matt Kristoffersen

Cell, March 10, 2016

Link

As a science writer, I often start my day with some words from scientists. Sometimes those words are in a new scientific paper. But very often they come in other forms. I check my RSS reader for new blog posts from scientists such as paleoanthropologist John Hawks and virologist Vincent Racaniello. I check in on Twitter, where geneticist Daniel Macarthur may point to an interesting new study or dispense some snark on a hyperventilating newspaper article. If I’m feeling a deep urge to procrastinate, I may head to YouTube to watch cosmologist Sean Carroll explain the arrow of time. When that’s over, I may glance at the podcast app on my phone to see if there’s a new episode of Story Collider—a series made up mostly of scientists telling stories before a live audience. As I listen, I might get distracted by a thump outside the front door: a review copy of a new book written by a scientist—perhaps Frans de Waal writing about animal cognition or Bryan Fry writing about snake venom.

Continue reading “Staying Afloat in the Rising Tide of Science” →

Friday’s Elk, March 4, 2016

Posted on by Matt Kristoffersen

Greetings–

This week brings a virus double-header about strange ways to fight those pesky buggers…
 

A Virus With Its Own Immune System?

Over at Stat, I wrote about giant viruses, the weirdest viruses of all. For one thing, these viruses are so big, they get infected by their own viruses. This week giant viruses got even weirder, when scientists reported that they may have an immune system of their own to fight their viral enemies. (Image courtesy of American Scientist) Continue reading “Friday’s Elk, March 4, 2016” →

Friday’s Elk, February 26, 2016

Posted on by Matt Kristoffersen

Greetings–

These days, I’m working on a book about heredity. This week I spent some time digging through the archives a historical society and came across this crazy pedigree from the early 1900s. At the time, the rediscovery of Mendel had set everyone abuzz, and a lot of scientists believed that everything was genetic–even boat building. (Note how some relatives were merely artistic, musical, mechanical, or literary. Heterozygotes, I guess…) Continue reading “Friday’s Elk, February 26, 2016” →