Say the letters “H M” to a neuroscientist, and chances are he or she will nod knowingly. H.M. was a man who died in 2008. His full name was Henry Molaison, and a surgical procedure in the 1950s left him without much of his memory. Studies on his mind laid the groundwork for our understanding of memory today. In tomorrow’s issue of the Wall Street Journal, I review a remarkable biography of Molaison, written by MIT neuroscientist Suzanne Corkin, who studied him from their first meeting in 1962 till his death–and beyond. While it’s not a perfect, it is–pardon the pun–a memorable one.

Originally published June 14, 2013. Copyright 2013 Carl Zimmer.

I arrived this afternoon in San Francisco, so that I can participate in an exceptional sort of meeting: the 2nd International Biannual Evolution and Cancer Conference. Friday night I’ll be giving a talk about some of the lessons we can learn about cancer from other animals (details at the end of this post), but for the most part, I’ll be on the receiving end, learning about the latest research at this fascinating crossroads.

Cancer is fundamentally an evolutionary disease, as I explained in a 2007 article for Scientific American. By which I mean that cancer is an inevitable menace to any multicellular organism, which has led the evolution of lots of anti-cancer defenses in our biology. But each time cancer emerges, it plays out in an evolutionary process, a natural selection happening within our own bodies. As new mutations arise, certain cancer cells fare better than others. Tumors evolve, as their cells gaining all sorts of abilities–such as attracting new blood vessels to feed their voracious appetites–that their ancestors didn’t have.

Continue reading “Putting the Brakes On Cancer’s Evolution” →

We typically look at rubies and other gems as treasure, bling, or signs of matrimony. But they are also historians, telling us about what the Earth was like hundreds of millions of years ago. In today’s Matter column in the New York Times, I talk to geologists who treat jewels as archives of planetary history. Check it out.

Originally published June 13, 2013. Copyright 2013 Carl Zimmer.

We have a habit of seeing nature in snapshots. We marvel at the adaptation of a species–see Ed Yong today on the maneuverability of cheetahs, for example–and don’t give much though about how it came to be. These snapshots can become downright confusing when we survey the diversity of many different species. Each species may have a radically different solution to the same problem. If one solution is so impressive, how could another one evolve, too?

The cure for this puzzlement is to get away from the snapshots. A species is a blurry, speckled thing. It’s made up of populations spread across a range, and each population is made up of many individuals, each with its own somewhat distinct set of genes. Those genes flow around the range, from individual to individual, mixed into new combinations, some spreading far and wide, some vanishing after a generation.

Continue reading “Poison, Camouflage, and the Rainbow of Evolution” →

I’m no fan of the cold, so it’s remarkable to me that there are so many species that can thrive at temperatures that would kill me from hypothermia. At Nova Next, I’ve written a feature about these so-called psychrophiles. I take a look at the biochemical secrets to survival at sub-zero temperatures, what psychrophiles can tell us about life on other chilly planets, and how biotechnology might harness their remarkable proteins for all sorts of applications. Check it out.

Originally published June 11, 2013. Copyright 2013 Carl Zimmer.