Victoria McGowan writes,

Please find attached a photo of my Australopithecus tattoo. I’m a medical anthropologist researching the historical relationship between school meals and obesity in children as part of my PhD at Durham University. Obviously this has very little to do with Australopithecus but my interest in “Lucy” began when I started my UG degree in Anthropology here at Durham. One of my first lectures was on our Biological and Social Origins and we learnt about our evolutionary heritage. Lucy caught my eye because she was one of the most complete finds of this species at that time. Also as it was thought that she was more closely related to Homo genus than any other Australopithecus at that time.

Continue reading “In Memory of Lucy #scienceink” →

Here, for your viewing pleasure, is a very important part of a very special flu virus. It may look like an ordinary protein, but in fact it’s been at the center of a blazing debate about whether our increasing power to experiment on life could lead to a disaster. Not that long ago, in fact, a national security advisory board didn’t even want you to see this. So feast your eyes.

For those who are new to this story let me start back at the beginning, in 1997.

Continue reading “Behold The Forbidden Flu: A Loom Explainer” →

In the May issue of National Geographic, I contemplate the hand. Human hands are unique and versatile–and yet we are far from the only animals with them. By looking at the variety of hands in nature, we can see some of the most striking evidence of how evolution tinkers in all sorts of unexpected way. Check it out.

The print version is accompanied by lovely sketches of a wide range of hands. If you read the story online, you can see an animation of the human hand. And if you have the National Geographic iPad app, you can see videos of other hands, from frogs to aye-ayes.

[Image: White -handed gibbon by Ingo Arndt, on Arkive.]

Originally published April 27, 2012. Copyright 2012 Carl Zimmer.

I’m heading south to give a series of talks about everything from evolution to science tattoos, the future of journalism, and the mutant bird flu saga. Most of these talks are open to the public. Here’s the rundown, with the public talks noted:

Continue reading “DC and Philly: A Bundle of Talks” →