Author: Zimmer
The New York Times, November 19, 2018
I spoke recently to a scientist who was writing up a summary of what we know about human evolution. He should have had a head start, having written a similar article five years ago.
But when he looked at what he had written then, he realized that little of it was relevant. “I can’t use much of any of it,” he told me.
As a journalist, I can sympathize.
The New York Times, November 8, 2018
Nearly 11,000 years ago, a man died in what is now Nevada. Wrapped in a rabbit-skin blanket and reed mats, he was buried in a place called Spirit Cave.
Now scientists have recovered and analyzed his DNA, along with that of 70 other ancient people whose remains were discovered throughout the Americas. The findings lend astonishing detail to a story once lost to prehistory: how and when humans spread across the Western Hemisphere.
The earliest known arrivals from Asia were already splitting into recognizably distinct groups, the research suggests. Some of these populations thrived, becoming the ancestors of indigenous peoples throughout the hemisphere.
Continue reading “Crossing From Asia, the First Americans Rushed Into the Unknown”
The New York Times, November 7, 2018
On the wall of a cave deep in the jungles of Borneo, there is an image of a thick-bodied, spindly-legged animal, drawn in reddish ocher.
It may be a crude image. But it also is more than 40,000 years old, scientists reported on Wednesday, making this the oldest figurative art in the world.
Until now, the oldest known human-made figures were ivory sculptures found in Germany. Scientists have estimated that those figurines — of horses, birds and people — were at most 40,000 years old.
Continue reading “In Cave in Borneo Jungle, Scientists Find Oldest Figurative Painting in the World”
The New York Times, November 1, 2018
The oncoming flu season has claimed its first lives, among them a child in Florida who had not gotten a flu shot.
This year’s vaccine significantly reduces the odds of getting sick — and you should get one now if you haven’t already — but it’s far from perfect.
For one thing, its effectiveness fluctuates from year to year. At best, the vaccine may reduce the risk of illness by about 60 percent. Last year, during one of the worst flu epidemics in recent memory, that figure was just 40 percent.
Continue reading “How to Turbocharge Flu Protection (Llamas Required)”
The New York Times, October 18, 2018
People have always told stories about their ancestral origins. But now millions of people are looking at their DNA to see if those stories hold up. While genetic tests can indeed reveal some secrets about our family past, we can also jump to the wrong conclusions from their results.
The reception of Senator Elizabeth Warren’s DNA results is a textbook case in this confusion.
On Monday morning, Senator Warren released an analysis on her DNA showing that six to 10 generations back she had a Native American ancestor.
Continue reading “Before Arguing About DNA Tests, Learn the Science Behind Them”