A remarkable new study on a 90,000-year-old fossil fragment gives us an extraordinary look at what the world was like when a wide range of humans walked the planet. It was a real privilege to get to write up this discovery for the New York Times. You can read my story of this find here. (I’m also experimenting with responding to comments on the article.)
Along with ancient DNA, evolutionary medicine is another obsession of mine. It’s fascinating to see how scientists gain new insights about diseases and health by observing how different branches of the tree of life have adapted. Some species have evolved some remarkable defenses against cancer, for example. I’ve written previously about naked mole rats, which have strange proteins that may keep them from ever getting cancer. Elephants ought to get more cancer than they do. In 2015 I wrote about one intriguing mutation that may protect them. Now scientists have found another unique feature of the species that may allow them to kill off mutant cells more effectively than we can.
1. I had a great chat with the psychologist Scott Barry Kaufman about what heredity can tell us about psychology (and can’t).
2. Sapiens, the online anthropology magazine, has launched a podcast. I’m delighted to be a guest on their first episode, “Is Your DNA You?”
3. The Open Notebook, a great web site on science journalism, asks whether you need a science degree to do the job. My answer: I sure hope not!
October 4, 2018, 92nd Street Y, New York: “What Makes Us Human? Panel with Maria Konnikova, Nathan Lents, and Sebastian Seung.
NEW!–> October 9, 2018, New York University: “Why You’re You: Explaining Heredity to a Confused Public”
October 17, 2018, Colorado State University: Murray Honors Visiting Scholar Lecture (details to come)
October 19, 2018, Las Vegas: CSICon
October 23, 2018: Mount Holyoke College
November 7, 2018: University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia (details to come)
November 13, 2018, New York: House of Speakeasy
November 14, 2018: Stevens Institute of Technology, Hoboken, NJ (details to come)
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Best wishes, Carl
Originally published August 24, 2018. Copyright 2018 Carl Zimmer.