Clues to Africa’s Mysterious Past Found in Ancient Skeletons

Posted on by Lori Jia

The New York Times, September 21, 2017

Link

It was only two years ago that researchers found the first ancient human genome in Africa: a skeleton in a cave in Ethiopia yielded DNA that turned out to be 4,500 years old.

On Thursday, an international team of scientists reported that they had recovered far older genes from bone fragments in Malawi dating back 8,100 years. The researchers also retrieved DNA from 15 other ancient people in eastern and southern Africa, and compared the genes to those of living Africans.

Their analysis, published in the journal Cell, reveals important clues to Africa’s mysterious prehistory, including details of massive migrations that shaped the populations we know today.

Continue reading “Clues to Africa’s Mysterious Past Found in Ancient Skeletons” →

Friday’s Elk, September 16, 2017

Posted on by Matt Kristoffersen

This week I asked my editor at the New York Times if I needed to make a disclosure of possible conflict of interest. The trouble is that I have a tapeworm named after me: Acanthobothrium zimmeri.

The reason for the question was the topic of my column: the dire threat that parasites now face. A massive study of parasites around the world shows that climate change could drive as many as 1 in 3 species extinct. I worry that Acanthobothrium zimmeri, which infects a tropical skate, will wink out of existence. My editor didn’t see the need for a disclosure. But I figured that you, dear reader, should know. Continue reading “Friday’s Elk, September 16, 2017” →

Climate Change Threatens the World’s Parasites (That’s Not Good)

Posted on by Lori Jia

The New York Times, September 13, 2017

Link

Animals around the world are on the move. So are their parasites.

Recently, scientists carried out the first large-scale study of what climate change may do to the world’s much-loathed parasites. The team came to a startling conclusion: as many as one in three parasite species may face extinction in the next century.

As global warming raises the planet’s temperature, the researchers found, many species will lose territory in which to survive. Some of their hosts will be lost, too.

Continue reading “Climate Change Threatens the World’s Parasites (That’s Not Good)” →

Friday’s Elk, September 8, 2017

Posted on by Matt Kristoffersen

It was a sold-out night on Wednesday at Caveat, the new New York science-themed venue that’s hosting my live series, “What is Life?” this fall.

I talked to a philosopher and an astrobiologist about how they define life, bringing out some props to figure out where they stand, life-wise: some lichen from my yard, a wind-up toy, a vial of viruses, and a rusty nail.

Sara Imari Walker of Arizona State University (in the photo) told the audience that I was talking about life as a thing, whereas she thought of it as a process. I took an applause-based survey, and discovered that they agreed. Continue reading “Friday’s Elk, September 8, 2017” →

Let’s Not Lose Our Minds

Posted on by Carl Zimmer

I was asked to give the keynote talk at “Science, Journalism, and Democracy: Grappling With A New Reality” at Rockefeller University on September 6, 2017 (video). This is what I said.

We’re here at this meeting to talk about science, journalism, and democracy. So let me begin by telling you about a newspaper article on a scientific experiment, an experiment that would end up having a major influence on government policy on a vital issue.

The vital issue was food. The experiment was carried out on wheat. Some varieties of wheat are known as spring wheat. They’re planted in the spring and grow soon afterwards. Winter wheat, on the other hand, is planted in the fall but does not produce its flowers till the spring. Winter wheat has the advantage of a much bigger yield. But there’s a catch. Continue reading “Let’s Not Lose Our Minds” →