Greetings–
Thanks to everyone who responded about the pacing of Friday’s Elk. I’ve decided to keep sending it out every week, although there may be a week here or there where I’ll have to let a Friday slip by. Continue reading “Friday’s Elk, October 2, 2015”
The New York Times, October 1, 2015
In recent years, a peculiar sort of public performance has taken place periodically on the sidewalks of Seattle.
It begins with a woman named Kaeli N. Swift sprinkling peanuts and cheese puffs on the ground. Crows swoop in to feed on the snacks. While Ms. Swift observes the birds from a distance, notebook in hand, another person walks up to the birds, wearing a latex mask and a sign that reads “UW CROW STUDY.” In the accomplice’s hands is a taxidermied crow, presented like a tray of hors d’oeuvres.
This performance is not surreal street theater, but an experiment designed to explore a deep biological question: What do crows understand about death?
Welcome back to Friday’s Elk, a newsletter about what I’m up to. Thanks for subscribing!
After a summer hiatus, I’m going to start sending it out again on a regular basis. I’m still debating whether that should be weekly, bi-weekly, or monthly. I want to find the optimal tradeoff between frequency and information. (I don’t think anybody wants daily emails that contain half a sentence each, nor does anyone want a once-a-decade tome.) If you have a preference, please let me know at carl@carlzimmer.com. Continue reading “Friday’s Elk, September 25, 2015”
After a long stretch of quiet here on the Loom, I wanted to let you know what I’ve been up to, and what I’m going to be up to over the next couple years. I’ve got some new projects afoot.
The New York Times, September 24, 2015
Like many biologists, Ricardo C. Rodríguez de la Vega searches the world for new species. But while other scientists venture into the depths of the ocean or the heart of the jungle, Dr. Rodríguez de la Vega and his colleagues visit cheese shops.
“Every time we’re traveling internationally for a conference or something, we go specifically to the local cheese shop and say, ‘Give me the wildest blue cheese you have,’ ” said Dr. Rodríguez de la Vega, an evolutionary biologist at the French National Centre for Scientific Research in Paris.
Continue reading “That Stinky Cheese Is a Result of Evolutionary Overdrive”