What would it take to bring back an extinct turtle, or a long-gone mammoth? Thanks to the folks at TED for posting the video of my talk about my story in the April issue of National Geographic, embedded below.
(TEDxDeExtinction will be posting the videos of the rest of the talks from the meeting over the course of the next few weeks.)
Originally published April 2, 2013. Copyright 2013 Carl Zimmer.
This morning Barack Obama invited a small army of neuroscientists to hear him announce a new initiative to better understand the brain. Reports about the plan have been trickling out ever since John Markoff broke the story in February. In anticipation of the announcement, All Things Considered on National Public Radio talked to me over the weekend about the current state of our understanding of the brain, and what it will take to understand it better. I spoke in pretty hazy terms since the government hadn’t officially laid anything down. Now we can take a closer look at what is going to happen, at least in the near future. [Update: here is the official web site from NIH]
This post was originally published in “Download the Universe,” a multi-author blog about science ebooks edited by Carl Zimmer.
Asperger Love: Searching for Romance When You’re Not Wired to Connect. By Amy Harmon. Published by The New York Times/Byliner Original.
And Straight On Till Morning: Essays on Autism Acceptance. Edited by Julia Bascom. Published by The Autistic Self-Advocacy Network.
Reviewed by Steve Silberman
April 2, 2013
Jason Affourtit writes, “The encircling equation represents biological nitrogen fixation, which was at the core of my undergrad/graduate labwork. Working in that research lab (which was originally just part of requirements for med school!–my intended goal) totally changed my focus…So it’s an homage to that period of time, my wonderful advisor, and that lab. DNA has been central to my work life in genomics and has run through as a common theme. So to me, a G-C basepair seemed a natural symbol of that.”
You can see the rest of the Science Tattoo Emporium here and in my book, Science Ink: Tattoos of the Science Obsessed.
(Tattoo by Nick Bergin from Godspeed Tattoo in San Mateo, CA.)
Originally published March 31, 2013. Copyright 2013 Carl Zimmer.
Today scientists at Stanford University reported they had implanted transistor-like bundles of genes into E. coli, making it possible to transform cells into biological computers. At Download the Universe, a science ebook review where I’m an editor, I take a look at the history of synthetic biology that led up to this remarkable feat. I also reflect on how to help young people become both excited and wise about these new kinds of technology. Check it out!
Originally published March 28, 2013. Copyright 2013 Carl Zimmer.