Ed Yong and I may live on either side of the Atlantic, but our minds are in the same place: that strange realm where fungi take over the minds of ants, where dinosaurs sprout feathers, and where ducks shatter glass with their genitals. In other words, Earth.
We don’t get to see each other in person more than once a year, if that, but we always have a good time when we do. Which is why I’m looking forward to having an online conversation with Ed on May 14. And you’re invited.
This post was originally published in “Download the Universe,” a multi-author blog about science ebooks edited by Carl Zimmer.
Leonardo da Vinci. Published by Anatomy Touch Press.
Reviewed by Carl Zimmer
May 4, 2012
Here, for your viewing pleasure, is a very important part of a very special flu virus. It may look like an ordinary protein, but in fact it’s been at the center of a blazing debate about whether our increasing power to experiment on life could lead to a disaster. Not that long ago, in fact, a national security advisory board didn’t even want you to see this. So feast your eyes.
For those who are new to this story let me start back at the beginning, in 1997.
Continue reading “Behold The Forbidden Flu: A Loom Explainer”
This post was originally published in “Download the Universe,” a multi-author blog about science ebooks edited by Carl Zimmer.
Fragile Earth. Published by HarperCollins.
Reviewed by Carl Zimmer
May 2, 2012
In the May issue of National Geographic, I contemplate the hand. Human hands are unique and versatile–and yet we are far from the only animals with them. By looking at the variety of hands in nature, we can see some of the most striking evidence of how evolution tinkers in all sorts of unexpected way. Check it out.
The print version is accompanied by lovely sketches of a wide range of hands. If you read the story online, you can see an animation of the human hand. And if you have the National Geographic iPad app, you can see videos of other hands, from frogs to aye-ayes.
[Image: White -handed gibbon by Ingo Arndt, on Arkive.]
Originally published April 27, 2012. Copyright 2012 Carl Zimmer.