Animal Friendships: My cover story for Time magazine

Posted on by Matt Kristoffersen

I’ve got a story on the cover of the latest issue of Time. It’s about the evolutionary origins of friendship. For a number of scientists, friendship–in a deep sense of the word–is not limited to our own species. The fact that friendship may be a widespread biological phenomenon could help us better understand why it has such a positive effect on our own health.

If you’re interested in the scientific literature, the best way in–and the way I first started to get familiar with it–is this review in the latest issue of Annual Review of Psychology by Dorothy Cheney and Robert Seyfarth, two of the world’s leading primatologists.

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The Future of E-books–podcast of my interview on Wisconsin Public Radio

Posted on by Matt Kristoffersen

WPR has posted the podcast of my talk last week on the Ben Merens show on their site–including a lot of interesting comments from callers.(Direct link to MP3)

[Image: Jonathan Franzen’s Freedom on an Iphone. Gasp! Prepare for the Apocalypse! Photo by badosa on Flickr/Creative Commons]

Originally published February 9, 2012. Copyright 2012 Carl Zimmer.

Thursday, February 16: Science and social media panel in New York

Posted on by Matt Kristoffersen

Next week is Social Media Week, during which time the American Museum of Natural History is hosting an exploration of science and social media. It will take place on Thursday, 2/16, at 6 pm, and after the official panel discussion there will be a beer and wine reception in the Museum’s Hall of Minerals and Gems.

The panelists for the evening include– Continue reading “Thursday, February 16: Science and social media panel in New York” →

A Scientific Jonah: My profile of Joy Reidenberg in tomorrow’s New York Times

Posted on by Matt Kristoffersen

For anyone in the US who likes to know what it’s like inside a giraffe (hands up, people), it was frustrating to discover the show Inside Nature’s Giants airing on British TV. The best we could manage were snippets on YouTube. Now the show is here in the States. The other day I spent some time with one of the main scientists of the show, Joy Reidenberg, an anatomist at Mount Sinai School of Medicine. I’ve written a profile of her, both as a researcher who’s discovering fascinating new things about whales, and as that most improbable thing: a celebrity anatomist. Check it out.

Be sure to take a look at the extras on the page, such as the podcast, video, and graphic instructions for how to dissect a 50-ton whale.

[Photo courtesy of Joy Reidenberg]

Originally published February 6, 2012. Copyright 2012 Carl Zimmer.

From Inside Lions and Leviathans, Anatomist Builds a Following

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The New York Times, February 6, 2012

Link

Joy Reidenberg’s trip from Dublin to New York in January 2009 was without a doubt the most embarrassing flight of her life.

Her skin gave off a foul stench, like a refrigerator that has gone days without power. She told the flight attendants she was sick, and they discreetly moved her to a seat by the lavatory. They told the other passengers that they were having a little trouble with the bathrooms.

In fact, Dr. Reidenberg was perfectly healthy. “The truth was too hard to explain,” she said: “ ‘Don’t mind me, I was inside a whale yesterday.’ ”

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