Last year, I gave the keynote lecture at the first annual Northeast Conference on Science and Skepticism in New York. It was a nerve-wracking experience, given that James Randi was originally slated to give the keynote, but was too ill at the time to attend. So I brought some of my favorite head-slapping tales of the dysfunctional relationship between science and the media, from global warming disinformation to so-called missing links. My goals for the talk were laughter, tears, and a glimmer of hope.

Continue reading “Missing Links, George Will, and Other Train Wrecks: My Keynote Talk at NECSS” →

On my new podcast, I talk to Martin Blaser of New York University about Helicobacter pylori, best known as the microbe that causes ulcers. It’s also an ancient passenger in our stomachs, and has evolved a delicate balance with its human hosts. In fact, Blaser is worried by the disappearance of H. pylori from the modern world, thanks to antibiotics and hygiene. We may have to pay a price for its extinction, in the form of higher rates of asthma, esophageal cancer, and perhaps even obsesity. Check it out.

With this episode, the American Society for Microbiology is bringing the Meet the Scientist podcast series to a close. In the coming year, they’re going to be focusing their online efforts on some new projects you can look forward to on the Microbe World web site. (And they’ll be keepingall the episodes of Meet the Scientist on the site.) I’ve had a wonderful time over the past year hosting the podcast, and I’d like to thank all the scientists who shared their work with me and all the people at ASM who made this experience possible.

Originally published December 30, 2010. Copyright 2010 Carl Zimmer.

Scientific American has pulled my article on the complexity of brain networks out in front of their paywall. Check it out!

Update: Ack! For some people, it seems to be behind a paywall. I’ll get it onto carlzimmer.com when I get a chance.

Originally published December 29, 2010. Copyright 2010 Carl Zimmer.

I’ve been baffled by the spread of a non-story over the past couple days, about the supposed discovery of the oldest fossil of our species, doubling the age of our species from 200,000 years to 400,000 years and overturning the generally-accepted idea that Homo sapiens evolved in Africa.

Continue reading “Oldest Homo sapiens fossil? Journalistic vaporware” →

The next few months are shaping up to be pretty busy with talks. Here’s my list so far–more details to come as the dates approach, and more talks to be added soon. If you’re in the neighborhood (or at the meeting, as the case may be), come on by… Continue reading “Yammerings: the 2011 edition!” →