Did pregnancy tests help drive frogs extinct around the world? In my latest podcast, I talk to wildlife disease expert Peter Daszak about his research on how germs can drive animal species to extinctions, and jump from animals to us. Check it out.
Originally published April 7, 2010. Copyright 2010 Carl Zimmer.
Ed Yong, thankfully, is all over a new study on how the microbes in the guts Japanese people acquired genes from ocean germs to digest sushi. It’s yet another example of the mind-blowing science emerging from the study of our microbiome–the trillions of non-human organisms that share our body with us. For more on the microbiome, listen to my recent podcast with microbiomist (I just made that up, but it feels so right) Rob Knight.
I’d have blogged on this too, but I’m busy with something in the works for tomorrow. Stay tuned.
Originally published April 7, 2010. Copyright 2010 Carl Zimmer.
A commenter takes a microbe-lover to task. It’s on! Jonathan Eisen, we await your flying scissor kick!
[Link to comment fixed]
Originally published April 6, 2010. Copyright 2010 Carl Zimmer.
This August I will be teaching a week-long writing course on Appledore Island in the Gulf of Maine. Last year, the first time around, we had a blast, embarking on an Ahab-like quest for hagfish, observing the role played by mind-controlling parasites in the ecology of the island’s tidal zone, learning how to use broken 300-year-old pipe stems and cod ear bones to reconstruct American’s first economic boom, and much more. (Here are some articles the students wrote about their experiences.)
This year promises to be just as much fun (and intense).
The deadline for registering is April 16. You can register and get more information on the course page at the Shoals Marine Lab web site. (Shoals is jointly run by Cornell and the University of New Hampshire.) For those beyond college interested in the class, here are some details about taking the course non-credit.
Originally published April 5, 2010. Copyright 2010 Carl Zimmer.
A couple of my articles are included in a new book, The New York Times Reader: Science and Technology. Edited by S. Holly Stocking, it’s an anthology that can stand on its own, or serve as reading for a journalism class. Here’s a description of the book from the publisher’s web site:
Science writing poses specific challenges: Science writers must engage their audiences while also explaining unfamiliar scientific concepts and processes. Further, they must illuminate arcane research methods and statistics and at the same time cope with scientific ignorance and uncertainty. Stocking’s volume not only tackles these challenges, but also includes extraordinary breadth in story selection, from prize-winning narratives, profiles and explanatory pieces to accounts of scientific meetings and new discoveries, Q&As, traditional trend and issue stories, reviews, essays and blog posts. These Times exemplars, together with Stocking’s guide to reading stories about science and technology, are perfect for science writers who aspire to diversify and hone their reporting and writing skills in a changing media climate. Holly Stocking is an experienced science writer, award-winning teacher, and a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.
You can order it from CQ Press. Here’s the Amazon page, too.
(Hat tip: Leigh Boerner)
Originally published April 5, 2010. Copyright 2010 Carl Zimmer.