Glad to see an old tongue-eating friend is back in the news.
Originally published September 11, 2009. Copyright 2009 Carl Zimmer.
Recently I took a trip down to North Carolina to spend some time with Brian Hare, an anthropologist at Duke University who wants to understand how human nature evolved. While Hare spends a lot of time in Africa studying chimpanzees and bonobos, he also studies dogs. The social intelligence of dogs is not just interesting in itself, but also for the clues it offers about how we evolved. It’s possible that wolves became dogs in much the same way our chimp-like ancestors became human.
In the newest issue of Time, I’ve written a feature about canine cognition, and scientists like Hare who are trying to plumb its depths. Check it out.
(And be sure to also check out the photoessay of Hare’s new Center for Canine Cognition at Duke, from which this picture comes.)
Originally published September 10, 2009. Copyright 2009 Carl Zimmer.
I’ve spent part of my day working on my slides for my keynote address this Saturday at the Northeast Conference on Science and Skepticism. I’ll be talking about science and the news, and the weird new interactions they have these days. Darwinius and other stunning episodes will feature prominently. The whole day looks great. Hope to see some Loom readers there!
Originally published September 10, 2009. Copyright 2009 Carl Zimmer.
This video shows what happens inside a (straight) man’s brain in the first fraction of a second that he looks at a picture of a sexually desirable woman. There’s a lot going on in there–not just the flare-up of some primordial reptile brain. In my latest column for Discover, I take a look at the history of neuroscience’s exploration of desire, from the earliest studies on tumors that triggered orgasms to the latest in neuroimaging. Check it out.
[Video courtesy of Stephanie Ortigue of Syracuse University]
Your Brain on Sex from DISCOVERmagazine.com on Vimeo.
Originally published September 10, 2009. Copyright 2009 Carl Zimmer.