If you’re in Greenwich Village on Friday and have some free time in the afternoon, come by to hear me give a talk during a conference at NYU called “Darwin and the Boundaries of Science.”
Discover, April 14, 2009
There is nothing more humbling or more perception-changing than holding a human brain in your hands. I discovered this recently at a brain-cutting lesson given by Jean-Paul Vonsattel, a neuropathologist at Columbia University. These lessons take place every month in a cold, windowless room deep within the university’s College of Physicians and Surgeons. On the day I visited, there were half a dozen brains sitting on a table. Vonsattel began by passing them around so the medical students could take a closer look. When a brain came my way, I cradled it and found myself puzzling over its mirror symmetry. It was as if someone had glued two smaller brains together to make a bigger one.
Continue reading “The Big Similarities & Quirky Differences Between Our Left and Right Brains”
Excellent lecture on parasites from Jim McKerrow, courtesy of FORA.TV. McKerrow helped me out long ago with information and pictures of blood flukes when I was writing Parasite Rex. But he can deliver great tales about all sorts of critters inside you.
Originally published April 13, 2009. Copyright 2009 Carl Zimmer.
From Rob Wesel, meteorite-lover and -purveyor.
Continue reading “Eye of Newt, Oil of Meteorite [Science Tattoo Emporium]”
Microcosm will be coming out in paperback in July, but the new cover is already posted online. I like the design very much, although I must admit I’m crossing my fingers that in a couple weeks we’ll need to make a last-minute change…
Originally published April 9, 2009. Copyright 2009 Carl Zimmer.