I’m heading to Boston on Friday to speak at the Harvard Book Store about Microcosm. It’s at 7 pm, and it’s free. Information is here. Then it’s on to Chicago, where I’ll be talking at the Field Museum on Saturday at 2. Here are the details. I hope some Loom readers can make it! (For those who don’t live in either fine city, please check my talk page.) 

Originally published May 12, 2008. Copyright 2008 Carl Zimmer.

Kate writes:

“I thought I’d send you a photo of my tattoo. I guess it fits into the ‘anthropology’ category although I’m actually a vet (I’ve seen exactly one deer in a professional capacity since I graduated). It’s a copy of a tattoo found on the Pazyryk mummy, a 2,400 year old Scythian, possibly a shaman. I’ve heard that it’s the oldest known tattoo found on a woman, but I’m not sure whether that’s correct. It was done to celebrate the end of a 1, 200 mile walk from John O Groats to Land’s End back in 2002. I’ve heard of other people with it, but haven’t seen any, so I’d be interested to find out if any of your other readers have the same one. Not as cool as some, but I like it!”

Continue reading “Everyone say, “Pazyryk”” →

Ben, a philosopher of science grad student, writes:

“Darwin sketched the great tree of life and as a philosopher of science and I endeavor to help to complete his project. ‘Metaphysics must flourish, he who understands baboon would do more for metaphysics than Locke’- I believe that by analyzing the universe underneath the lens of evolution we can come to complete Darwin’s project. Darwin, more so than any other great thinker, has provided humanity with an explanation for its existence.”

Click here to go to the full Science Tattoo Emporium. 

Originally published May 12, 2008. Copyright 2008 Carl Zimmer.

As long as I can remember, I’ve been a fan of George Johnson’s writing about science. He has always kept focus on the deep mysteries of existence, even while writing in a deliciously clear style. So it was a real pleasure to talk to him on bloggingheads.tv about my own book, Microcosm. Even though we spent lots of time wondering what E. coli tells us about the universal rules of life itself, we still found time to talk about what it’s like to have sex in a Waring blender. Check it out. (And to all those insomniacs–don’t forget, I’ll be on the radio on Coast to Coast AM tonight at 1 am.)

Continue reading “Sex In A Blender: The Microcosm Edition of Bloggingheads” →