In March, six men entered a London hospital to receive an experimental drug. The men were volunteers, and the drug–a potential treatment for arthritis and leukemia–appeared from animal tests to be safe. But within minutes of the first round of doses, there was trouble. The men complained of headaches, of intolerable heat and cold. The drug made one man’s limbs turned blue, while another’s head swelled like a balloon. Doctors gave them steroids to counteract the side-effect, and managed to save their lives. But several ended up on life support for a time, and they all may suffer lifelong disruptions to their immune systems.

Continue reading “Wanted: Hominids for Clinical Drug Trials” →

Today I’ve got an article in the New York Times about the report in Nature that starlings can recognize syntax-like patterns in songs, and what that might mean–if anything–for the evolution of language. The blogs have been buzzing about the study since it came out on Wednesday, with the Language Log logging in several complaints about bad science and bad reporting. (Fortunately, they gave me a pass, and I hope not merely because I’m the brother of one of the bloggers there!) 

Continue reading “Speak, Starling” →

The Loom gathered a bit of dust over the past couple weeks as I grappled with another round of deadlines for work that actually pays the mortgage. Life should now get relaxed enough for more blogging, I hope–starting this evening. And as the articles I’ve been working on come out in the next few weeks, I’ll point you to the links–starting with my recent (brief but free) take  on the new fossil of snakes with legs for the New York Times. And speaking of evolutionary transitions, I’m also happy to bring news of a cool new project, called Kosmos: You Are Here. It’s an e-book on the history of life and the universe.

Continue reading “Snakes, Universes, and the Rest” →