Carl Zimmer

@Carl_Zimmer
11.5K Followers
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461 Posts
Writer. Columnist, New York Times. Book author. Champion of under-appreciated life forms. Web: carlzimmer.com
My web sitehttps://carlzimmer.com/
More than you need to knowhttps://carlzimmer.com/about/bio/
Columns for NYThttps://www.nytimes.com/by/carl-zimmer
Carl Zimmer4d ago
Until now, scientists have identified only a few dozen variants of genes that went through natural selection in humans in the past 10,000 years. A new study claims to find hundreds--maybe thousands. Here's my story on the provocative research, and the mixed reception it's getting. Gift link: https://nyti.ms/4tSJH9G
Carl ZimmerApr 9
A three-decade long study of chimpanzees has revealed a primate version of a bloody civil war. It's now at risk of getting eliminated due to cuts at the National Science Foundation. My story here (gift link): https://nyti.ms/4mhr5NQ
Carl ZimmerApr 1
I wrote today about a big study on replication--and why it's so hard to know if a study will hold up or not. Gift link: https://nyti.ms/4sNu3MF
Can Science Predict When a Study Won’t Hold Up?

Conducting research is hard; confirming the results is, too. And artificial intelligence isn’t yet ready to help, a major new study finds.

The New York Times
Carl ZimmerMar 26
I have a story today about the quest to turn eggs into low-cost factories for medicines. Gift link: https://nyti.ms/4bzSabB
Carl ZimmerMar 9
"Russian flu," the pandemic that hit in 1977, bears an evolutionary signature of having emerged from a lab, perhaps as part of a failed vaccine effort. Covid, mpox, Ebola, and other influenza pandemics don't. Here's my story on a new way to trace the origins of pandemics. Gift link: https://nyti.ms/46N0W33
Viral Outbreaks Take a Common Path from Animals to People, Study Finds

Researchers have devised a new tool for discerning between naturally occurring viral outbreaks and those resulting from lab accidents.

The New York Times
Carl ZimmerMar 8
Greetings, good people of Tucson. I'll be on two panels at next weekend's book festival. Hope to see you there! https://tucsonfestivalofbooks.org/?action=display_author&id=1858
Carl ZimmerFeb 26
Neanderthals, modern humans, and the rules of attraction. Here's my story on a tantalizing study on mating preferences as far back as 250,000 years ago. Gift link: https://nyti.ms/4bcNzvy
What Your DNA Reveals About the Sex Life of Neanderthals

Most people alive today carry fragments of Neanderthal DNA in their genome. Now scientists are gaining a more intimate understanding of the ancient encounters that put it there.

The New York Times
Carl ZimmerFeb 23
The origin of our eyes over half a billion years ago is looking more and more weird--from a cyclops to four eyes to two. Here's my story (gift link): https://nyti.ms/4rzisQP
Carl ZimmerFeb 18
One of the biggest questions in biology is how complex cells evolved about 2 billion years ago. Here's my new story on how scientists are solving the mystery of eukaryotes like us. Gift link: https://nyti.ms/4qMbo22
How Microbes Got Their Crawl

In the oceans and on land, scientists are discovering rare, transitional organisms that bridge the gap between Earth’s simplest cells and today’s complex ones.

The New York Times
Carl ZimmerJan 28
I wrote today about AlphaGenome, Google DeepMind's AI for DNA. It's powerful, experts told me, but it won't solve the mysteries of the genome overnight. Gift link: https://nyti.ms/4k5NFIl
With AlphaGenome, Researchers Are Using A.I. to Decode the Human Blueprint

AlphaGenome is a leap forward in the ability to study the human blueprint. But the fine workings of our DNA are still largely a mystery.

The New York Times