Greetings! Here are some things I've been up to...
Charles Darwin warned that studying the origin of species wouldn't be easy. When we look around at distinct species alive today, we're looking at the tips of evolutionary branches that reach back thousands or millions of years. But sometimes scientists catch a break. Today in the
New York Times,
I write about a species of crayfish that leaped into existence thanks to a single mutation about 25 years ago. And ever since, it's been spreading like wildfire.
Can Famines Reprogram People For Life?
The Netherlands suffered through a six-month famine during World War II. Ever since, researchers have been studying the shadow it has cast over Dutch people's health. Some studies suggest that the children of women who were pregnant during the Hunger Winter have experienced a greater risk for a range of problems, both psychological and physical, throughout their lives.
Here's a piece I wrote about a new study on the way that epigenetics may have played a role in that long-lasting effect.
The Genes Inside You--And Around You
Genes can influence our lives in many ways--including how long we stay in school. But when scientists discover a gene that can add or subtract a few weeks to that total time, they have to be careful. It's possible that the gene doesn't have any influence on how children do in school or at their homework. Instead, they may simply share a gene with their parents--a gene that influences how those parents build an environment that can influence how long children stay in school. While working on
my story about a new study that documented this effect, I found that psychologists were very excited by the results--while biologists and animal breeding experts had a sense of deja vu. They've known about this phenomenon--which they call indirect genetic effects--for decades. I wonder how many other concepts have yet to take the leap over the barriers separating scientific disciplines?
Four Months Left Till Pub Day!
May 29--the publication date for
She Has Her Mother's Laugh: The Power, Perversions, and Potential of Heredity--is not that far away. I'll have more news to share in the next four months, including a book giveaway. In the meantime--here's a fresh batch of nice words people have to say about the book...
“
She Has Her Mother’s Laugh is at once far-ranging, imaginative, and totally relevant. Carl Zimmer makes the complex science of heredity read like a novel, and explains why the subject has been–and always will be–so vexed.”—
Elizabeth Kolbert,
New Yorker staff writer and author of Pulitzer Prize winner
The Sixth Extinction
“One of the most gifted science journalists of his generation, Carl Zimmer tells a gripping human story about heredity from misguided notions that have caused terrible harm to recent ongoing research that promises to unleash more powerful technologies than the world has ever known. The breadth of his perspective is extraordinarily compelling, compassionate, and valuable. Please read this book now.” —
Jennifer Doudna, professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at UC Berkeley, co-author of
A Crack in Creation
“Zimmer is a born story-teller. Or is he an inherited story-teller? The inspiring and heartbreaking stories in
She Has Her Mother’s Laugh build a fundamentally new perspective on what previous generations have delivered to us, and what we can pass along. An outstanding book and great accomplishment.”—
Daniel Levitin, McGill University, author of
The Organized Mind and
This is Your Brain on Music
“With this book, Carl Zimmer rises from being our best biological science writer to being one of our very best non-fiction writers in any field, period.”—
Kevin Padian, professor of Integrative Biology and curator of Museum of Paleontology at UC Berkeley
“Nobody writes about science better than Carl Zimmer. As entertaining as he is informative, he has a way of turning the discoveries of science into deeply moving human stories. This book is a timely account of the uses and misuses of some of the science that directly impact our lives today. It is also a career moment by one of our most important and graceful writers. Here is a book to be savored.”—
Neil Shubin, University of Chicago, author of
Your Inner Fish
"In this beautifully written, heartfelt and enjoyable masterpiece, Zimmer weaves together history, autobiography and science to elucidate the mysteries of heredity and why we should care. I couldn't put this book down, and can’t recommend it too highly."
Daniel E. Lieberman, Harvard University, author of
The Story of the Human Body
Upcoming Talks
February 15, 2018, Rochester, NY:
Neilly Series Lecture. "A Voyage to the Center of the Brain."
(More to come!)
My latest book, She Has Her Mother's Laugh: The Power, Perversions, and Potential of Heredity,
comes out in May. You can pre-order it here. You can find information and ordering links for my other books here. You can also follow me on Twitter, Facebook, Goodreads. LinkedIn, and Google+. If someone forwarded this email to you, you can subscribe to it here.
Best wishes, Carl 
Introducing A New Series on The Future (and Past) of Genetics
A Visit to An Ancient DNA Lab
A "DNA Autopsy" of a Mysterious Mummy
