The writing life can be lumpy. Last week was so quiet that I didn't bother sending out a Friday's Elk. Today, on the other hand, I've got a batch of things to tell you about.
I'm a huge fan of the Longform podcast, a weekly interview with journalists about their careers and how they do their work. When I teach writing, I always make sure to include links to some Longform episodes on the syllabus so that students can get a sense of what it's really like to be a journalist.
This week they had me on their show. I talked with Evan Ratliff (founder of the Atavist and a fine journalist in his own right) about the consolations of science, about finding stories, and a childhood puzzlement over ticks. You can listen here.
A century ago, scientists discovered viruses that kill bacteria. They started using them as a way to fight infections, a method called phage therapy. But when antibiotics arose, phage therapy faded away from medicine in the United States and Europe. For Stat, I've written a story about scientists who are trying to bring phage therapy back to the west. They injected viruses discovered in a lake into a man's chest to save his life. Check it out.
This week I have a new Science Happens! video for Stat. I paid a visit to a lab where scientists have built a gigantic petri dish the size of a ping-pong table. They can observe bacteria evolve resistance to antibiotics in real time. You can watch it here.
For my latest "Matter" column for the New York Times, I take a look at the evolution of speech. People naturally learn to speak, but other primates have never been documented to do so. A team of scientists who have video-taped monkeys have concluded that they have the anatomical wherewithal for human speech. The crucial differences may therefore be in the brain. You can read my column here.
January 28-29, 2017 Rancho Mirage Writers Festival
March 2-3, 2017 San Diego. The Future of Genome Medicine. Details here.
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Best wishes, Carl
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