The Ed's Up #78

One year in...

Almost exactly a year ago, I got a deal to write my first book, an exploration of the incredible partnerships between animals and microbes. It's going according to schedule and if things continue apace, I CONTAIN MULTITUDES should appear in the middle of next year. I'll keep you updated as it progresses but, in the meantime, you can keep up with my reporting on this exciting and growing field on my blog. Speaking of which...
 

Surprises Emerge As More Hunter-Gatherer Microbiomes Come In

"Hold on, though. The Hadza and the Matses are not ancient people, and their microbes are not “ancient bacteria”, as one headline stated. They are modern people, carrying modern microbes, living in today’s world, and practicing traditional lifestyles. It would be misleading to romanticise them and to automatically assume that their microbiomes are healthier ones." (Image: Kiwi Explorer)
 

More good reads

• “Watch. Steven Haddock, one of the world experts on life-forms that make light, is about to nudge the animal with a glass stick.” Olivia Judson on the glowing creatures of the oceans.
• "Ellie Lobel was ready to die. Then she was attacked by bees... She thinks they saved her life." Incredible story by Christie Wilcox.
• Department of Unintended Consequences: Attempts to kill rattlesnakes accidentally killed off a snake-eating snake, leading to more venomous snakes. By Jason Goldman.
• Like a cosmic wrecking ball, Jupiter may have wiped ancient worlds off the map of our solar system. By Andrew Fazekas
• Deep, man. Real deep. An interactive journey to the centre of the Earth.                 
• “Scientists in Iceland have produced an unprecedented snapshot of a nation’s genetic makeup.” Carl Zimmer discusses what this means.
• 13 wonderful minutes of three women doing squirrel taxidermy – a new episode of Emily Graslie’s Brain Scoop. 
• Lonni Sue Johnson, a woman with uncommonly profound amnesia, “is assembling one of the world’s largest bodies of unfinished art.” Great story by Daniel Zalewski
•  “Goodall feels the opportunity closing. She says she hasn’t slept in the same bed for three consecutive weeks in more than 20 years.” Paul Tullis on Jane Goodall’s mission to save the remaining chimpanzees.
• Loving this piece from Robinson Meyer on spotting whales and elephants from space

 

More good links will be released in tomorrow's linkfest on Not Exactly Rocket Science.

You can also follow me on Twitter, find regular writing on my blog. If someone has forwarded this email to you, you can sign up yourself.

And that's it! Thanks for reading.

-Ed