Carl Zimmer
@carlzimmer.com
NYT columnist. Signal: carlzimmer.51
Newsletter: https://buttondown.com/carlzimmer/
Web: http://carlzimmer.com
[This account includes a tweet archive]
Newsletter: https://buttondown.com/carlzimmer/
Web: http://carlzimmer.com
[This account includes a tweet archive]
Pinned
Carl Zimmer
@carlzimmer.com
· 16d
The @nytimes.com Lost Science series continues. Here's my Q&A with a scientist who was studying how wildfire smoke threatens human health when the EPA decided that her research was no longer a funding priority. Gift link: nyti.ms/4jhpw14
I talked to the podcast "Explain It To Me" about why we still struggle with the flu and the common cold. Don't underestimate the power of viruses! Spotify: open.spotify.com/episode/3r0h... Apple: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/w...
Why everyone is sick right now
Podcast Episode · Explain It to Me · 01/11/2026 · 30m
podcasts.apple.com
January 12, 2026 at 7:11 PM
I talked to the podcast "Explain It To Me" about why we still struggle with the flu and the common cold. Don't underestimate the power of viruses! Spotify: open.spotify.com/episode/3r0h... Apple: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/w...
Reposted by Carl Zimmer
Scoop: The EPA will no longer estimate the lives saved by reducing air pollution when writing clean-air regulations, according to documents reviewed by @nytimes.com.
Gift link: www.nytimes.com/2026/01/12/c...
Gift link: www.nytimes.com/2026/01/12/c...
E.P.A. to Stop Considering Lives Saved When Setting Rules on Air Pollution
www.nytimes.com
January 12, 2026 at 5:07 PM
Scoop: The EPA will no longer estimate the lives saved by reducing air pollution when writing clean-air regulations, according to documents reviewed by @nytimes.com.
Gift link: www.nytimes.com/2026/01/12/c...
Gift link: www.nytimes.com/2026/01/12/c...
Reposted by Carl Zimmer
Maryland health officials are investigating possible measles exposures after a person with a confirmed case traveled through the region on an Amtrak train. buff.ly/u1s9SQP
Measles case prompts exposure warning in Maryland on Amtrak, BWI shuttles
Maryland health officials are investigating possible measles exposures after a person with a confirmed case traveled through the region on an Amtrak train.
buff.ly
January 12, 2026 at 2:06 PM
Maryland health officials are investigating possible measles exposures after a person with a confirmed case traveled through the region on an Amtrak train. buff.ly/u1s9SQP
UCSF scientists build brain organoids at scale equipped with blood vessels, "leading to high fidelity neurodevelopment." Preprint: www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
January 11, 2026 at 2:40 PM
UCSF scientists build brain organoids at scale equipped with blood vessels, "leading to high fidelity neurodevelopment." Preprint: www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
Ocean Warming Breaks Record for Ninth Straight Year insideclimatenews.org/news/0901202...
Ocean Warming Breaks Record for Ninth Straight Year - Inside Climate News
Every second of last year, the Earth’s oceans absorbed the equivalent in energy to 12 Hiroshima-sized atomic bombs. Global ocean heat content (OHC) increased for the ninth consecutive year in 2025, a...
insideclimatenews.org
January 10, 2026 at 5:03 PM
Ocean Warming Breaks Record for Ninth Straight Year insideclimatenews.org/news/0901202...
Congress Set to Finalize Science Budgets Rejecting Trump Cuts www.aip.org/fyi/congress...
Congress Set to Finalize Science Budgets Rejecting Trump Cuts
The bipartisan deal still reduces funding for many science agencies, including NSF and NASA.
www.aip.org
January 10, 2026 at 4:51 PM
Congress Set to Finalize Science Budgets Rejecting Trump Cuts www.aip.org/fyi/congress...
I talked to @latif.bsky.social at @radiolab.bsky.social about brain organoids for their new episode. Listen here: radiolab.org/podcast/brai...
Brain Balls
Scientists can now grow tiny, human brain balls. They’re useful, but are they alive?
radiolab.org
January 9, 2026 at 3:47 PM
I talked to @latif.bsky.social at @radiolab.bsky.social about brain organoids for their new episode. Listen here: radiolab.org/podcast/brai...
Chicago, I'm headed your way to talk about the state of science in America. Register here: events.uchicago.edu/event/259056...
January 8, 2026 at 6:24 PM
Chicago, I'm headed your way to talk about the state of science in America. Register here: events.uchicago.edu/event/259056...
Reposted by Carl Zimmer
Storied newspaper chain McClatchy recently shuttered its Washington bureau and laid off staff. Now its told union leaders it wants to publish AI-generated stories without human review and create AI impersonations of reporters for podcasts.
The scoop in @status.news www.status.news/p/mcclatchy-...
The scoop in @status.news www.status.news/p/mcclatchy-...
McClatchy’s Machine Mindset
A recent meeting with McClatchy executives left union leaders stunned and deeply alarmed about how the company wishes to implement A.I. in the newsroom, Status has learned.
www.status.news
January 8, 2026 at 1:40 PM
Storied newspaper chain McClatchy recently shuttered its Washington bureau and laid off staff. Now its told union leaders it wants to publish AI-generated stories without human review and create AI impersonations of reporters for podcasts.
The scoop in @status.news www.status.news/p/mcclatchy-...
The scoop in @status.news www.status.news/p/mcclatchy-...
Here is my first newsletter of the year, on the destruction of science past and future. buttondown.com/carlzimmer/a...
January 7, 2026 at 2:45 PM
Here is my first newsletter of the year, on the destruction of science past and future. buttondown.com/carlzimmer/a...
Reposted by Carl Zimmer
"I’m going to pause here just to review: an institution that purports to be a university has told a philosophy professor he is forbidden from teaching Plato."
surreal times
dailynous.com/2026/01/06/t...
surreal times
dailynous.com/2026/01/06/t...
Texas A&M Bans Plato - Daily Nous
Drop the race and gender material from your course and the Plato readings, or teach a different course. You have a day to decide. That's a paraphrase of what Martin Peterson, professor of philosophy a...
dailynous.com
January 7, 2026 at 10:36 AM
"I’m going to pause here just to review: an institution that purports to be a university has told a philosophy professor he is forbidden from teaching Plato."
surreal times
dailynous.com/2026/01/06/t...
surreal times
dailynous.com/2026/01/06/t...
Reposted by Carl Zimmer
This is a delightful story as well as impressive science & I love @carlzimmer.com for including this bit (gift link):
www.nytimes.com/2026/01/01/s...
www.nytimes.com/2026/01/01/s...
January 7, 2026 at 1:59 AM
This is a delightful story as well as impressive science & I love @carlzimmer.com for including this bit (gift link):
www.nytimes.com/2026/01/01/s...
www.nytimes.com/2026/01/01/s...
Reposted by Carl Zimmer
From an email to one of our faculty members....
Not even Plato can escape censorship at Texas A&M!
Not even Plato can escape censorship at Texas A&M!
January 6, 2026 at 8:15 PM
From an email to one of our faculty members....
Not even Plato can escape censorship at Texas A&M!
Not even Plato can escape censorship at Texas A&M!
Lizards have evolved their own version of rock-paper-scissors. Here's my story on the genetics behind nature's games. Gift link: nyti.ms/493KGMI
January 6, 2026 at 4:21 PM
Lizards have evolved their own version of rock-paper-scissors. Here's my story on the genetics behind nature's games. Gift link: nyti.ms/493KGMI
Appeals Court Upholds Prohibition on Trump’s Medical Research Cuts. Gift link: nyti.ms/4qDnkmR
nyti.ms
January 6, 2026 at 3:12 PM
Appeals Court Upholds Prohibition on Trump’s Medical Research Cuts. Gift link: nyti.ms/4qDnkmR
Congress set to reject Trump’s major budget cuts to NSF, NASA, and energy science. Story by @policyhound.bsky.social www.science.org/content/arti...
Congress set to reject Trump’s major budget cuts to NSF, NASA, and energy science
Appropriators agree instead to keep this year’s spending nearly level
www.science.org
January 6, 2026 at 3:07 PM
Congress set to reject Trump’s major budget cuts to NSF, NASA, and energy science. Story by @policyhound.bsky.social www.science.org/content/arti...
Reposted by Carl Zimmer
1). The US is in the middle of the worst flu season in a decade.
2). Pertussis cases are the highest they have been in 20 years.
3). Measles has rebounded and elimination status has been lost.
RFK.Jr. has not recommended vaccination, instead he is aggressively rolling back vaccine policy.
2). Pertussis cases are the highest they have been in 20 years.
3). Measles has rebounded and elimination status has been lost.
RFK.Jr. has not recommended vaccination, instead he is aggressively rolling back vaccine policy.
January 5, 2026 at 8:42 PM
1). The US is in the middle of the worst flu season in a decade.
2). Pertussis cases are the highest they have been in 20 years.
3). Measles has rebounded and elimination status has been lost.
RFK.Jr. has not recommended vaccination, instead he is aggressively rolling back vaccine policy.
2). Pertussis cases are the highest they have been in 20 years.
3). Measles has rebounded and elimination status has been lost.
RFK.Jr. has not recommended vaccination, instead he is aggressively rolling back vaccine policy.
Reposted by Carl Zimmer
BREAKING: Federal health officials on Monday announced dramatic revisions to the slate of vaccines recommended for American children, reducing the number of diseases prevented by routine shots to 11 from 17.
www.nytimes.com/2026/01/05/h...
www.nytimes.com/2026/01/05/h...
Kennedy Scales Back the Number of Vaccines Recommended for Children
www.nytimes.com
January 5, 2026 at 7:01 PM
BREAKING: Federal health officials on Monday announced dramatic revisions to the slate of vaccines recommended for American children, reducing the number of diseases prevented by routine shots to 11 from 17.
www.nytimes.com/2026/01/05/h...
www.nytimes.com/2026/01/05/h...
Here's my latest contribution to the @nytimes "Lost Science" series. Brenna Henn's sweeping study of African genetics has been frozen. Gift link: nyti.ms/3Ypmm1A
January 5, 2026 at 5:32 PM
Here's my latest contribution to the @nytimes "Lost Science" series. Brenna Henn's sweeping study of African genetics has been frozen. Gift link: nyti.ms/3Ypmm1A
New York Times obituary for my dad. www.nytimes.com/2026/01/02/n...
Dick Zimmer, N.J. Congressman Who Sponsored Megan’s Law, Dies at 81
www.nytimes.com
January 2, 2026 at 10:38 PM
New York Times obituary for my dad. www.nytimes.com/2026/01/02/n...
My dad died last night. Here's a story that came out today about his career in politics. newjerseyglobe.com/in-memoriam/...
Dick Zimmer, former congressman and U.S. Senate contender, dies at 81 - New Jersey Globe
Richard A. Zimmer, a three-term Republican congressman from Hunterdon County and longtime state legislator who ran a competitive race for U.S. Senate in
newjerseyglobe.com
January 1, 2026 at 7:05 PM
My dad died last night. Here's a story that came out today about his career in politics. newjerseyglobe.com/in-memoriam/...
Reposted by Carl Zimmer
Eight years ago, the US govt's malaria program took over the fight against the disease in northern Cameroon, one of the worst-affected places in the world, and went at it with all guns blazing. In March, it shut down overnight. I traveled there to see what came next. www.nytimes.com/2025/12/28/h...
How Cameroon Fought to Save Its Malaria Program After the U.S. Cut Critical Funding
www.nytimes.com
December 28, 2025 at 4:08 PM
Eight years ago, the US govt's malaria program took over the fight against the disease in northern Cameroon, one of the worst-affected places in the world, and went at it with all guns blazing. In March, it shut down overnight. I traveled there to see what came next. www.nytimes.com/2025/12/28/h...
Reposted by Carl Zimmer
I spoke with @carlzimmer.com about our terminated grant on wildfire smoke and homes:
The @nytimes.com Lost Science series continues. Here's my Q&A with a scientist who was studying how wildfire smoke threatens human health when the EPA decided that her research was no longer a funding priority. Gift link: nyti.ms/4jhpw14
December 28, 2025 at 2:36 PM
I spoke with @carlzimmer.com about our terminated grant on wildfire smoke and homes:
The @nytimes.com Lost Science series continues. Here's my Q&A with a scientist who was studying how wildfire smoke threatens human health when the EPA decided that her research was no longer a funding priority. Gift link: nyti.ms/4jhpw14
December 27, 2025 at 5:11 PM
The @nytimes.com Lost Science series continues. Here's my Q&A with a scientist who was studying how wildfire smoke threatens human health when the EPA decided that her research was no longer a funding priority. Gift link: nyti.ms/4jhpw14
Reposted by Carl Zimmer
On DOGE’s watch, federal spending did not go down at all. It went up. But is still led to cuts that closed offices, canceled programs and deprived people of food, medicine and other aid.
www.nytimes.com/2025/12/23/u...
www.nytimes.com/2025/12/23/u...
How Did DOGE Disrupt So Much While Saving So Little?
www.nytimes.com
December 23, 2025 at 4:29 PM
On DOGE’s watch, federal spending did not go down at all. It went up. But is still led to cuts that closed offices, canceled programs and deprived people of food, medicine and other aid.
www.nytimes.com/2025/12/23/u...
www.nytimes.com/2025/12/23/u...