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]
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...
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...
Here's a figure from the lead author of the new study that lays out the rules of the game.
January 6, 2026 at 4:21 PM
Here's a figure from the lead author of the new study that lays out the rules of the game.
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
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
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
Scientists scanned people in an fMRI as they listened to me talk about my book She Has Her Mother's Laugh. I altered their brains! (Or at least my semantics did...)
December 22, 2025 at 3:55 PM
Scientists scanned people in an fMRI as they listened to me talk about my book She Has Her Mother's Laugh. I altered their brains! (Or at least my semantics did...)
Given all the recent buzz about how great ChatGPT has gotten, including its prowess with images, I figured I'd check in on its anatomical skills. Nope.
December 19, 2025 at 3:35 PM
Given all the recent buzz about how great ChatGPT has gotten, including its prowess with images, I figured I'd check in on its anatomical skills. Nope.
Scientists have found the oldest evidence yet of humans making fires--400,000 years ago in England. Here's my story on the discovery and what it says about the minds of our ancestors. Gift link: nyti.ms/4q0Ls2q [Photo via Andrea H flic.kr/p/4cnSq ]
December 10, 2025 at 4:38 PM
Scientists have found the oldest evidence yet of humans making fires--400,000 years ago in England. Here's my story on the discovery and what it says about the minds of our ancestors. Gift link: nyti.ms/4q0Ls2q [Photo via Andrea H flic.kr/p/4cnSq ]
This was waiting for me in the driveway. Long live print!
December 9, 2025 at 3:46 PM
This was waiting for me in the driveway. Long live print!
A new review explores one of the themes of my book Air-Borne: our lungs are like the ocean. Both send life into the atmosphere. pubs.acs.org/doi/full/10....
December 7, 2025 at 9:26 PM
A new review explores one of the themes of my book Air-Borne: our lungs are like the ocean. Both send life into the atmosphere. pubs.acs.org/doi/full/10....
Halted NIH Clinical Trials List Reveals Slashed Treatments for Cancer, COVID and Minority Health. By @danvergano.bsky.social www.scientificamerican.com/article/halt...
November 20, 2025 at 9:53 PM
Halted NIH Clinical Trials List Reveals Slashed Treatments for Cancer, COVID and Minority Health. By @danvergano.bsky.social www.scientificamerican.com/article/halt...
I never expected that AI would flood authors with scam emails from "private" "communities" of "readers." One of many examples from the past few weeks:
November 20, 2025 at 4:42 PM
I never expected that AI would flood authors with scam emails from "private" "communities" of "readers." One of many examples from the past few weeks:
Thanks to everyone who ordered signed books last week! I still have some copies left of Air-Borne and Life's Edge that I can autograph. Fill out this form if you'd like one (or two!) for the gift-giving season. docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...
November 11, 2025 at 3:50 PM
Thanks to everyone who ordered signed books last week! I still have some copies left of Air-Borne and Life's Edge that I can autograph. Fill out this form if you'd like one (or two!) for the gift-giving season. docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...
An engineer wanted to make a quiet high-speed train. “The question then occurred to me — is there some living thing that manages sudden changes in air resistance as a part of daily life?” The answer: the kingfisher. See my story today for more tales of bioinspiration. Gift link: nyti.ms/4otNQyl
November 10, 2025 at 5:10 PM
An engineer wanted to make a quiet high-speed train. “The question then occurred to me — is there some living thing that manages sudden changes in air resistance as a part of daily life?” The answer: the kingfisher. See my story today for more tales of bioinspiration. Gift link: nyti.ms/4otNQyl
I wrote some reflections this afternoon about how the discovery of the double helix changed the course of science. Gift link: nyti.ms/4qPS3y6
November 8, 2025 at 3:43 AM
I wrote some reflections this afternoon about how the discovery of the double helix changed the course of science. Gift link: nyti.ms/4qPS3y6
With the gift-giving season upon us, how about an autographed book? You can order one (or more!) here: docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...
November 4, 2025 at 12:21 AM
With the gift-giving season upon us, how about an autographed book? You can order one (or more!) here: docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...
Here's my latest contribution to the "Lost Science" series at the New York Times: Jay Falk, a scientist who studies why some female hummingbirds look just like males. Gift link: nyti.ms/4qF7Qje
October 30, 2025 at 2:05 PM
Here's my latest contribution to the "Lost Science" series at the New York Times: Jay Falk, a scientist who studies why some female hummingbirds look just like males. Gift link: nyti.ms/4qF7Qje
How bowhead whales live for centuries—and how we might borrow some of their biology to extend our healthy lifespan. Gift link to my new column: nyti.ms/4hyD9ry
October 29, 2025 at 4:33 PM
How bowhead whales live for centuries—and how we might borrow some of their biology to extend our healthy lifespan. Gift link to my new column: nyti.ms/4hyD9ry
Pandas, snow leopards...and bacteria. A newly formed team of scientists is setting out to conserve the world's diversity of microbes. Here's my story: nyti.ms/47vEfRC
October 17, 2025 at 12:58 PM
Pandas, snow leopards...and bacteria. A newly formed team of scientists is setting out to conserve the world's diversity of microbes. Here's my story: nyti.ms/47vEfRC
Wall-to-wall Ambulocetus!
September 25, 2025 at 8:32 PM
Wall-to-wall Ambulocetus!
Hello @notredame.bsky.social ! Looking forward to my lecture tomorrow. Details here: science.nd.edu/events/2025/...
September 24, 2025 at 9:03 PM
Hello @notredame.bsky.social ! Looking forward to my lecture tomorrow. Details here: science.nd.edu/events/2025/...
How Did Hands Evolve? The Answer Is Behind You. (My story of some surprising evo-devo!) nyti.ms/42Cg8xH
September 17, 2025 at 9:21 PM
How Did Hands Evolve? The Answer Is Behind You. (My story of some surprising evo-devo!) nyti.ms/42Cg8xH
It's been six months since I started tracking the dire science news in my newsletter. For a long time, it felt like an ominous ocean swell. Now it feels like a breaking wave.
buttondown.com/carlzimmer/a...
buttondown.com/carlzimmer/a...
September 6, 2025 at 2:51 PM
It's been six months since I started tracking the dire science news in my newsletter. For a long time, it felt like an ominous ocean swell. Now it feels like a breaking wave.
buttondown.com/carlzimmer/a...
buttondown.com/carlzimmer/a...