I’ve Got Your Missing Links Right Here (23 January 2016)
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Top picks
From me at the Atlantic:
- Consoling Voles Hint at Animal Empathy
- Venus Flytraps Are Even Creepier Than We Thought
- The Fairy Tales That Predate Christianity
- Dissolvable Brain Sensors Disintegrate Once Their Job Is Done
- American Homes Are Filled With Bugs
“I’m a climate scientist who has just been told I have Stage 4 pancreatic cancer.” By Piers J. Sellers
“It’s everything wrong with modern-day science-by-press-release in one anecdote.” By Julie Belluz
Amazing story about a woman with disappearing muscles who diagnosed both her genetic diseases, and found kinship with an muscular Olympic medalist. By David Epstein. There are such stark parallels with my story from last year on an extreme athlete who uncovered her own genetic flaw.
This feature on the feral chickens of Kauai, by Ewen Callaway, is a total delight, from start to finish.
A huge new titanosaur is unveiled at the AMNH, and in an upcoming BBC documentary
The Woman Who Made Science Beautiful. By Andrea Wulf.
“They’ll say, ‘The next day I doubled the dose. Then I halved it.’ What the **** are you doing? Shut up.” Rose Eveleth on inept biohacking.
Those weird shapes you sometimes see floating in your vision are actually real. They’re called eye floaters.
Robert Krulwich on a fish trapped in a drop of water in microgravity
Science
Controversial CRISPR history sets off an online firestorm
THWACKEL! Comprehensive list of 60s Batman sound effects.
Buffalo tries to ram an elephant, and loses. Badly.
On being a queer primatologist.
Humans speared the crap out of this poor mammoth 10,000 years before anyone suspected that would have.
Because of Zika, CDC recommends pregnant women not to travel to 14 countries, including Brazil, site of the 2016 Olympics
Ancient ‘massacre’ unearthed near Lake Turkana, Kenya
No one knows why a French clinical trial went horribly wrong because details of the drug aren’t being disclosed
“Four years ago, my wife’s genetic test report came back positive.” Eric Minikel on his quest to find out what it meant.
New evidence for giant plant on fringes of the Solar System, known as Planet Nine, or Phattie, wait, what?
For comic fans, there’s much to love in this analysis of the metafictional Secret Wars
Eric Lander’s Contested History of CRISPR
“The spectrum has been stretched to the breaking point,” New Yorker piece on autism
Machimosaurus rex was a marine crocodile twice as long as a great white shark
Earliest painting of a volcanic eruption, or something really bad happening to that deer?
Papers showing harmful effects of GM crops being investigated for data manipulation.
Many of the 64 beaver dams noted in this 19th-century map are still standing today
In which Ross Andersen pesters poor Freeman Dyson about Planet Nine and interstellar slingshots
The Sound That Comes From Nowhere.
Junk DNA: a bunch of HOTAIR
On the shaky science of probiotics
A rare disease killed her mother. Can this scientist save herself?
2015: so hot right now.
Miscellaneous
Solid work, headline writer.
How to Not Fly an Airplane
“I say in the voice of a somnolent robot, “My engine room is explosion.” Veronique Greenwood on odd jobs in China
Go Further
Animals
- Octopuses have a lot of secrets. Can you guess 8 of them?
- Animals
- Feature
Octopuses have a lot of secrets. Can you guess 8 of them? - This biologist and her rescue dog help protect bears in the AndesThis biologist and her rescue dog help protect bears in the Andes
- An octopus invited this writer into her tank—and her secret worldAn octopus invited this writer into her tank—and her secret world
- Peace-loving bonobos are more aggressive than we thoughtPeace-loving bonobos are more aggressive than we thought
Environment
- This ancient society tried to stop El Niño—with child sacrificeThis ancient society tried to stop El Niño—with child sacrifice
- U.S. plans to clean its drinking water. What does that mean?U.S. plans to clean its drinking water. What does that mean?
- Food systems: supporting the triangle of food security, Video Story
- Paid Content
Food systems: supporting the triangle of food security - Will we ever solve the mystery of the Mima mounds?Will we ever solve the mystery of the Mima mounds?
- Are synthetic diamonds really better for the planet?Are synthetic diamonds really better for the planet?
- This year's cherry blossom peak bloom was a warning signThis year's cherry blossom peak bloom was a warning sign
History & Culture
- Strange clues in a Maya temple reveal a fiery political dramaStrange clues in a Maya temple reveal a fiery political drama
- How technology is revealing secrets in these ancient scrollsHow technology is revealing secrets in these ancient scrolls
- Pilgrimages aren’t just spiritual anymore. They’re a workout.Pilgrimages aren’t just spiritual anymore. They’re a workout.
- This ancient society tried to stop El Niño—with child sacrificeThis ancient society tried to stop El Niño—with child sacrifice
- This ancient cure was just revived in a lab. Does it work?This ancient cure was just revived in a lab. Does it work?
- See how ancient Indigenous artists left their markSee how ancient Indigenous artists left their mark
Science
- Jupiter’s volcanic moon Io has been erupting for billions of yearsJupiter’s volcanic moon Io has been erupting for billions of years
- This 80-foot-long sea monster was the killer whale of its timeThis 80-foot-long sea monster was the killer whale of its time
- Every 80 years, this star appears in the sky—and it’s almost timeEvery 80 years, this star appears in the sky—and it’s almost time
- How do you create your own ‘Blue Zone’? Here are 6 tipsHow do you create your own ‘Blue Zone’? Here are 6 tips
- Why outdoor adventure is important for women as they ageWhy outdoor adventure is important for women as they age
Travel
- This royal city lies in the shadow of Kuala LumpurThis royal city lies in the shadow of Kuala Lumpur
- This author tells the story of crypto-trading Mongolian nomadsThis author tells the story of crypto-trading Mongolian nomads
- Slow-roasted meats and fluffy dumplings in the Czech capitalSlow-roasted meats and fluffy dumplings in the Czech capital
