Surprising Science — January 22, 2010

Hosting a Parasite Expert

Parasites in the brain. Flu viruses in the human genome. Manmade species of e coli. Carl Zimmer, a science writer and lecturer who has lent his name to a species of tapeworm, isn’t afraid to venture into the creepier, crawlier domains of science, as his Big Think interview proved.

The author of “Parasite Rex” also addressed a variety of non-microscopic topics, including the changing speed of human evolution and the varying speed of human thought. Known for featuring pictures of readers’ science tattoos on his blog, The Loom, Zimmer even revealed whether he is hiding any geeky body art of his own.

a computer generated image of a human brain.

Thinking

The great free will debate featuring Michio Kaku and Steven Pinker

Who — or what — really controls your mind?

Building destroyed by the Halifax Explosion. Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division Washington, D.C.

The Past

The largest accidental explosion of all time

More than a century ago, Halifax suffered an accidental blast one-fifth the size of the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima.

a collage of photos of a man with a hat and a book.

High Culture

6 great books with wildly unreliable narrators

Dive into the twisted truths and concealed realities told by literature’s most unreliable narrators.

a group of five matches on a pink background.

The Well

Signs you’re burned out — and how to bounce back

If you don’t feel better after the weekend, the “burnout paradox” could explain why.

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7 min

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with

Laurie Santos

Starts With A Bang

The trick to instantly identifying JWST images

If you can identify a foreground star, the spike patterns are a dead giveaway as to whether it’s a JWST image or any other observatory.

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