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
· Mar 9
!["Take a Deep Breath. If You Dare." In “Air-Borne,” his detailed and gripping account of aerobiology, Carl Zimmer uncovers the mysteries filling our lungs. [Illustration with viruses and people in masks]](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:xqrqlxsfingcrocs7dut7rav/bafkreiasqnph6e3kep5yv7fqs4ppyuez4yz764xtlexcbez5e4topye2xm@jpeg)
"Air-Borne shows us the ways seeing where we live means listening deeply — and being prepared to see what’s perhaps never been seen.“ Grateful for this perceptive review from Robert Sullivan in the New York Times Book Review. Gift link: nyti.ms/3XAWM9E
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...
Reposted by Carl Zimmer
Well, they've finally found their excuse for blocking all offshore wind: a Defense Department report says they create problems. What problems? Sorry, it's classified!
I wish I were making this up.
I wish I were making this up.
The Trump Administration Protects U.S. National Security by Pausing Offshore Wind Leases | U.S. Department of the Interior
The Department of the Interior announced today that it is pausing—effective immediately—the leases for all large-scale offshore wind projects under construction in the United States due to national se...
www.doi.gov
December 22, 2025 at 4:33 PM
Well, they've finally found their excuse for blocking all offshore wind: a Defense Department report says they create problems. What problems? Sorry, it's classified!
I wish I were making this up.
I wish I were making this up.
American food safety could be headed for a breakdown. Story by @sarah-todd.bsky.social www.statnews.com/2025/12/22/a...
American food safety could be headed for a breakdown
More Americans will be exposed to foodborne illness as a result of this year's funding cuts, food safety experts predict
www.statnews.com
December 22, 2025 at 4:33 PM
American food safety could be headed for a breakdown. Story by @sarah-todd.bsky.social www.statnews.com/2025/12/22/a...
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...)
Reposted by Carl Zimmer
Study in Helsinki indicating benefits of portable air cleaners on lowering infection risk in daycare centers, less absences & parent absences from work in intervention vs. reference (no air cleaner) groups. Cleaning indoor air is not difficult and it works.
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
The effect of room air cleaners on infection control in day care centres
The aim of this study was to assess the effectiveness of air cleaning in reducing the risk of respiratory infection in two day care centres using a si…
www.sciencedirect.com
December 21, 2025 at 5:21 AM
Study in Helsinki indicating benefits of portable air cleaners on lowering infection risk in daycare centers, less absences & parent absences from work in intervention vs. reference (no air cleaner) groups. Cleaning indoor air is not difficult and it works.
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
Reposted by Carl Zimmer
I wanted to finish this before year's end & I did. 😁
I LOVED it.
Such a pleasure to read, information-rich, fascinating but accessible. 🎁🎅
Air-Borne by Carl Zimmer
www.scientificamerican.com/article/book...
@carlzimmer.com
Plant pathogens covered as well as human 💚
Even Norman Bourlag!
I LOVED it.
Such a pleasure to read, information-rich, fascinating but accessible. 🎁🎅
Air-Borne by Carl Zimmer
www.scientificamerican.com/article/book...
@carlzimmer.com
Plant pathogens covered as well as human 💚
Even Norman Bourlag!
December 20, 2025 at 1:46 PM
I wanted to finish this before year's end & I did. 😁
I LOVED it.
Such a pleasure to read, information-rich, fascinating but accessible. 🎁🎅
Air-Borne by Carl Zimmer
www.scientificamerican.com/article/book...
@carlzimmer.com
Plant pathogens covered as well as human 💚
Even Norman Bourlag!
I LOVED it.
Such a pleasure to read, information-rich, fascinating but accessible. 🎁🎅
Air-Borne by Carl Zimmer
www.scientificamerican.com/article/book...
@carlzimmer.com
Plant pathogens covered as well as human 💚
Even Norman Bourlag!
Reposted by Carl Zimmer
RFK Jr. is expected to announce in the new year that American children should be immunized according to the schedule followed by Denmark — which is much smaller, mostly homogenous and has universal health care.
(Free link)
www.nytimes.com/2025/12/19/h...
(Free link)
www.nytimes.com/2025/12/19/h...
R.F.K. Jr. Likely to Swap U.S. Childhood Vaccine Schedule for Denmark’s
www.nytimes.com
December 19, 2025 at 9:22 PM
RFK Jr. is expected to announce in the new year that American children should be immunized according to the schedule followed by Denmark — which is much smaller, mostly homogenous and has universal health care.
(Free link)
www.nytimes.com/2025/12/19/h...
(Free link)
www.nytimes.com/2025/12/19/h...
Reposted by Carl Zimmer
Denmark’s vaccine schedule is the most minimalist in the developed world. So why is HHS trying to adopt it?
My new piece in @statnews.com.
Huge thanks to @thekibosch.bsky.social for the lightning-fast turnaround and sharp editing.
www.statnews.com/2025/12/19/d...
My new piece in @statnews.com.
Huge thanks to @thekibosch.bsky.social for the lightning-fast turnaround and sharp editing.
www.statnews.com/2025/12/19/d...
Why Denmark's vaccine schedule works for Denmark — but not for the United States
With its vaccine schedule, “Denmark has made a values choice to accept preventable hospitalizations and illnesses that other countries have chosen to prevent.”
www.statnews.com
December 19, 2025 at 9:15 PM
Denmark’s vaccine schedule is the most minimalist in the developed world. So why is HHS trying to adopt it?
My new piece in @statnews.com.
Huge thanks to @thekibosch.bsky.social for the lightning-fast turnaround and sharp editing.
www.statnews.com/2025/12/19/d...
My new piece in @statnews.com.
Huge thanks to @thekibosch.bsky.social for the lightning-fast turnaround and sharp editing.
www.statnews.com/2025/12/19/d...
Having written a biography of E. coli (Microcosm), I'm curious about the FBI arrest for bringing it into the US. But no information on the type of E. coli involved. Also, none of the stories I've seen note that it can live harmlessly in our bodies. www.dailymail.co.uk/health/artic...
Chinese national allegedly smuggled deadly bacteria into US, FBI says
FBI Director Kash Patel said a post-doctoral researcher on a J-1 visa was charged with allegedly smuggling Escherichia coli ( E. coli) into the country and making false statements about it
www.dailymail.co.uk
December 19, 2025 at 8:45 PM
Having written a biography of E. coli (Microcosm), I'm curious about the FBI arrest for bringing it into the US. But no information on the type of E. coli involved. Also, none of the stories I've seen note that it can live harmlessly in our bodies. www.dailymail.co.uk/health/artic...
Reposted by Carl Zimmer
AI is pretty much a mansplainer you can’t escape from.
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 4:15 PM
AI is pretty much a mansplainer you can’t escape from.
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.
Reposted by Carl Zimmer
Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is expected to announce a package of measures that would together ban gender-affirming care for minors. A press conference is set for 11 a.m. Thursday. n.pr/44xQKdD
RFK Jr. and Dr. Oz to announce moves to ban gender-affirming care for young people
Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is expected to announce a package of measures that would together ban gender-affirming care for minors. A press conference is set for 11 a.m. Thursday.
n.pr
December 18, 2025 at 12:28 PM
Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is expected to announce a package of measures that would together ban gender-affirming care for minors. A press conference is set for 11 a.m. Thursday. n.pr/44xQKdD
Trump Administration Plans to Break Up Premier Weather and Climate Research Center. Gift link: www.nytimes.com/2025/12/17/c...
Trump Administration Plans to Break Up Premier Weather and Climate Research Center
www.nytimes.com
December 17, 2025 at 5:09 PM
Trump Administration Plans to Break Up Premier Weather and Climate Research Center. Gift link: www.nytimes.com/2025/12/17/c...
Trump officials were warned repeatedly that cutting off food aid to refugees in Kenya would lead to violence and death. They did so anyway, and thousands starved. @propublica.org www.propublica.org/article/keny...
After Trump Officials Cut Food Aid to Kenya, Children Starved to Death
“Brutal and traumatizing”: Interviews and a trove of internal documents show government officials and aid workers desperately tried to warn Trump advisers about impending disaster and death.
www.propublica.org
December 17, 2025 at 3:52 PM
Trump officials were warned repeatedly that cutting off food aid to refugees in Kenya would lead to violence and death. They did so anyway, and thousands starved. @propublica.org www.propublica.org/article/keny...
Reposted by Carl Zimmer
My top 10 books for 2025
December 15, 2025 at 4:39 PM
My top 10 books for 2025
Reposted by Carl Zimmer
“He said, ‘I’m going to die – please see my family [and tell them] that I went down to save people’s lives.'"
--Jozay Alkanj, who was having coffee with Ahmed when the shooting erupted.
www.smh.com.au/national/nsw...
--Jozay Alkanj, who was having coffee with Ahmed when the shooting erupted.
www.smh.com.au/national/nsw...
Hero who wrestled gun from terrorist says he’d do it again despite being ‘riddled with bullets’
Despite Ahmed al Ahmed being in a lot of pain, according to his migration lawyer, he felt as if disarming the gunman at Bondi was an act for the community.
www.smh.com.au
December 15, 2025 at 4:37 PM
“He said, ‘I’m going to die – please see my family [and tell them] that I went down to save people’s lives.'"
--Jozay Alkanj, who was having coffee with Ahmed when the shooting erupted.
www.smh.com.au/national/nsw...
--Jozay Alkanj, who was having coffee with Ahmed when the shooting erupted.
www.smh.com.au/national/nsw...
Reposted by Carl Zimmer
"As of December 14, the U.S. has had 391 mass shootings—more than the number of days in the year—for the seventh consecutive year. Seventy-five of these occurred at schools"—
@kkjetelina.bsky.social
@kkjetelina.bsky.social
December 15, 2025 at 4:15 PM
"As of December 14, the U.S. has had 391 mass shootings—more than the number of days in the year—for the seventh consecutive year. Seventy-five of these occurred at schools"—
@kkjetelina.bsky.social
@kkjetelina.bsky.social
Reposted by Carl Zimmer
NEW: After freezing billions in U.S. foreign aid and putting countless lives at risk around the world, Trump administration officials in Washington celebrated with a sheet cake.
By @annamaria.bsky.social & Brett Murphy, photos by @peterdicampo.bsky.social
By @annamaria.bsky.social & Brett Murphy, photos by @peterdicampo.bsky.social
Trump Officials Celebrated With Cake After Slashing Aid. Then People Died of Cholera.
Behind closed doors in Washington, top advisers made a series of decisions that had devastating repercussions for the poorest country on earth. We went to South Sudan and found people who died as a re...
www.propublica.org
December 15, 2025 at 12:00 PM
NEW: After freezing billions in U.S. foreign aid and putting countless lives at risk around the world, Trump administration officials in Washington celebrated with a sheet cake.
By @annamaria.bsky.social & Brett Murphy, photos by @peterdicampo.bsky.social
By @annamaria.bsky.social & Brett Murphy, photos by @peterdicampo.bsky.social
Reposted by Carl Zimmer
Air-Borne by @carlzimmer.com was entertaining, deeply researched, but also eye-opening in revealing how dogmas can become entrenched in science without anyone going back to check how they started.
www.thelancet.com/journals/lan...
www.thelancet.com/journals/lan...
The troubled birth of aerobiology
“FACT: #COVID19 is NOT airborne”, declared a tweet from WHO in March, 2020. WHO did
not officially accept until almost 2 years later that infection by SARS-CoV-2 could
after all be caused by long-rang...
www.thelancet.com
December 15, 2025 at 12:39 PM
Air-Borne by @carlzimmer.com was entertaining, deeply researched, but also eye-opening in revealing how dogmas can become entrenched in science without anyone going back to check how they started.
www.thelancet.com/journals/lan...
www.thelancet.com/journals/lan...
Reposted by Carl Zimmer
Kudos to the Brown University students who are posting continuous live updates, spaced just minutes apart, on the campus shooting. A lot of grace and professionalism under immense pressure.
www.browndailyherald.com/article/2025...
www.browndailyherald.com/article/2025...
Live updates: Two deceased in active shooter incident at Brown University
Serving the Brown University community since 1891
www.browndailyherald.com
December 14, 2025 at 12:22 AM
Kudos to the Brown University students who are posting continuous live updates, spaced just minutes apart, on the campus shooting. A lot of grace and professionalism under immense pressure.
www.browndailyherald.com/article/2025...
www.browndailyherald.com/article/2025...
Reposted by Carl Zimmer
This is a self-inflicted injury. (gift article)
Hundreds Quarantined in South Carolina as Measles Spreads
www.nytimes.com
December 12, 2025 at 5:30 PM
This is a self-inflicted injury. (gift article)
The twelfth installment in the @nytimes.com Lost Science series is up: an entomologist who helped protect people from malaria. Story by @alexaroblesgil.bsky.social Gift link: nyti.ms/4pBdYbk
She Studied Mosquitoes to Prevent Malaria
www.nytimes.com
December 11, 2025 at 7:44 PM
The twelfth installment in the @nytimes.com Lost Science series is up: an entomologist who helped protect people from malaria. Story by @alexaroblesgil.bsky.social Gift link: nyti.ms/4pBdYbk
Reposted by Carl Zimmer
Breaking News: President Trump said the U.S. seized a tanker off Venezuela’s coast, amid his pressure campaign against the country’s president, Nicolás Maduro.
U.S. Seizes Oil Tanker Off Venezuelan Coast, Trump Says
The seizure comes as the United States builds up its forces in the Caribbean as part of a pressure campaign against Nicolás Maduro, the leader of Venezuela.
nyti.ms
December 10, 2025 at 8:53 PM
Breaking News: President Trump said the U.S. seized a tanker off Venezuela’s coast, amid his pressure campaign against the country’s president, Nicolás Maduro.
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 ]
Here's my latest column, on the natural history of misinformation. Gift link: nyti.ms/3MkcbJ1
nyti.ms
December 10, 2025 at 12:37 AM
Here's my latest column, on the natural history of misinformation. Gift link: nyti.ms/3MkcbJ1