Carl Zimmer

The Loom

Darwiniana

A hamster-sized primate from Madagascar, the fat-tailed dwarf lemur is our closest genetic relative known to hibernate. They also tend to live longer than you’d expect given their size. New research reveals a potential anti-aging mechanism within their cells. (Image Credit: David Haring, Duke Lemur Center)

What lemurs can teach us about healthy aging

Discover how hibernating lemurs turn back time on a molecular level, helping scientists better understand cellular aging.

Dwarf Lemurs Combat Aging During Hibernation by Reversing Their Cellular Clocks

(Image Credit: James van den Broek/Shutterstock) 

blue lined octopus

Learn more about the mating of blue-lined octopuses — a treacherous ordeal involving sex, cannibalism, and sedation.

To Avoid Becoming a Meal, These Male Octopuses Sedate Their Mates

Shark biologists now say a lemon shark, like this one, is a better model of the extinct megalodon's body than the great white shark.
(Image Courtesy of: Albert Kok)

Lemon shark

Comparing the prehistoric predator to today’s great white probably resulted in an underestimation.

The Massive Megalodon May Have Been Even Longer and Sleeker

(Image Credit: Mongkolchon Akesin/Shutterstock)

Antarctica iceberg

Learn how this midge has a unique strategy for surviving what most organisms couldn’t.

How Antarctica’s Only Native Insect Survives the Extreme Cold

Sad fish swimming by microplastics

Learn about the source of airborne microplastics, which were not, for the most part, introduced into the air by the ocean, as previous studies seem to suggest. 

Microplastics Are in Our Air — Turns Out, It Isn’t All the Ocean’s Fault

Dogs carrying the genetic variant most associated with obesity, DENND1B, had around 8% more body fat than those without it. (Image Credit: University of Cambridge)


Chocolate Labrador being offered food

Learn more about a gene called DENND1B, an obesity gene humans and Labrador retrievers share. 

Labrador Retrievers and Humans May Share the Same Obesity Gene

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