Carl Zimmer

The Loom

The Incredible Shrinking Fish and Other Wonders of the Modern World

View looking northwest at a new thermal pool in the Porcelain Basin area of Norris Geyser Basin, Yellowstone National Park, that probably formed in a series of mildly explosive events between late December 2024 and early February 2025.  The rocks and white material (silica mud) surrounding the pool were probably ejected as the feature formed.  The pool is about 4 meters (13 feet) across.  (Image Courtesy of: U.S. Geological Survey photo by Mike Poland, May 12, 2025/Public Domain) 

New Yellowstone Thermal Feature

Learn about the new hydrothermal feature that appeared last winter in Yellowstone National Park, possibly on Christmas Day. 

Series of Hydrothermal Explosions Likely Created New Blue Hot Spring in Yellowstone

(Image Credit: Alessandro De Maddalena/Shutterstock) 

blue shark

Learn more about the tiny crystalline dermal denticles, tooth-like scales that allow the blue shark to change colors.  

Microscopic Crystals Are Behind Blue Sharks' Ability to Change Color

What are parasitoid wasps? (Image Credit: SIMON SHIM/Shutterstock) 

caterpillar with parasitic larvae from parasitoid wasps

What are parasitoid wasps? Learn about these wasps that have a gruesome but fascinating way of surviving.

The Way Parasitoid Wasps Lay Their Eggs Has Inspired Horror Films

What are baby squids? (Image Credit: d3_plus/Shutterstock) 

A baby squid known as a Bigfin Reef Squid juvenile

What are baby squids? Learn more about these tiny squids, what they look like, how fast they grow, and their favorite snacks. 

Some Baby Squids Can Go From Hatchling to Adult in Mere Hours

Large cracks in glacial ice
(Image Credit: VicPhotoria/Shutterstock) 

cracked glacial ice

Learn about the new technique being used to study cracks that have formed on Antarctica's unstable Doomsday Glacier. 

Observations of Antarctica's Doomsday Glacier Reveal a Cracked Surface

Squirting cucumber (Ecballium elaterium). (Image Credit: Helen Gorges) 

The Incredible Shrinking Fish and Other Wonders of the Modern World

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