Oct 31, 2011

Sleepless in South Sudan

Carl Zimmer is one of our go-to guys when we need help untangling a complicated scientific idea. But in this short, he unravels something much more personal.

One night 14 years ago, Carl Zimmer woke up in the middle of the night in a panic. He was in South Sudan to research a collection of terrible, deadly diseases--like sleeping sickness and a particularly virulent strain of malaria--that plagued the region. As he looked up at the moon, he noticed several holes in his mosquito netting, and his brain began to spin through the grim possibilities.

Without giving too much away, Carl goes on to tell the story of how he found himself in that tent with the torn netting in the first place. And he explains how what happened that night changed his life.

Carl's story was recorded in a basement in Brooklyn for The Story Collider, a live event series, podcast, and soon-to-be magazine focusing on stories of how people from all backgrounds experience science in their personal lives.

Read more from Carl Zimmer (or check out a full list of his many books on his web site):

Parasite Rex: Inside the Bizarre World of Nature's Most Dangerous Creatures

Evolution: The Triumph of an Idea

Science Ink: Tattoos of the Science Obsessed

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