Finding Geek Ink

Back in 2007, The Looms blogger Carl Zimmer chanced upon a scientist friend with a rather geeky DNA tattoo. On enquiry he discovered that the DNA art etched into the epidermal layers of his Drosophila fly gene studying friend encoded the his friends wifes initials "EEE".

Then, remembering he had previously noticed the geeky skin art of other scientist friends, Zimmer bemused,

"have I bumped into the tip of a vast hidden iceberg, or do I just happen to know the few scientists with tattoos of their science"

That Covers It | The Tree of Life--carbon, glucose, light, DNA, and the golden rectangle. A tattoo by Kevin Riley. On the chest of a PhD student in molecular biology | Copyright Carl Zimmer
Striving to find an answer, Zimmer blogged the question (original) to fellow geeks, hoping to be flooded with enough examples to convince him he wasn't hallucinating.

Within a short time, he had his answer. As it turned out, his initial assumption, that he'd bumped into the tip of a vast hidden iceberg was correct. This was no hallucination. Since posting the initial call on August 6, 2007, Zimmer has continued to receive weekly emails from readers around the world, affording him the ability to make regular tattoo posts ever since.

Macroscope | This tattoo is of a microscope. Most of the images are copies of SEMs, the background figures include, a fish parasite, anthrax, a scoop of iced cream that has fallen off the cone, flea eggs, bone marrow, and a virus attacking a sun dried tomato! | Copyright Carl Zimmer
As of this post, The Science Tattoo Emporium, has swelled to well over 200 tattoos and is still growing.

Submissions to the Science Tattoo Emporium are still being taken. Simply email photos of your science ink with a brief description attached. Accepted tats will have a combination of good lighting in the photo and an interesting story behind them.

For maximum chance of being accepted, please follow the guidelines. Zimmer prefers tats with a story to tell. Such as Lindsay's Lou Gehrig’s Neuron which represents her fathers battle with Lou Gehrig’s disease that inspired her to peruse a career in neuroscience.

LSD Redux | D-lysergic acid diethylamide also known as LSD | Copyright Carl Zimmer
Taking the tattoo theme to another level, Zimmer recently announced his intention to release a book based on the Science Tattoo Emporium due for release in 2011.

Zimmer describes his forthcoming book,

"The book, tentatively entitled Science Ink, will be published next year by Sterling. The images will be accompanied by some of my own reflections on the tattoos, in which I will unpack the inside jokes and strange histories of the science behind the pictures."

A Cell Biology Lesson Under the Needle | Telescoping view of the contents in a cell (many contents omitted, obviously) | Copyright Carl Zimmer
If your interested in having your tat published in Zimmer’s up and coming book, then get in contact and request the instructions from his publisher.

Let the world know, Geeks love tats too.

Disclaimer: All pictures are copyright to Carl Zimmer. Before reposting any content on this page please get in contact with Carl Zimmer.