The Death of a Chimp

This op-ed, which appeared this weekend in a Kentucky newspaper, references an article I wrote back in 2002 for Discover magazine, about the strange plight of lab chimps.

Simply put, the U.S. bred tons of chimps during the height of the AIDS epidemic, thinking medical labs would need an animal model on which to test potential treatments. But scientists discovered too late that when injected with the HIV virus, chimps don’t get AIDS the way humans do. That left lots of chimps looking for a place to live out the rest of their natural lives. Since they were infected with HIV and heaven knows what else, they couldn’t be returned to the wild. Either their home labs euthanized them, or they had to to be move to sanctuary facilities.

I just happened to visit one such sanctuary on the day a beloved chimp took sick and died. I went there thinking I was writing one type of story, and left with something completely different. The result won me an award from the Humane Society; Oliver Sacks picked the story for a spot in the Best American Science Writing anthology the following year. 

I still get emails from people from time to time saying how the piece moved them. In hindsight it’s weird to think that I actually struggled with how to write the piece. I was guided in my choices by the advice of a fine editor who asked me: “Why don’t you just tell the story you’ve been telling all of us since you got back?”

The story is included in my ebook of nonfiction pieces, The Scientist and the Sociopath. But you can read the chimp story for free right here.

What you need to know about my book, BLOCKHEAD, about Fibonacci

BLOCKHEAD: THE LIFE OF FIBONACCI is a charming picture book that is a fictionalized story of the real-life mathematician Leonardo of Pisa. He journeyed to Northern Africa to work in his father’s business more than 800 years ago. He was surprised to learn that the citizens of his new home didn’t use Roman numerals. He traveled the world of the Mediterranean learning all he could about the strange new Hindu-Arabic numerals. Then he wrote books to teach western Europeans how to calculate with them.

The man we now call Fibonacci is largely responsible for converting Europe from I-II-III to 1-2-3. But he’s mostly remembered for a series of numbers known as the Fibonacci Sequence, which describes how many objects thrive and flourish in nature.

PRAISE

“…the clearest explanation to date for younger readers

of the numerical sequence that is found throughout nature and still bears his name.” —BOOKLIST

“Charming and accessible…”—NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW

* “The lively text includes touches of humor; Emperor Frederick called him ‘one smart cookie.’ O’Brien’s signature illustrations textured with thin lines re-create a medieval setting.” —KIRKUS REVIEWS, starred review

“Math lover or not, readers should succumb to the charms of this highly entertaining biography of medieval mathematician Leonardo Fibonacci.” —PUBLISHERS WEEKLY

Learn more here!