What is a megaripple? How do sperm swim? Find out in ScienceSeeker's picks of the best posts for the week of July 27 - August 2 2020 #SciSeekPicks #SciComm.

In this weeks' bumper edition of the best and brightest from the world of science news, find out how a profound lack of understanding about how science works drives the formation of conspiracy theories, and discover how 3D modelling is uncovering a possible link between the herpes virus and Alzheimer's. ScienceSeeker editors' favourite posts within their respective areas of interest and expertise also cover many other important and exciting topics. Why not have a read, inform yourself, and indulge your scientific curiosity?

• Megaripple migration offers insights into martian atmosphere by Rachel Fritts for Eos.

Megaripples range from 30 centimeters (1 foot) to tens of meters across and are proof that Mars is windier than previously thought.
Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/University of Arizona (Public Domain)

• ALMA may have found neutron star in supernova remnant SN 1987A by Sci-News.com.
• arXiv-ing the history of preprints in physics by Hannah Pell for Physics Central.
• Half of Nobel prizes in science go to just five research fields by Adam Vaughan for New Scientist.
• How conspiracy theorists get the scientific method wrong by Philipp Hübl for Elephant in the Lab.
• My checklist for wrapping up summer research with students by This is What a Computer Scientist Looks Like.
• Paralyzed man has sense of touch restored by brain-machine interface by Hayden Kee for Massive Science.
• 3D brain model shows how the herpes virus can trigger Alzheimer’s disease by Jocelyn Solis-Moreira for Sciworthy.
• The re-introduction of psychedelics in medicine by Rahul Nachnani at Lions Talk Science.
• COVID genomes paint portrait of an evolving pathogen by Ricki Lewis for DNA Science at PLOS Blogs.
• From the COVID-19 frontlines: Drowning on the island by Katrina G. Gomez for Flip Science.
• Watch a 3D video reveal how sperm really swim by Charlotte Hartley for Science.
• The anglerfish deleted its immune system to fuse with its mate by Edith A. Widder for Wired.
• Electric vs. gas: Is it cheaper to drive an EV? by Brian Palmer for NRDC.
• Less toy, more workhorse: Drones get functional by John Wenz for Knowable Magazine.
• 'Real food gets ugly,' says Burger King. But what does science say? by Food Science Babe for AgDaily.
• Maillard Reaction by Steven Du for Science and Food.
• Bleached vs Unbleached Flour: What’s the Difference and Which Should You Be Baking With? by Abbey Thiel for Science Meets Food.

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Could the sun be causing earthquakes? How is the Red Maple Tree helping in the fight against Alzheimer's? Find out in ScienceSeeker's picks of the best posts for the week of July 20 - 26 2020 #SciSeekPicks #SciComm.

In this week's pick of the best articles covering science news from around the globe, explore the disturbing finding that sometimes planting trees doesn't help trap carbon, and find out how best to see the decade's most spectacular comet, NEOWISE (only for those in the Northern hemisphere, sorry).  ScienceSeeker editors' favourite posts within their respective areas of interest and expertise also cover many other important and exciting topics. Why not have a read, inform yourself, and indulge your scientific curiosity?

• A solar origin for earthquakes? by David Bressan for Forbes.

A new study published in Nature's Scientific Reports argues that there is a statistically significant correlation of earthquake clusters with powerful eruptions on the Sun, even if it is still unclear how the two phenomena are connected.
Credit: NASA Goddard Space Flight Center via Flickr (CC BY 2.0)

• A promising Alzheimer’s treatment comes from the Red Maple Tree by Josseline Ramos-Figueroa for Massive Science.
• In some places, planting trees doesn't help store any more carbon by Hannah Thomasy for Massive Science.
• At 59 million tons, our e-waste problem is getting out of control by Jeff Turrentine for NRDC.
• Rehab centers struggle as Covid-19 drives up costs by Sara Harrison for Wired.
• More Pfizer phase I results: Antibodies, viral mutations, and T cells by Derek Lowe at Science Translational Medicine.
• How to see comet NEOWISE, Earth’s most spectacular comet since 2007 by Ethan Siegel at Starts With A Bang.
• Making sure your online course has what it needs by Terry McGlynn at Small Pond Science.

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How is the coronavirus mutating, and into what? How could mistrust of a vaccine hinder immunity? Find out in ScienceSeeker's picks of the best posts for the week of July 13 - 19 2020 #SciSeekPicks #SciComm.

In this week's best and brightest from the world of science news, learn about the colours and concerns behind modern tattooing, and explore how living with uncertainty, scientific and otherwise, can help us to have a more realistic expectation of what is knowable and unknowable. ScienceSeeker editors' favourite posts within their respective areas of interest and expertise also cover many other important and exciting topics. Why not have a read, inform yourself, and indulge your scientific curiosity?

• The pandemic virus is slowly mutating. But is it getting more dangerous? by Kai Kupferschmidt for Science.

A growing number of polls find so many people saying they would not get a coronavirus vaccine that its potential to shut down the pandemic could be in jeopardy.
Credit: EU Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid via Flickr (CC-BY-ND)

• Mistrust of a coronavirus vaccine could imperil widespread immunity by Jan Hoffman for New York Times.
• Two months after infection, COVID-19 symptoms persist by John Timmer for Ars Technica.
• A tale of two clinical trials: Gene therapy for a rare disease and a vaccine for COVID-19 by Ricki Lewis for DNA Science, a PLOS Blog.
• Living with scientific uncertainty by Avi Loeb for Scientific American.
• Shy sea lions may have a better shot at survival than their rambunctious siblings by Fernanda Ruiz for Massive Science.
• Rising sea levels and river delta growth by Cosmos magazine.
• Heavy metals from open-pit mining can spread up to 30 kilometers by Rebecca Dzombak for Massive Science.
• #NationalTattooDay – Tattoo colourants and concerns by Andy Brunning at Compound Interest.
• No major nutritional differences in eggs with different shell & yolk colors by Michelle Miller, Farm Babe at AgDaily.
• Understanding quantum mechanics #4: It’s not as difficult as you think! (The Bra-Ket) by Sabine Hossenfelder at Backreaction.
• Solar orbiter beams back its first images of the Sun by Sci-News.com.

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What are the mathematics behind herd immunity? How does caffeine work? Find out in ScienceSeeker's picks of the best posts for the week of July 6 - 12 2020 #SciSeekPicks #SciComm.

In this week's best from the world of science news, explore how T cells may be the key to combating coronavirus, and meet Kongonaphon kely, or 'tiny bug slayer', a newly discovered tiny relative to dinosaurs and their flying cousins, pterosaurs. ScienceSeeker editors' favourite posts within their respective areas of interest and expertise also cover many other important and exciting topics. Why not have a read, inform yourself, and indulge your scientific curiosity?

• How caffeine works by Andrew Cooper-Sansone for Biology and Life.

Caffeine is a central nervous stimulant that 'takes the brakes off' of your brain.
Credit: nicolethewholigan via Flickr (CC-BY 2.0)

• The tricky math of herd immunity for Covid-19 by Kevin Hartnett for Wired.
• Covid-19 immunity may rely on a microscopic helper: T Cells by Gregory Barber for Wired.
• Thoughts on the absurdity of teaching on campus in the Fall by Terry McGlynn at Small Pond Science.
• More on T cells, antibody levels, and our ignorance by Derek Lowe at Science Translational Medicine.
• Air pollution, asthma, and you: How fine particles cause airway inflammation by Eléonore Pérès for ImmunoBites.
• How to tackle food waste for a sustainable future by Talking Nutrition Editors for DSM Talking Nutrition Blog.
• New data indicates that some Polynesians carry Native American DNA by John Timmer for Ars Technica.
• Photosynthetic bacteria spin spider silk for the masses by Masataka Sasabe for It Ain't Magic.
• Gabon Dam development threatens fish habitat by Munyaradzi Makoni for Hakai magazine.
• Narwhal DNA captured a survival story the last time the glaciers melted by Cassie Freund for Massive Science.
• A new tiny relative of dinosaurs and pterosaurs by Cosmos magazine.
• NASA Rover captures what a solar eclipse looks like on Mars by Ethan Siegel at Starts with a Bang.
• How Astronomers learned to ‘listen’ to gravitational waves by Caitlyn Buongiorno for Discover magazine.
• The biggest flipping challenge in quantum computing by Adrian Cho for Science.
• Why we have gadgets: Electromagnetism by Justin Dingman for Sciworthy.

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How many chemicals are in the foods you eat? How do black widow spiders choose a mate? Find out in ScienceSeeker's picks of the best posts for the week of June 29 - July 5 2020 #SciSeekPicks #SciComm.

In this week's best and brightest from the world of science news, find out how fish farming is contributing to antibiotic resistance and explore the evolution of the space suit. ScienceSeeker editors' favourite posts within their respective areas of interest and expertise also cover many other important and exciting topics. Why not have a read, inform yourself, and indulge your scientific curiosity?

• Chemicals and foods: A little perspective by Corby Vorland at Nutritional Science.

Your food is full of chemicals! I mean, it has to be, otherwise it wouldn't be food.
Credit: Unknown (Public Domain)

• Antibiotics in fish farming create resistance and are an animal welfare disaster. It’s time for a change by Lauren Sara McKee for Massive Science.
• Air quality is worsening for half of the world’s people by Brian Palmer for NRDC.
• The evolution of the spacesuit by Never Trust An Atom.
• A bird’s epic migration stuns scientists and wins online fans by Rebecca Ratcliffe for Wired.
• Some black widow spiders choose mates carefully — others just eat them by Hannah Thomasy for Massive Science.
• Desert microbes mine for water by Lesley Evans Ogden for Eos.



In another instance of life imitating art, Dune-esque microbes mine the desert for water.
Credit: Jocelyne DiRuggiero (Public Domain)

• Colliding black holes may have created a surprising flare of light by Emily Conover for Science News magazine.
• An elemental problem with the Sun by Ken Croswell for Knowable Magazine via Scientific American.
• Soap bubbles can split light into otherworldly branching streams by Down Here on Earth for New Scientist.
• Swine flu strain with human pandemic potential increasingly found in pigs in China by Jon Cohen for Science.
• Pfizer and BioNTech's first vaccine candidate by Derek Lowe for Science Translational Medicine.
• Why openly available abstracts are important - overview of the current state of affairs by Aaron Tay, Bianca Kramer and Ludo Waltman for F1000 Blogs.

To indulge your curiosity even more, follow us on Facebook or Twitter for honourable mentions of great posts that didn't quite make our #SciSeekPicks list this week. Want #SciSeekPicks to help satisfy your scientific curiosity every week? Sign up here for regular notification emails.

Check back next week for more great picks!