Does the discovery of water on a habitable-zone planet mean we've found Earth 2.0? What weird bubbles have been found at the centre of the Galaxy? Find out in ScienceSeeker's picks of the best posts for the week of Sept 9 - Sept 15, 2019 #SciSeekPicks #SciComm.

In this week's selection of the best articles and posts from the world of science news, find out why bees are getting punched to make ice cream, and explore the risk of oil spills from long-forgotten sunken ships. 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?

• There is a pair of weird, gigantic bubbles at the centre of our galaxy by Leah Crane for New Scientist.

  

  The bubbles are just visible as the smoky smudges above and below the bright central line of the galaxy.
  Credit: Caption - New Scientist, Image - South African Radio Astronomy Observatory (CC BY-ND 3.0)
• First water detected in the atmosphere of a habitable-zone planet by John Timmer for Ars Technica.
• Draw your own circuits with liquid metal by Charlie Crowe at Chembites.
• Guest post by Dan Wallace: A machine learning system playing a game to super-human levels, using only plastic boxes and beads by Dan Wallace for Dr. Mirjam S. Glessmer's blog.
• Small sea lions with big personalities by Bethany Augliere for Hakai magazine.
• The four faces of Twitter user’s activity around science by Adrián A. Díaz-Faes for Elephant in the Lab.
• This bee gets punched by flowers for your ice cream by Gabriela Quirós for KQED Science.
• A kangaroo unlike those we know by Ian Connellan for Cosmos magazine.
• Extinction, empathy, endings, beginnings by Tamsin Edwards at All Models Are Wrong, a PLOSOne blog.
• As shipwrecks rust, oil spills are imminent by Chloe Williams for Hakai magazine.
• Hachimoji DNA: The eight-letter genetic code by Tent Tangpradabkul at Gem-net blog.
• New proto-dinosaur found in Colorado by Brian Switek for Scientific American.
• How the body’s nerves become accomplices in the spread of cancer by Kelly Servick for Science magazine.
• Experimenting with Resilience: Lessons from Grad School by Susanna Harris for Promega Connections.
• Crowdsourcing sharks: a citizen science success story by Alina Spera for Envirobites.

Check back next week for more great picks!

Call for Editors! Become part of the most comprehensive source of science coverage.

Looking for a new challenge or opportunity in 2019?

When it comes to reporting science, the mainstream media can struggle, and often falls into sensationalism, undermining its message. ScienceSeeker is therefore an essential resource, enabling readers to access knowledge that helps make sense of the headlines. We aggregate the most comprehensive list of science blogs, written by a community including top scientists. Every week, our volunteer editors scour what’s been reported to distil it down to the most essential content. We’ve got a vibrant team - but we're still short in some areas.

Would you like to join us? E-mail sciseekers AT gmail DOT com if you're interested or have any questions. Read on for more details:

What is ScienceSeeker?

ScienceSeeker is a unique science blog aggregator that brings together over 2,400 blog sites (and growing!). It emerged as part of the ScienceOnline movement that has energized the science communication community in recent years. Although ScienceOnline is now defunct, ScienceSeeker continues on a sustainable basis thanks to the sterling effort of its volunteer supporters. For more details about what we do and who we are, see our 'About' page.

What does an editor do?

A ScienceSeeker editor commits to spending some of their valuable time reading science blogs or listening to science podcasts and selecting the newest developments in science every week. The commitment depends on circumstances. An especially busy person might be able to make selections from their general reading. An enthusiastic editor might dedicate three hours a week or more to select the most relevant content. Each editor usually focuses on a limited set of subject areas to restrict the time they have to invest, although there are opportunities to help build ScienceSeeker's platform. The goal of this recruitment exercise is to add to the team of editors so that the effort can be shared more broadly.

Who are we looking for?

We are currently interested in expanding the coverage on science discoveries in the areas of podcasts, psychology, neuroscience and mathematics. We also welcome help with curating and/or creating content for our YouTube channel. If you are fond of reading and/or listening to science, it’s your chance to contribute to science outreach by highlighting those pieces you think the society needs to be aware of!

What’s in it for you?

At a general level, it’s rewarding to make an input into a community. In this case you’re helping create an authoritative voice on science that supplements and corrects conventional media coverage. You’re also boosting the reach of individual blogs that might not otherwise be read by many people.

At a personal level, being a ScienceSeeker editor is a relatively low-effort activity that looks good on your résumé. There are also great benefits that arise from the effort invested in reading ScienceSeeker blogs. For scientists and writers, ScienceSeeker blogs often showcase ideas, research and styles of communication that you might not otherwise have encountered that can prove useful in your paid work. And whoever you are, ScienceSeeker blogs are interesting and entertaining – reading them is not a bad way to spend time at all!

Is there a closing date?

No. The ScienceSeeker team is continually evolving, and as such we always welcome enquiries from prospective editors.

Has AI really developed a drug by itself? How is the Indian salt industry damaging wildlife? Find out in ScienceSeeker's picks of the best posts for the week of Sept 2 - Sept 8, 2019 #SciSeekPicks #SciComm.

In this weeks' edition of the best from the world of science news, find out how unbroken forest may be the key to a sustainable palm oil industry, and how failure to accurately assess the baseline population size of a species may mean that we also fail to identify when they are becoming endangered. 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?

Despite the hype, AI has not developed a new drug without human input.
Credit: Mike MacKenzie via www.vpnsrus.com (CC BY 2.0)

• Has AI discovered a drug now? Guess. by Derek Lowe at Science Translational Medicine.
• Connected forests key to more sustainable palm oil industry: report by Lauren Crothers for Mongabay.com.
• Life’s too salty for these shorebirds by Colin Daileda for Hakai magazine.
• Sometimes we don’t even know what we’ve lost by Brandon Keim for Anthropocene magazine.
• Raw is risky: Two more deaths from brucellosis in Africa by Doug Powell at barfblog.
• Failure to condemn: A global health crisis targeting women affects us here by Qanta A. Ahmed for Scientific American.
• Happy 230th birthday, Enceladus, our solar system’s greatest hope for life beyond Earth by Ethan Siegel at Starts With A Bang.

Check back next week for more great picks!

Why are environmental defenders being murdered in Latin America? How are Brazilian protestors fighting back against Bolsonaro over the Amazon wildfires? Find out in ScienceSeeker's picks of the best posts for the week of August 26 - Sept 1, 2019 #SciSeekPicks #SciComm.

In this week's best from the world of science news, delve deeper into the catastrophic wildfires that ravage the Amazon, and find out how having a positive outlook may extend your life expectancy. Possibly two subjects that are mutually exclusive! 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?

• Latin America saw most murdered environmental defenders in 2018 by Sarah Engel for Mongabay.com.

  

  Julián Carrillo, an indigenous leader from the Mexican state of Chihuahua, was murdered on Oct. 24, 2018.
  Credit:Amnesty International/Marianne Bertrand via Mongabay.org (CC-BY-ND)

• Amazon fires trigger protests worldwide by Jill Langlois and Elisângela Mendonça for Mongabay.com.
• U.S. recycling industry is struggling to figure out a future without China by Christopher Joyce for KQED Science.
• Scientists rescue historical data taken on floating ice island by Jenessa Duncombe at Eos.
• The one source of perfect crystals by Derek Lowe at Science Translational Medicine.
• How do we know how small an elementary particle is? by Ethan Siegel at Starts With A Bang.
• Being an optimist may help people live past 85 by Jacquelyn Corley at Scientific American.
• These sea slugs dine while they do it by Sandrine Ceurstemont at Hakai magazine.

Check back next week for more great picks!

What impact can E-cigarettes have on your health? Did humans domesticate wolves or the other way around? Find out in ScienceSeeker's picks of the best posts for the week of August 19 - August 25, 2019 #SciSeekPicks #SciComm.

In this week's edition of ScienceSeeker's curated selection of the best from the world of science news, find out who tamed who between humans and dogs, and explore what makes a life event meaningful. 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?

• What’s the deal with electronic cigarettes? by Emily Poulin for LifeApps.

  

  Despite the reduced amount of tar, e-cigarettes still have a number of health impacts.
  Credit: Vaping360 via Flickr (CC BY-ND 2.0)

• You would have to eat twice as much broccoli today to get the same nutrients as a generation ago by Louise Elizabeth Maher-Johnson and Ayana Elizabeth Johnson for Scientific American. Note: This article has been critically received. Please see here for a rebuttal, by Alex Berezow for ACSH.
• When your gut bacteria talk, your brain listens and replies by Yewande Pearse for Massive Science.
• We have the touch by Derek Lowe at Science Translational Medicine.
• Emotionally extreme experiences, not just “positive” or “negative” experiences, are more meaningful in life by Scott Barry Kaufman for Scientific American.
• Researchers discover new pain organ in human skin by Sci-News.com.
• Birds dress to impress – and avoid by Nick Carne for Cosmos magazine.
• Bot meets Whale: making friends in the ocean; or how I learned to stop worrying and mitigate harmful interactions between recreational ROVs and marine mammals by Andrew David Thaler for Southern Fried Science.
• U.S. recycling industry is struggling to figure out a future without China by Christopher Joyce for KQED Science.
• Dogs have it, wolves don't: a small tweak to the inner eyebrow muscles gave rise to "puppy dog eyes" by Fiona Scott for Massive Science.
• For faster photosynthesis, add more protein by Nick Carne for Cosmos magazine.
• Amazon fires trigger protests worldwide by Jill Langlois and Elisângela Mendonça for Mongabay.
• Ask Ethan: Can black holes and dark matter interact? by Ethan Siegel at Starts With A Bang.
• This rocky ‘super-Earth’ may be a hard place for life to get a foothold by Daniel Clery for Science magazine.
• Asteroid Ryugu has no dust on it and we don’t know why by Abigail Beall for New Scientist.

Check back next week for more great picks!