Is it possible to travel faster than light? What's the likelihood of intelligence beyond Earth? Find out in ScienceSeeker's picks of the best posts for the week of May 18 - 24 2020 #SciSeekPicks #SciComm.

In this week's cream-of-the-crop from science journalism around the world, explore the increasingly urgent issues surrounding video surveillance and facial recognition, and discover the ancient Australian megafauna that once roamed the smallest continent. 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?

• Is faster-than-light travel possible? by Sabine Hossenfelder at Backreaction.

If quantum theory is fundamental, the problem with travelling faster than light is the teensy issue of destroying the universe with negative energy. The answer could be wormholes.
Credit: Jason Brennan via Flickr (CC BY 2.0)

• The problem with theories of everything by Greg Fish at World of Weird Things.
• Astronomer uses Bayesian statistics to weigh likelihood of complex life and intelligence beyond Earth by Sci-News.com.
  Lessons from the military for Covid-19 health care workers by Zachary Johannesson, Gregory Galeazzi, and Samuel Lyon for STAT news.
• Injecting biomedical electronics for monitoring and therapy of body organs by Michael Berger for Nanowerk.
• Facial-recognition technology needs more regulation by Scientific American.
• The difference between N95s, surgical masks and cloth masks by George Alba for Massachusetts General Research Institute blog.
• Focus Covid-19 testing on nursing home patients and workers by Donald H. Taylor, Jr. for STAT news.
• Together, alone: The car as shelter in the pandemic by Christine Hauser and Judith Levitt for the New York Times.
• There may be a unique coronavirus immune response by Derek Lowe at Science Translational Medicine.
• Megafauna fossils found in tropical Australia by Natalie Parletta for Cosmos magazine.

2.5m tall kangaroos, giant lizards and 7m long freshwater crocodiles - Australia's wildlife used to be even more unique than it is today.
Credit: R Bargiel, V Konstantinov, A Atuchin and S Hocknull (2020), Queensland Museum

• Living with sea otters next door by Brad Badelt for Hakai magazine.
• Congratulations and thank you Jess Wade for 1000 new biographies by Duncan Hill at Wiki Loves Scientists.
• A raspberry of an idea: How to do inspired science as a group by Rachel Germain for Dynamic Ecology.

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Where are planets born? How can lasers counteract gravity? Find out in ScienceSeeker's picks of the best posts for the week of May 11 - 17 2020 #SciSeekPicks #SciComm.

In this week's digest of the best from the world of science news, find out the good news about how humans make coronavirus antibodies, and the less good news about coronavirus resurgence in countries easing lockdown. 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?

• Where planets are born by Gianluigi Filippelli at Doc Madhattan.

T-Tauri stars with their accompanying protoplanetary discs. A solar system in the making!
Credit: Garufi, A., Avenhaus, H et al., Astrophysics (2020) doi:10.1051/0004-6361/201936946

• International day of light edition: Beam me up, Scotty: How lasers can counteract gravity by Physics Central.
• CERN physicists create atoms of pionic helium by Sci-News.com.
• Palliative care needs tweaking in the coronavirus era by Richard Leiter for STAT news.
• Pfizer says efficacy of its Duchenne gene therapy outweighs side effects by Matthew Herper for STAT news.
• Trump unveils audacious plan to develop Covid-19 vaccine by end of 2020 by Lev Facher for STAT news.
• Good news on the human immune response to the coronavirus by Derek Lowe at Science Translational Medicine.
• From Black Death to fatal flu, past pandemics show why people on the margins suffer most by Lizzie Wade for Science.
• COVID-19 resurges in reopened countries; Wuhan sees first cluster in a month by Beth Marie Mole for Ars Technica.
• More than decomposers: fungi influence the recovery of pollutants in the environment by Mary Sabuda for Sciworthy.
• A Philippine village on lockdown delivers nearly 300 turtle hatchlings to sea by Erwin M. Mascariñas for Mongabay.com.
• Fossil footprints a snapshot of past behaviour by Natalie Parletta for Cosmos magazine.



More than 400 footprints are preserved in petrified volcanic ash from humans between 6000 and 19,000 years ago.
Credit: Cynthia Liutkus-Pierce

• Guest post: four drafts of acknowledgments by Greg Crowther for Dynamic Ecology.

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How are corona vaccine promises fuelling false expectations? What is the pandemic teaching us about community? Find out in ScienceSeeker's picks of the best posts for the week of May 4 - 10 2020 #SciSeekPicks #SciComm.

In this week's digest of the best news from science around the world, delve into the mysterious world of plant communication, and meet the Keepers of the Deep, the marine biologists taking care of deepwater coral reefs. 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?

• Mounting promises on Covid-19 vaccines are fueling false expectations by Helen Branswell for STAT news.

Talk of a corona vaccine as early as Autumn 2020 is unrealistic and could lead to a false sense of security, hindering preparations for a second wave.
Credit: Ikusuki via Flickr (CC BY 2.0)

• Scientists identify SARS-CoV-2-neutralizing antibody by Sci-News.com.
• What the Covid-19 pandemic is teaching us about community by Lauran Hardin and Shelly Trumbo for STAT news.
• To prevent the next pandemic, end unequal access to natural resources by Kelly Austin for Scientific American.
• Plan to distribute Covid-19 drug unveiled amid concerns over allocation by Lev Facher for STAT news.
• Mutations in the coronavirus spike protein by Derek Lowe at Science Translational Medicine.
• Resilience thinking: Preparing for and recovering from COVID-19 in the context of compound risks by Finn Laurien and Reinhard Mechler for IIASA.
• Guided by plant voices: interview with Monica Gagliano by Steve Paulson for Nautilus magazine.
• Ancient Andes, analysed by Cosmos magazine.
• Are we seeing a new ocean starting to form in Africa? by Erik Klemetti for Eos.
• Video: Keepers of the deep by Alex Goetz and Justin Grubb for Hakai magazine.
• Predictions are overrated by Sabine Hossenfelder at Backreaction.
• Astronomers find closest black hole to Earth, hiding in plain sight by Dan Clery for Science magazine.
• Physicists criticize Stephen Wolfram’s ‘Theory of Everything’ by Adam Becker for Scientific American.
• What’s the difference between sourdough starter and yeast? by Leslie Nemo for Discover magazine.
• Week 5: Small gratitudes by This is What a Computer Scientist Looks Like.

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What does the surface of the sun look like? Why are clinical trials so complicated? Find out in ScienceSeeker's picks of the best posts for the week of April 27 - May 3 2020 #SciSeekPicks #SciComm.

In this week's edition of the best and the brightest from the world of science news, find out whether AI could be the key to predicting floods, and why the search for a corona cure is raising a whole host of science ethics questions. 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?

• Sun in high-res by Gianluigi Filippelli at Doc Madhattan.



New high-res pictures from University of Central Lancashire and NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center show the sun like never before.
Credit: University of Central Lancashire/NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center (Public Domain)

• Astronomers observe inner rims of protoplanetary disks around young massive stars by Sci-News.com.
• Why are clinical trials so complicated? by Derek Lowe at Science Translational Medicine.
• Can AI predict the next big flood before it happens? by Christina Marvin for Massive Science.
• Infect volunteers with Covid-19? A proposal lays bare a minefield of issues by Helen Branswell for STAT news.
• The rise of "Health Entertainment" to convey lifesaving messages in the COVID-19 pandemic by Maya Adam and Jennifer Gates for Scientific American. Featured video by Stanford Medicine.
• Covid-19's future: small outbreaks, monster wave, or ongoing crisis by Sharon Begley for STAT news.
• Galileo’s lessons for living and working through a plague by Hannah Marcus for Scientific American.
• How coronavirus is affecting your dreams – and what to do about it by Rowan Hooper for New Scientist.
• Unconventional ways to produce a rash by Mariana Pacheco Blanco for ImmunoBites.
• Preparing for the next spill by Ryan Stuart for Hakai magazine.
• The art of turning fish into leather by Chloe Williams for Hakai magazine.
• It’s okay to not do research right now by Matthew Partridge at ErrantScience.
• Sintering advanced ceramics membranes for safe solid state batteries in just 10 seconds by Michael Berger at Nanowerk.

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Could cosmic rays be the key to forecasting volcanic eruptions? How can we design cities so that animals and humans can coexist? Find out in ScienceSeeker's picks of the best posts for the week of April 20 - 26 2020 #SciSeekPicks #SciComm.

In this week's edition of the best and the brightest from the world of science news, find out how the Hubble Space Telescope has helped contribute to our understanding of the universe in which we live, and discover how Americans have been poisoning themselves in their quest to fend off corona (hint: you should absolutely not inject yourself with disinfectant). 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?

• Are cosmic rays a key to forecasting volcanic eruptions? by Mara Johnson-Groh for Eos.

A combination of relativistic particles and artificial intelligence may provide a new way to forecast when a volcano could erupt.

Credit: Din Muhammad Sumon via Flickr (CC-BY 2.0)

• Artificial gravity protects the immune system of mice in space by It Ain't Magic.
• Gravitational waves have revealed the first unevenly sized black hole pair by Emily Conover for Science News Magazine.
• A day (and night) in the life of an observational astronomer by Rosanna Tilbrook for Astrobites.
• The most important image ever taken by NASA’s Hubble space telescope by Ethan Siegel at Starts With A Bang.



NASA's deep-field imaging and its later iterations has taught us much about the universe we live in.
Credit: NASA and the European Space Agency (Public Domain)

• On National DNA Day, scientists are trying to take the colonialism out of genetics by Farah Qaiser for Massive Science.
• To protect black Americans from the worst impacts of COVID-19, release comprehensive racial data by Joia Crear-Perry and Michael McAfee for Scientific American.
• Can't we all just co-exist? by Chloe Schmidt at Pineapples and Whales.
• The wonderful, transcendent life of an odd-nosed monkey by Jude Isabella for Hakai magazine.
• Do crustaceans feel pain? by Whitney Kroschel for Envirobites.
• People are dying of coronavirus because we’re too slow at clinical research by Matthew Herper for STAT news.
• Covid-19 is pulling the plug on clean energy jobs by Emily Pontecorvo for Wired magazine.
• The order of battle by Derek Lowe at Science Translational Medicine.
• Black carbon is supercharging El Niño by Micheal Allen for Hakai magazine.
• The science behind how coronavirus tests work by Jeffery Del Viscio for Scientific American. 
• Americans are poisoning themselves while trying to kill the coronavirus by Beth Mole for Ars Technica.

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