Why is the brain of a murdering ex-NFL player important? Why are computer games big news for medicine? Find out in ScienceSeeker's picks of the best posts for the week of December 4-10 2017 #sciseekpicks #scicomm

Important findings in neuroscience, including how gaming can be useful; some cold hard food and drink posts for the Northern hemisphere winter; and some great arguments against the weird idea the Earth is flat. These are among the topics covered by picks the ScienceSeeker editors have made of their favourite posts within their respective areas of interest and expertise. Here is the full round-up of the Science Seeker Editors’ Selections for the past week:

• How human memories are made by Elizabeth Finkel at Cosmos Magazine
• Brief Guide to the CTE Brains in the News. Part 1: Aaron Hernandez by The Neurocritic
• For teen boys at risk of psychopathy, laughter isn’t catching by Lucy Foulkes at British Psychological Society Research Digest
• Some adults with autism traits reject conventional sexual labels by Emily Anthes at Spectrum
• Could this be the first prescription video game? New data show it helps kids with ADHD by Rebecca Robbins at STATNews
• DeepMind AI needs mere 4 hours of self-training to become a chess overlord by Nathan Mattise at Ars Technica
• How Salty Foods Affect Hunger and Weight Loss by Monica Reinagel at Scientific American
• Making ice cream with liquid nitrogen - Growing ice crystals at Food Crumbles 
• Whispers of Light Reveal Secrets of Ultracold Water by Stephen Skolnick at Physics Buzz

Supercooled water freezes quickly. Credit: Physics Buzz

• Five Impossible Facts That Would Have To Be True If The Earth Were Flat by Ethan Siegel at Starts With a Bang! 
• The lost river and the Indus Civilisation by Sanjeev Gupta
• US government report finds steady and persistent global warming by John Abraham at Skeptical Science
• The world’s newest great ape, revealed a month ago, is already nearly extinct by Basten Gokkon at Mongabay.com
• Portable DNA analysis tool identifies species on site to help combat wildlife crime by Sue Palminteri at Mongabay.com
• Beetles in color! by Chloé at Pineapples and Whales
• Podcast of the week: Could we use rising sea water to flood desert regions? by Bob McDonald and Michelle Koppes at Quirks and Quarks
• Abandoned by their sponsors, Madagascar’s orphaned parks struggle on by Rowan Moore Gerety at Mongabay

Check back next week for more great picks!