How do we find new stars and planets? How does meditation benefit people? Find out in ScienceSeeker's picks of the best posts for the week of April 16-22 2018 #sciseekpicks #scicomm

Meditation can apparently influence gene expression and enables attention without control - or can it? These and many other topics are among ScienceSeeker editors' favourite posts within their respective areas of interest and expertise for the past seven days. Here is the full round-up of the ScienceSeeker Editors’ Selections:

Stellar scientist Annie Jump Cannon
used star-hunting techniques that
are still to be found in software
named after her

• Can this robot build an IKEA chair faster than you? by Matt Warren at Science
• Candy Crush Stained Glass from “STEAM Lab for Kids” by Liz Heinecke at The Kitchen Pantry Scientist
• Digital Pills: Big Data or Big Brother? by Kirstin Leslie at theGIST
• Study Uncovers How Mind-Body Techniques Lower High Blood Pressure at The Mass General Hospital Research Blog
• First ever neuroimaging study of people in the midst of Transcendental Meditation by Christian Jarrett at British Psychological Society Research Blog
• Anti-vaccine pseudoscientist fails to show vaccines are linked to autism at Skeptical Raptor
• In Search of New Worlds—Meet TESS, Humanity’s Newest Exoplanet Scout by Kendra Redmond at Physics Buzz
• Spectacular Lagoon Nebula Glows in Hubble’s 28th Birthday Photos at Sci-News.com
• Looking For Stellar Families Using The Skills Of A Human Computer by Brian Koberlein at Forbes
• The chemistry of William Gibson’s Neuromancer by Nick Uhlig at Chemistry Blog
• Chameleon-like elastomers — champions of quick color change by Lisa Craig at The University of Akron
• does this conference have no shame? asking for a friend by Jenny Martin at cubistcrystal
• Recent Sea Level Change by Tamino at Open Mind
• New modelling finds that in a human world, big animals run the greatest risk of extinction by Andrew Masterson at Cosmos Magazine

Check back next week for more great picks!