How much does Westeros have in common with Earth? How does indigenous management of land improve upon modern methods? Find out in ScienceSeeker's picks of the best posts for the week of August 5 - August 11, 2019 #SciSeekPicks #SciComm.

In this week's best posts from the world of science news, explore how our inner narratives help or hinder us in our journey to understand the world, and find out more about 'Smart drugs', and if they are really too good to be true. Also new this week on ScienceSeeker - check out our physics editor, Thanassis Psaltis' post on the Origin of Gold, part of the Communicating Science workshop at the first annual ComSciCon workshop in Canada, ComSciConCAN. We hope to bring you more articles from the workshop in the future.

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?

• Of dragonglass and men: Parallels and differences between Westeros and Earth by Alina C. Fisher and Tanya Samman for Science Borealis.

  

  The world of ice and fire has more parallels with Earth than one might expect.
  Credit: Pasco Olivier via Flickr (CC BY 2.0)

• Geoengineering versus a volcano by Carnegie Science.
• What we’ve missed in the Abyss: Mining 40 years of cruise reports for biodiversity and research effort data from deep-sea hydrothermal vents by Andrew David Thaler for Southern Fried Science.
• How do you explain ant-mediated seed dispersal to a 5-year-old? by Eva Colberg for Massive Science.
• Untapped potential – harvesting bioplastics from wastewater by Aida De Heras for the Centre for Sustainable Chemical Technologies.
• Indigenous-managed lands found to harbor more biodiversity than protected areas by Mongabay.com.
• How a revolutionary technique got people with spinal-cord injuries back on their feet by Cassandra Willard for Scientific American.
• Computer tells real smiles from phonies by Sophie Bushwick for Scientific American.
• Our brains tell stories so we can live by Robert A. Burton for Nautilus Magazine.
• Has LIGO just detected the ‘Trifecta’ signal that all astronomers have been hoping for? by Ethan Siegel at Starts With A Bang.
• Nootropics, aka 'Smart Drugs' - Do they really work? by Mariam Zaki at Crystals And Catalysts.
• Viruses aren’t all nasty – some can actually protect our health by Cynthia Mathew for The Conversation UK.
• Hubble snaps super-sharp image of Jupiter by Sci-News.com.
• A dying star shows us our past, and our future by Brian Koberlain for Forbes.

Check back next week for more great picks!