What are the psychological impacts of poverty? What's the neurological basis behind seasonal affective disorder? Find out in ScienceSeeker's picks of the best posts for the week of Dec 2 - Dec 8 #SciSeekPicks #SciComm.

In this week's best and brightest from the world of science journalism, read about how certain people can read cats' facial expressions, and explore the physics of fire ant 'rafts'. 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?

• The psychological impacts of poverty, digested by Emma Young for BPS Research Digest.

“Kids from lower socioeconomic levels show brain physiology patterns similar to someone who actually had had damage in the frontal lobe as an adult.”
Credit: Alexandra Stevenson via Flickr (CC-BY-ND)

• When it gets dark, people get SAD (seasonal affective disorder) by Emily Baltz at Neuwrite.
• Cats have facial expressions and some people can read them, scientists say by Sci-News.
• On a bad argument for grant lotteries by Jeremy Fox at Dynamic Ecology.
• Transforming the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide into graphene by Michael Berger at Nanowerk.
• Is the Anthropic Principle scientific? by Sabine Hossenfelder at Backreaction.
• 5 big trends that increased Earth’s carbon pollution by Robinson Meyer for The Atlantic.
• Population decline has all Hawaii’s songbirds singing the same tune by GrrlScientist for Forbes.
• Catching fish to feed fish: Report details ‘unsustainable’ fishmeal and oil industry by Monica Evans for Mongabay.com.
• AI-based discovery seeks non-opioid pain drugs by Alan Kotok for Science and Enterprise.
• Hard as a Rock: the neutrophil’s role in gallstone generation by Zaynah Dewan for ImmunoBites.
• We’ve discovered a planet orbiting an exploded star for the first time by Layal Liverpool for New Scientist.
• The physics behind how fire ants band together into robust floating “rafts” by Jennifer Ouellette for Ars Technica.

Check back next week for more great picks!