What will we see when Betelgeuse goes supernova? What clues to the origin of the coronavirus could be hidden in its genome? Find out in ScienceSeeker's picks of the best posts for the week of Jan 27 - Feb 2 2020 #SciSeekPicks #SciComm

In this week's cream-of-the-crop of science news fresh from the net, find out why Harvard's chemistry head is in FBI custody, and how albatrosses are being employed to keep a bird's eye out for illegal fishing. 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?

• This is what we’ll see when Betelgeuse really does go supernova by Ethan Siegel at Starts with a Bang.

An artist's impression, based on the ESO’s Very Large Telescope imaging of the current state of Betelgeuse.
Credit: ESO/L. Calçada via Starts with a Bang (CC-ND-BY)

• A white dwarf swirling space-time around it allows astronomers brand new insights by Sci-News.com.
• This tiny glass bead has been quantum chilled to near absolute zero by Leah Crane for New Scientist.
• Harvard's Chemistry Dept. Chairman in FBI custody by Derek Lowe at Science Translational Medicine.
• Historical mercury pollution: Tree rings have the receipts! by Jeannie Wilkening for Envirobites.
• How we recruited albatrosses to patrol the high seas for illegal fishers by Samantha Patrick for  The Conversation UK.
• Mining coronavirus genomes for clues to the outbreak’s origins by Jon Cohen for Science magazine.
• Doing laundry in the future could mean almost never washing clothes by Greg Fish at World of Weird Things.
• An Entanglement of Whales by The Poetry of Science.
• Wise use and wetlands: Why we need to nurture nature (commentary) by Matthew McCartney and Chris Dickens for Mongabay.com.
• Bringing effective altruism to conservation by Brandon Keim for Anthropocene magazine.
• Is "critical thinking" a generalized skill? by Terry McGlynn at Small Pond Science.

Check back next week for more great picks.

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