How can Guinea pigs teach us about human history? How are bird watchers working with scientists to promote equality? Find out in ScienceSeeker's picks of the best posts for the week of June 22 - 28 2020 #SciSeekPicks #SciComm.

In this week's cream of the crop of science news from around the world, take a comprehensive journey inside the coronavirus, and explore the lightest black hole yet discovered. 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?

• Guinea pig evolution can teach us about human history in the Americas by Adriana Romero-Olivares for Massive Science.

Through tracking the evolution of Guinea pigs, scientists have gained valuable insights into the travels of Americans a thousand years ago.
Credit: Andy Miccone via Flickr (Public domain)

• Think vitamin D deficiency is not common in Africa? Think again by Reagan Mogire for The Conversation UK.
• Africa, African-Americans, and the coronavirus vaccines by Derek Lowe for Science Translational Medicine.
• Black birders, scientists push for equality by Eric Betz for Science Connected magazine.
• Inside the Coronavirus by Mark Fischetti for Scientific American.
• What’s COVID-19 doing to Australian biotech? by Dr. Richard Boyd and Dr. Ian Nesbitt for CCRM.
• Follow the scent by Lauren Nelson at A Short Scientist.
• Gravitational waves reveal lightest black hole ever observed by Adrian Cho för Science.
• The structure of the Solar System by Never Trust An Atom.
• First map of lunar landslides reveals surprisingly active moon by David Bressan for Forbes.
• Neutrinos reveal final secret of Sun’s nuclear fusion by Davide Castelvecchi for Scientific American. 
• Could this be the start of a new era in scholarly communication? by Rebecca Lawrence for Elephant in the Lab.
• Nanoelectromechanical switches based reconfigurable computing by Nanowerk.
• Vaccine makers turn to microchip tech to beat glass shortages by Megan Molteni for Wired.
• A smell test can predict whether unresponsive patients will recover by Thiago Arzua for Massive Science.
• Lost in the glow by Sam Illingworth at The Poetry of Science.
• Is bigger always better? by Athene Donald at Occam's Typewriter.

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What's the link between overactive neurons and anxiety? How is a cheap steroid helping in the fight against COVID-19? Find out in ScienceSeeker's picks of the best posts for the week of June 15 - 21 2020 #SciSeekPicks #SciComm.

In this week's best and brightest from the world of science news, find out how an antibody cocktail reminiscent of the Three Stooges could help to overcome COVID-19, and explore the dangers of global warming as a two-degree increase in global temperature could lead to a tripling of plant disease pathogens. 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?

• Overactive neurons may explain why some people develop stress-induced anxiety and depression by Sara Wong for Massive Science.

  

  A study by a group of scientists at McGill University in Canada has revealed that the activity of a specific group of cells in the brain may be able to predict one’s susceptibility to develop stress-induced anxiety and depression.
  Credit: Stefan Rheone via Flickr (CC BY 2.0)

• A cheap steroid is the first drug shown to reduce death in COVID-19 patients by Kai Kupferschmidt for Science.
• Going back to (a new) normal: reflections from three academics as universities and society begin to re-open by Dana Turjeman, Sondra Turjeman, and Meghan Duffy for Dynamic Ecology.
• How an antibody cocktail against COVID-19 channels the 3 Stooges – but is a great idea by Ricki Lewis for DNA Science at PLOS blogs.
• Account for gender/sex to make PPE safer for women by Saralyn Mark for STAT news.
• Chemical connections: dexamethasone, hydroxychloroquine and rheumatoid arthritis by Kat Day at The Chronicle Flask.
• A two degree temperature increase nearly triples pathogens that cause plant disease by Kathryn Atherton for Massive Science.
• Using past data to predict whether 2020 will be the warmest on record by Scott Johnson for Ars Technica.
• Why aliens and volcanoes go together by Steve Nadis for Nautilus magazine.
• Amazon river dolphin risks extinction if Brazil moratorium not renewed by Peter Yeung for Mongabay.com.
• Supporting renewables and resilience with better transmission by Amanda Maxwell for NRDC.
• eROSITA x-ray telescope captures hot, energetic universe by Sci-News.com.
• The world doesn't need a new, gigantic particle collider by Sabine Hossenfelder at Backreaction. 
• Podcast: The astroholic explains S02E03 – The Earth, The Moon, and a game of shadows by Alfredo Carpineti at The Astroholic.

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What are ghost particles and why are they in Antarctica? How does exercise change our blood chemistry? Find out in ScienceSeeker's picks of the best posts for the week of June 8 - 14 2020 #SciSeekPicks #SciComm.

In this week's bumper edition of the best from the world of science news, explore the science at the intersection of the day's biggest topics, coronavirus and racial disparity in America. Why are black communities disproportionately affected by public health issues? 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 hunt is on for elusive ghost particles in Antarctica by Daniel Oberhaus for Wired.

Ultrahigh-energy neutrinos could help scientists unravel some of the biggest mysteries in astrophysics—and the best place to find them may be the South Pole.Credit: Christopher Michel via Flickr (CC-BY 2.0)

• Bizarre nearby star offers clues to origins of mysterious fast radio bursts by Alexandra Witze for Scientific American.
• How physics aids COVID-19 research by Hannah Pell at Physics Central.
• Ask Ethan: Why doesn’t the afterglow of the Big Bang eventually fade away? by Ethan Siegel at Starts with a Bang.
• T cells could be the key in developing an effective COVID-19 vaccine by Paige E. Pistono for Massive Science.
• Handheld ultrasound devices are speeding diagnosis of COVID-19 by Lina Zeldovich for Scientific American.
• A single session of exercise alters 9,815 molecules in our blood by Gretchen Reynolds for the New York Times.
• For scientific institutions, racial reconciliation requires reparations by C. Brandon Ogbunu for Scientific American.
• To grasp who's dying of Covid-19, look to social factors like race by Sharon Beagley at STAT news.
• Tear gas: Chemistry, dispersal methods, and effects by Andy Brunning for Compound Interest.

Find out exactly what teargas is, and how to treat yourself and others if you're exposed to it.
Credit: Andy Brunning via Compound Interest (CC-BY-ND)

• Researchers around the world prepare to #ShutDownSTEM and ‘Strike For Black Lives’ by Sophia Chen for Science magazine.
• Hors d’oeuvres for healthy nerves: how the gut microbiome affects the nervous system by Sarah Price for ImmunoBites.
• Added benefits: Cleaning up our energy by Kristen Brown for Envirobites.
• Fossil footprints help uncover the mysteries of bipedal crocodiles by Riley Black for Scientific American.

Ancient tracks reveal a previously unknown creature from the Age of Dinosaurs answering one question but raising more.
Credit: Anthony Romilio University of Queensland (CC BY 2.0)

• The future remaking itself by Craig Childs at The Last Word on Nothing.
• Terrible tips for returning to the lab after a break by Matthew Partridge at Errant Science.

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How dangerous is teargas, especially now with the pandemic? Does observing the Universe really change the outcome? Find out in ScienceSeeker's picks of the best posts for the week of June 1 - 7 2020 #SciSeekPicks #SciComm.

In this week's edition of the most topical science news from around the world, find out how (and why) black Americans are being disproportionately affected by Covid-19, and why the publication of results of some coronavirus studies is being delayed. 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?

• Tear gas is more dangerous than police let on—especially during the pandemic by Lisa Song for Ars Technica.

Despite chemical warfare being banned by the Geneva convention in wars between countries, many countries still choose to use CS gas on their own citizens.
Credit: Studio Incendo via Flickr (CC BY 2.0)

• Racism, not genetics, explains why black Americans are dying Of COVID-19 by Clarence Gravlee for Scientific American. 
• Observing the universe really does change the outcome, and this experiment shows how by Ethan Siegel at Starts with a Bang.
• Astronomers Find No Evidence of Elusive First-Generation Stars in Early Universe by Sci-News.com.
• Filling the knowledge gap about the thermal properties of bismuth antimonide at the nanoscale by Michael Berger for Nanowerk.
• Physicists still lost in math by Sabine Hossenfelder at Backreaction.
• Where’s the data? Now is no time to sit on Covid-19 trial results by Ed Silverman for STAT news.
• Antibody tests, part 2: How do antibody tests work? by Andy Brunning at Compound Interest.
• Experts question use of repeated Covid-19 tests after a patient recovers by Helen Branswell for STAT news.
• DNA bar codes added in spores to track farm products by Alan Kotok for Science & Enterprise.
• The Foundling: Resolving a case of unknown parentage through the use of genetic genealogy by Tara Luther for ISHI News.
• Caught on camera: Rare finless porpoises sighted in Hong Kong waters by Elizabeth Claire Alberts for Mongabay.com.
• Approach your career as if you were growing a tree, not building a house by Dr. Mirjam S. Glessmer at Adventures in Oceanography and Teaching.

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Why is the wind always in your face while biking? How could your genes be affecting your drinking habits? Find out in ScienceSeeker's picks of the best posts for the week of May 25 - 31 2020 #SciSeekPicks #SciComm.

In this week's best and brightest from the world of science news, meet the bacteria that live in your nose, and find out why you might be grateful that they're there, and discover how worms are helping to uncover the link between fat metabolism and sleep. 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?

• ‘Why is the wind always in my face?’: Some physics of biking by Chad Orzel for Forbes.

  

  The wind doesn't hate you: perception of headwinds is down to relative air pressure.
  Credit: Dave Jeppesen via Flickr (Public Domain)

• Researchers identify 19 new genetic variants for problematic drinking by Sci-News.com.
• High body fat is associated with sleeping problems by Jocelyn Solis-Moreira at Sciworthy.
• Experts decry FDA's decision to halt Seattle Covid-19 study over approvals by Erin Brodwin for STAT news.
• Experts warn of dire global consequences if U.S. withdraws from WHO by Helen Branswell for STAT news.
• These bacteria have adapted to life in your nose—and that may be good news by Amanda Heidt for Science.
• Antibody tests, part 1: What can antibody tests tell us? by Andy Brunning at Compound Interest.



Antibody tests can tell us how long ago someone had an infection, and whether or not they are immune.
Credit: Andy Brunning via Compound Interest (CC-BY-ND)

• COVID-19 drop in pollution to be short-lived by Gabriel da Silva for The University of Melbourne blog.
• Despite economic crisis, prominent health tech startups draw big funding by Erin Brodwin for STAT news.
• A star shredded by a black hole may have spit out an extremely energetic neutrino by Emily Conover for Science News Magazine.
• This sea urchin just won’t die by Richa Malhotra for Hakai magazine.
• Physicists don’t know what the world is like, at the bottom by Massimo Pigliucci for Medium.
• 24 metronomes in synchronisation by Motoko Kakubayashi at Kagaku from Sciblogs.

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