How does stress make you sick? Where does dark matter come from? Find out in ScienceSeeker's picks of the best posts for the week of Oct 19 - 25 2020 #SciSeekPicks #SciComm.

In this week's curated selection of the best science news sources from around the world, find how light pollution can damage our environment, and explore exactly how unlucky the dinosaurs were. 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?

• How does stress make you sick?  by Michael Limmena for Science Borealis.

In modern times, where trivial daily stresses are common, the fight-or-flight response causes our bodies to overreact to stressors.
Credit: Sari Montag via Flickr (CC-BY-SA)

• An explanation for the low quality antibodies produced during serious SARS-CoV-2 infection by Vincent Racaniello for Virology Blog.
• Podcast: Dinosaur Asteroid Hit Worst-Case Place by Julia Rosen at Scientific American.
• A dwarf galaxy may have collided with the Milky Way three billion years ago by Rob Lea for ZME Science.
• Physicists propose new theory on origin of dark matter by SciNews.
• Startle displays in praying mantises: Using beauty and terror to deter predators by Miklos Bolza for Lab Down Under.
• Epigenetics: How do we feed our genes? by Ashley Aguillard for NutriBites.
• Rodent fathers suggest dopamine is key to an neuroscience of parenting by Laura Haetzel for Massive Science.
• Stem cells in Parkinson’s disease: progress and challenges by Niamh McNamara for EUSci.
• Mental health hacks explained: The benefits of outside by Dr. Dean Burnett for The Cosmic Shambles Network.
• Iberian lynx eat more species of prey than previously thought by Luis Manuel Fernandez Porras for Massive Science.
• A captive breeding program taught Puerto Rican parrots to "speak" differently by Enzo M. R. Reyes for Massive Science.
• Monstrous moles: Happy Mole Day! by Kat Day at The Chronicle Flask.
• Even a car can’t kill this beetle. Here’s why by Elizabeth Pennisi for Science.
• How can climate be predictable if weather is chaotic? by Sabine Hossenfelder at Backreaction.
• Light pollution affects more things than you think by Chloé at Pineapples and Whales.

Light pollution has profound effects on how individuals, populations, species, and ecosystems function.
Credit: Pineapples and Whales

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How is a high-fat diet bad for your brain? Is time real? Find out in ScienceSeeker's picks of the best posts for the week of Oct 12 - 18 2020 #SciSeekPicks #SciComm.

In this week's edition of the best science news from around the world, explore the Coronavirus vaccine being grown in tobacco plants, and discover the new room-temperature superconductor that could revolutionise energy. 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?

• Eating a high-fat diet could change your brain for the worse by Samuel J Walker for Massive Science.

This study suggests that exposure to a high fat diet alters the brain’s response to food so that only high-calorie foods are rewarding and satiating.
Credit: Nenad Stojkovic via Flickr (CC BY 2.0)

• Bigger questions: Is time real? by Lauren Nelson at A Short Scientist.
• Immunity and re-infection by Derek Lowe at Science Translational Medicine.
• A drug trio for COVID-19: Precedents in Cystic Fibrosis, HIV/AIDS, and Hepatitis C by Ricki Lewis for DNA Science.
• A virus-like COVID-19 vaccine is being grown in tobacco plants by Hayley McKay for Massive Science.
• The preexisting conditions of the Coronavirus pandemic by Adam Rogers for WIRED.
• Excess deaths from pandemic higher than official numbers by Steven Novella for Neurologica.
• A new take on the marshmallow test: children wait longer for a treat when their reputation is at stake by Sofia Deleniv for BPS Research Digest.
• Liquid air energy storage (LAES): putting air to use by Rohit Imandi for Energy.io.
• First room-temperature superconductor could spark energy revolution by Leah Crane for New Scientist.
• Death by black hole: Astronomers spot flare from “spaghettification” of star by Jennifer Ouellette for Ars Technica.
• Melting candy gives mathematicians insight into how some landscapes form by Clara Moskowitz for Scientific American.
• A brief history of scientific racism by BenchPress for Mass General Research Institute.
• Turning to frog skin for new biologic peptide drugs by Sean Lim for The Skeptical Chemist.
• Neuroscience study finds non-deceptive placebos lead to genuine psychobiological effects by Eric W. Dolan for PsyPost.
• New type of brain immune cell implicated in Alzheimer’s disease by Maya Gosztyla at AlzScience.
• Why is Mars so bright? And other things to see in the October sky by Never Trust An Atom.
• The Nobel Prize in Physics 2020: Andrea Ghez by Briley Lewis for Astrobites.
• Economists are more like storytellers than scientists – don't let the Nobel for 'economic sciences' fool you by Carolin Benack for The Conversation UK.
• Noisy, high-speed recreation disturbs sensitive wildlife by Elyse DeFranco for Massive Science.
• Fossilised teeth reveal first mammals were far from warm blooded by Elis Newham and Pam Gill at The Conversation UK. 
• Rain really can move mountains by Lauren Fuge at Cosmos magazine.
• New view of Tweed Valley’s attraction by Lauren Fuge at Cosmos magazine.
• Bacteria produce green bio-plastics by Rachel Burckhardt for Bacterial World.

To indulge your curiosity even more, follow us on Facebook or Twitter for honourable mentions of great posts that didn't quite make our #SciSeekPicks list this week. Want #SciSeekPicks to help satisfy your scientific curiosity every week? Sign up here for regular notification emails.

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Do we really have free will? How are sperm helping to make mini-motors? Find out in ScienceSeeker's picks of the best posts for the week of Oct 5 - 11 2020 #SciSeekPicks #SciComm.

In this week's edition of the cream-of-the-crop from the world of science news, we've got the biggest stories from this year's Nobel prizes, and the latest on the coronavirus pandemic. Find out how having neanderthal DNA might make coronavirus more dangerous, and discover the new tests that give results in just five minutes. 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?

• You don’t have free will, but don’t worry. by Sabine Hossenfelder at Backreaction.

"If you did one thing, there is no evidence you could have done something else because, well, you didn’t." 
Credit: A.Davey via Flickr (CC BY 2.0)

• Sperm-powered micro trucks by Michael Berger for Nanowerk.
• How does coffee wake us up (and why is it addictive)? by Mark Jefferson Plata at FlipScience.
• Neanderthal DNA may be COVID risk by Christopher Intagliata for Scientific American.
• New test detects coronavirus in just 5 minutes by Robert F. Service for Science magazine.
• Americans are drinking 14% more often during pandemic, study finds by Reese Oxner for NPR.
• Rapid COVID-19 testing, international collaboration, and a family favor by Jordan Villaneuva for Promega Connections.
• How a complex physics experiment became tabloid fodder by Eleni Petrakou for Massive Science.
• Working-class ants take the reins when the Indian jumping ant queen dies by Sree Rama Chaitanya for Massive Science.
• Golden-collared manakins change choreography when the environment shifts by Sukanya Ramani for Massive Science.
  
• Recycling meets reality by M. Mitchell Waldrop for Knowable Magazine.
• A conversation with CRISPR-Cas9 inventors Charpentier and Doudna by Dr. Ricki Lewis for DNA Science.
• There may be other ways to build DNA and RNA by Madeline Garner for Sciworthy.
• Rewriting the secret of life: The story of CRISPR by Shreya Ghosh at the Scientific Lens.
• NASA is sending yeast into deep space by Brook Shepard for Sciworthy.
• Could we kill antibiotic-resistant bacteria by impaling them on nanowires? by Sruthi Sanjeev Balakrishnan for Massive Science.
• Physicists have discovered the ultimate speed limit of sound by Leah Crane for New Scientist.
• The Nobel-winning black hole by Chandra X-ray Observatory.

To indulge your curiosity even more, follow us on Facebook or Twitter for honourable mentions of great posts that didn't quite make our #SciSeekPicks list this week. Want #SciSeekPicks to help satisfy your scientific curiosity every week? Sign up here for regular notification emails.

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Why do some people suffer worse with Covid-19? Why are some people resistant to HIV, while most aren't? Find out in ScienceSeeker's picks of the best posts for the week of Sept 28 - October 4 2020 #SciSeekPicks #SciComm.

In this week's best and brightest from the world of science news, discover how males and females react to the coronavirus differently, explore the interplay between you, vitamin D and sunlight, and find out why cursive writing is good for your brain. 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 do some people suffer worse from COVID-19? New studies identify a genetic mutation by Derek Beres for Big Think.

The genetic mutations slow down interferon—a group of signaling proteins released in the presence of viruses—production and function.
Credit: Mislav Marohnić via Flickr (CC BY 2.0)

• The immune systems of males and females respond to COVID-19 differently by Shelby Bradford for Massive Science.
• COVID - Not close to herd immunity by Steven Novella for Neurologica blog.
• Covid-19 testing was a political bust — but a scientific triumph by Aran Shaunak for Undark magazine.
• Can we self- vaccinate against HIV? by Tanaaz Khan at Musings of a Boffin.
• Flu season never came to the Southern hemisphere by Katie Peek for Scientific American.
• Pathogens love to muddy the waters to escape immune response: All about pattern recognition receptors by Jatin Sharma for ImmunoBites.
• Lactose tolerance spread through Europe faster than previously thought by Rita Ponce for Massive Science.
  
• Sunshine, skin chemistry, and vitamin D by Kat Day at The Chronicle Flask.
• Crystal Structure of LSD and 5-HT2AR- Part 1: Capturing the first steps of a psychedelic trip by Lily Aleksandrova for Psychedelic Science Review.
• The expertise account, or, why the brain’s face-recognition area can be activated by the sight of a chessboard by The Brain from Top to Bottom Blog.
• Why cursive handwriting is good for your brain by Christopher Bergland for Psychology Today.
• Are we what we hear? A reflection on sound, identity and science communication by Nat das Neves Rodrigues Lopes for Crastina.
• Unprecedented ice loss expected in Greenland by Cosmos magazine.
• Why some ecologists worry about rooftop honey bee programs by Jennifer Clare Ball for WIRED.
• A giant leap towards defeating astronomy’s greatest enemy: Earth’s atmosphere by Ethan Siegel at Starts with a Bang.
• Famous shadow of black hole provides novel test for new theories of gravity by Adrian Cho for Science.
• New research sheds light on neutrino-nucleus interactions by Sci-News.com.
• Podcast: Liftoff #133: The world’s most expensive WeWork by Jason Snell and Stephen Hackett at Relay FM’s Liftoff.
• How to use the knowledge of hydroinformatics in opening a start up ? by Mrinmoy Majumder at Hydrology Newsletter.
• Sodium ion battery - Overview and realistic expectations by Rohit Imandi for Energy.io.
• Science can lead us to better futures if we lead with hope by Edauri Navarro Pérez for Small Pond Science.

To indulge your curiosity even more, follow us on Facebook or Twitter for honourable mentions of great posts that didn't quite make our #SciSeekPicks list this week. Want #SciSeekPicks to help satisfy your scientific curiosity every week? Sign up here for regular notification emails.

Check back next week for more great picks!