How do you turn off a quasar? How are Neanderthals helping us in the fight against the coronavirus? Find out in ScienceSeeker's picks of the best posts for the week of Jan 25 - Jan 31 2021 #SciSeekPicks #SciComm.

In this week's edition of the cream-of-the-crop from science news, explore the exciting progress being made on treating depression with psychedelics, and explore the bias that could be affecting how scientific studies are published. 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?

• A protein variant inherited from Neanderthals protects people from severe COVID-19 by Anna Wernick for Massive Science.

OAS1 activates enzymes in our cells that are responsible for RNA degradation.
Credit: Erich Ferdinand via Flickr (CC BY 2.0)

• The dash to adapt smartwatches to help detect Covid infections by Matthew Hudson for Knowable magazine.
• SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern by Vincent Racaniello in Virology Blog.
• Monoclonal antibodies protect against COVID-19 in a second study by Jon Cohen for Science.
• The revolutionary power of bio platforms - or why it took just 48 hours to develop the Covid-19 vaccine by Michael Berger for Nanowerk.
• Is there NO way to stop COVID-19? by Kat Day at The Chronicle Flask.
• How to shut off a quasar by John Timmer for Ars Technica.
• NASA captures ‘Blue Jets’ and ‘Red Sprites’ above thunderstorms from space by Ethan Siegel at Starts with a Bang.
• Physics, flocks, and fire ants by Hannah Pell for Physics Central.
• Superconducting magnetic energy storage systems (SMES) by Rohit Imandi for Energy.io
• Psychedelics as antidepressants by Austin Lim for Scientific American.
• Not an early bird? Don't worry — afternoon workouts could be better for your health by Anisha Kalidindi for Massive Science.
• DNA as an eyewitness: How phenotyping is being used to predict a suspect’s appearance by ISHI News.
• Are journal editors biased? by Athene Donald for Occam's Typewriter.
• Find original poetry hiding in the pages of your paper by E. Kristin Anderson for the New York Times. 
• Hints and tips to thrive in online assessment centres and interviews by Julia Craig for the University of Dundee Student Blog.

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!