• A monkey’s skin cells were transformed into stem cells, then implanted in its brain, where they turned into brain cells, wired themselves up, and took on normal function.
• We now have brain scans capable of measuring activity on the cellular level throughout the whole brain. Well…fish brains anyway.
• The universe is just slightly older than originally thought, aged 13.81 billion years.
• Yes, humans can read dogs facial expressions.
• Swallow’s wings evolve to become shorter in order to adapt to highways over a period of just thirty years.
• A flash memory chip made from components just a single atom thick.
• Nine new ocean species and the first whale fossil from Antarctica are discovered. In a related story, there is life seven miles underneath the ocean.
• This one’s just weird. Genetically modified cold sore herpes shrinks skin tumors.
• New research suggests that low serotonin isn’t directly responsible for depression. Instead, depression is the result of miscommunication between brain cells. Serotonin helps increase communications, but drugs that boost serotonin ignore the root cause.

This week’s featured book is a bit of a science detective story:

Toms River: A Story of Science and Salvation