My picks from ScienceDaily

Arctic Sea Ice At Lowest Recorded Level Ever:

Arctic sea ice may well have reached its lowest volumes ever, as summer ice coverage of the Arctic Sea looks set to be close to last year's record lows, with thinner ice overall.

How Memories Are Made, And Recalled:

What makes a memory? Single cells in the brain, for one thing. For the first time, scientists at UCLA and the Weizmann Institute of Science in Israel have recorded individual brain cells in the act of calling up a memory, thus revealing where in the brain a specific memory is stored and how the brain is able to recreate it.

Don't Throw The Candy Out: Temptation Leads To Moderation:

Banishing tempting goodies may not be the best way to keep from eating them. Tempting foods can actually increase willpower, according to new research. Although it seems counterintuitive, consumers show more self-control after they've spent some time in the presence of a treat.

Fantastic Photographs Of Fluorescent Fish:

Scientists have discovered that certain fish are capable of glowing red. Due to absorption of 'red' wavelengths of sunlight by sea-water, objects which look red under normal conditions appear grey or black at depths below 10m. This has contributed to the belief among marine biologists that red colours are of no importance to fish.

Why Some Primates, But Not Humans, Can Live With Immunodeficiency Viruses And Not Progress To AIDS:

Key differences in immune system signaling and the production of specific immune regulatory molecules may explain why some primates are able to live with an immunodeficiency virus infection without progressing to AIDS-like illness, unlike other primate species, including rhesus macaques and humans, that succumb to disease.

Whale Songs Are Heard For First Time Around New York City Waters:

For the first time in waters surrounding New York City, the beckoning calls of endangered fin, humpback and North Atlantic right whales have been recorded, according to experts from the Bioacoustics Research Program at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC).

Houses Made Of Hemp Could Help Combat Climate Change:

Houses made of hemp, timber or straw could help combat climate change by reducing the carbon footprint of building construction, according to researchers at the University of Bath.

Mice Missing 'Fear' Gene Slow To Protect Offspring:

First, he discovered a gene that controls innate fear in animals. Now Rutgers geneticist Gleb Shumyatsky has shown that the same gene promotes "helicopter mom" behavior in mice. The gene, known as stathmin or oncoprotein 18, motivates female animals to protect newborn pups and interact cautiously with unknown peers.

Oil Palm Plantations Are No Substitute For Tropical Rainforests, New Study Shows:

The continued expansion of oil palm plantations will worsen the dual environmental crises of climate change and biodiversity loss, unless rainforests are better protected, warn scientists in the most comprehensive review of the subject to date.

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Apologies for the light blogging: I'm enjoying a little vacation from my computer. But here is a recent little article about willpower in the WSJ: Willpower, like a bicep, can only exert itself so long before it gives out; it's an extremely limited mental resource. Given its limitations, New Year's…