My picks from ResearchBlogging.org

In case you missed them, here are my picks of the week from psychology and Neuroscience from ResearchBlogging.org:

• Ever wondered how brain cells manage to form synapses only with other cells, and not with themselves? Neuroskeptic describes a fascinating study demonstrating how neurons avoid getting tangled up in themselves.
• Benefits of attending weight-loss camp go beyond losing those pounds. Travis Saunders explains how the psychosocial benefits of weight loss camp are probably more important than losing weight.
• Resting state brain networks are stable. BPS Research Digest shows how one of the most common critiques of fMRI research doesn't hold water.
• Autism rates in the USA. Are they still rising? Nestor Lopez-Duran offers a nuanced view of the most recent research.

Also, my column on SEEDMAGAZINE.COM this week covers the incessant battles microbes wage with each other -- and how they affect us. Here's a selection:

In 1928, when Alexander Fleming discovered penicillin, the antibiotic produced by the bacteria of genus Penicillium, it seemed that a "miracle cure" for many diseases had been found. But rather than being a mere medical triumph, penicillin's discovery revealed more of the fundamental complexity to the microbial world. In fact, we now recognize penicillin's effects as just the latest battle in an evolutionary war that microbes had been waging among themselves for at least hundreds of millions of years.

While it was true that antibiotics like penicillin were effective at treating a variety of diseases caused by bacteria, it was also true that these substances were not effective against all bacteria. Also, bacteria that were not initially resistant to antibiotics were proven capable of developing resistance over time. This was just the beginning. Even now, scientists are still unraveling the many different strategies and tactics bacteria employ in their warfare.

Sound intriguing? Read the whole thing.