There are so many distractions this time of year. Here is my meek attempt to keep you on the serious track:

Illuminating regeneration with zebraflash :-)
http://dev.biologists.org/content/140/24/4988.long

A couple of cool papers on de-differentiation
http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v503/n7475/full/nature12777.html
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0092867413011458

A better pain killer than morphine - from centipede venom
http://www.pnas.org/content/110/43/17534.full

Should we consider this technique?
http://www.biotechniques.com/BiotechniquesJournal/2013/December/A-method-for-high-throughput-PCR-based-genotyping-of-larval-zebrafish-tail-biopsies/biotechniques-348862.html?utm_source=BioTechniques+Newsletters+%26+e-Alerts&utm_campaign=821ab6e7d2-etoc&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_5f518744d7-821ab6e7d2-87700457

Instead of playing video games, read Science breakthroughs of the year...
http://news.sciencemag.org/breakthrough-of-the-year-2013

But your mom says: "playing violent video games is good for your appetite"
http://news.sciencemag.org/breakthrough-of-the-year-2013

Those thumbs must be really getting a workout…

Darius

If we had a developmental biology journal club, this nice paper on left-right asymmetry of the the gut would be a must.
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1534580713004498
Note the use of different model systems and corresponding techniques.

A cool paper about a new anesthetic from centipede venom
http://www.pnas.org/content/110/43/17534.full

Apparently some guys (in California) are practicing girl-speak
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-25232387

Wonder if their brain wiring changes, too
http://www.pnas.org/content/early/2013/11/27/1316909110
Scientists are the only people who need a brain scan data to learn that the female thinking pattern is more complex than male :-)

Finally, I could not resist to throw this into the thread on genetics of achievement:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-25337953
"It's not you, it's your mom and dad".

Have a great snowy/slushy weekend.

This week the list is thin on real scientific content. Too much turkey...

Perhaps I am a little bit of a cell biologist at heart, but I find these review articles fascinating:
http://www.sciencemag.org/content/342/6163/1187

Back to the argument on genetics of intellectual ability and achievement.
http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v504/n7478/full/504032a.html
Funny how the author uses the GWAS study I highlighted back in June to support the idea that it's complicated. Who would have thunk it?

Now let's go on a little train wreck of thought on my favorite subject: genetics.

It turns out early humans had messy relationships worthy of daytime TV in the US:
http://www.nature.com/news/hominin-dna-baffles-experts-1.14294
This one has a really good quote: "genetics don't lie"

And it really doesn't (or "it don't" to stylistically keep up with the quote above):
http://www.cnn.com/2013/12/04/justice/exonerated-prisoner-update-michael-morton/index.html?hpt=hp_bn1

Perhaps not surprisingly, genetic evidence is not universally accepted:
http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v503/n7476/full/503342b.html
Naturally, testimony of "four male witnesses" trumps any other. Men don't lie. Just ask certain much admired former US President who left DNA evidence...

Of course, these rather conservative guys may have been simply upset after reading something like this:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/11/27/bigfoot-dna-proves-creature-exists-genetic_n_2199984.html
Monkey business is bigger in Texas...

Enough distractions, now stop blaming genetics for your lack of success and get back to work. Bad things happen to underachieving members of cartels.
http://sciencecareers.sciencemag.org/career_magazine/previous_issues/articles/2013_11_26/caredit.a1300260
If postdocs are drug mules and grad students are street dealers, then what are the undergrads?

Have a good weekend.