Dr. Francis Collins’, Director of the NIH, blog post titled, Merry Microscopy and a Happy New Technique!, is a story about the holidays, scientific discovery, and a tribute to a Nobel Laureate’s legacy.

From Nature News, Nature’s 10; Ten People who Mattered this Year. The Post gives profiles of individuals whose work made an impact in 2016 and folks to watch in the future. Each of “Nature’s 10” for 2016 is described as one of the following, “Gravity spy,” “Mind crafter,” “Reef sentinel,” “Cooling agent,” “Zika detective,” “Paper pirate,” “Fertility rebel,” “CRISPR cautionary,” “Planet hunter,” and “Diversity trailblazer.” Can you guess who they are?

Ed Yong brings us a very cool discussion of slime mold, A Brainless Slime That Shares Memories by Fusing. If that title didn’t grab you, please consider the subtitle, “The oozing yellow organism has no neurons, but it can solve mazes, make decisions, and learn by merging together.”