Welcome to the 18^th issue of SteemSTEM Distilled, a curation effort by the members of the @steemstem team. SteemSTEM is a community driven project which seeks to promote well-written and informative Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics posts on Steemit. The project involves curating STEM-related posts through upvoting, resteeming, offering constructive feedback, supporting scientific contests, and other related activities. ## For more details, a recent update on the steemSTEM can be found [**here**](https://steemit.com/steemstem/@steemstem/steemstem-winter-2017-2018-project-update), whilst older details are available [**here**](https://steemit.com/science/@steemstem/an-update-on-the-steemstem-project). Moreover, if you ask yourself about what it means to be part of steemSTEM, please check [**here**](https://steemit.com/steemstem/@steemstem/being-a-member-of-the-steemstem-community). ![](https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-mjifaKa9hEw/Wcfnw9LxF-I/AAAAAAAAMtI/jXT86uHth0kPt_O4Q2ilwkfLnknf1bHNQCLcBGAs/s1600/STEM_Distillation.jpg) ___ Our team scours the platform for original and quality content.After working through thousands (literally!) of STEM-related posts and upvoting more than **300** that we deemed to be worthy, we proudly present you our top 7 handpicked choices: ___ ## Monday - [Ever Wonder Why Stuff Tastes Gross After You Brush Your Teeth?](https://steemit.com/steemstem/@sustainablyyours/ever-wonder-why-stuff-tastes-gross-after-you-brush-your-teeth)

![](https://steemitimages.com/0x0/http://gdurl.com/NLKt)

A good old myth about how our tongue tastes stuff (and the related taste tongue map) is debunked by @sustainablyyours in his very nice article. In addition, he explains us why food tastes weird after having brushed our teeth.
## Tuesday - [The Holocene Mass Extinction Part 6: Taking Action](https://steemit.com/science/@mountainwashere/the-holocene-mass-extinction-part-6-taking-action)

![](https://res.cloudinary.com/hpiynhbhq/image/upload/v1516097792/mjrpbfs9gy3dgitqsu1c.png)

The Holocene mass extinction means that the world is screwed. Many species are either at risk of extinction over the next century, or in a very bad shape. There is stuff that can be done, and @mountainwashere tells us about that. We should not give up hope... yet.

## Wednesday - [Herd Immunity is a Lie, and here is Why! (it's not a lie)](https://steemit.com/steemstem/@alexs1320/herd-immunity-is-a-lie-and-here-is-why-it-s-not-a-lie)

![](https://steemitimages.com/DQmbRuCf1AEPUMCJEyLYhg1keK7i3sfjh7ULN6xprqXCfbd/image.png)

Vaccines and herd immunity? One of the good old debate here on Steem. This article of @alexs1320 details varied statements on the topic and shows the numbers backing them up (or not).

## Thursday - [Reaction in lab: The Swern oxidation](https://steemit.com/science/@mcw/reaction-in-lab-the-swern-oxidation-swern)

![](https://steemitimages.com/DQmZu4bjxsxFYGEywczRATKPshU76tnQMTQQ18XyJepCuan/1.jpg)

With the sciencepic challenge, @mcw discusses the glory details of Swern oxidation and how it works (with plenty of pictures). From the article, you will learn the mystery behind a temperature of -78 Celsius, why it matters and how it interplays with Swern oxidation.

## Friday - [Depression – Where to Draw the Line?](https://steemit.com/psychology/@abigail-dantes/depression-where-to-draw-the-line)

![](https://steemitimages.com/DQmZRezR3J2j8TDJh4NvrmLRXeYNKKQkPtWBzaZDiTMvNwh/Copy-of-charlie-brown.png)

Life is sometimes tough and one ends up being depressed. This is actually very common those days. In order to clarify the misconception behind this emotional disorder, @abigail-dantes wrote an interesting article in which she clearly state what depression is, distinguishing in particular its mild and severe form.

## Saturday - [How are traits inherited across generations?The Paradox of Non-Transitive Dice and Our Imperfect Intuitions](https://steemit.com/steemstem/@rocking-dave/the-paradox-of-non-transitive-dice-and-our-imperfect-intuitions)

![](https://steemitimages.com/DQmXfrg72aucM9ksPDWoYS3TYKEVU35nYb6TsexBi1YBLzK/dice.jpg)

It's not often that you hear the word...'statistics' and think... "Ohh boy!" However leave it to @rocking-dave to change all that with just a toss of a few dice! Give this post a roll and you may find your self as fascinated by these rock/paper/scissors like dice as we were!

## Sunday - [The construction loving Master Mind](https://steemit.com/steemstem/@erh.germany/the-construction-loving-master-mind)

![](https://steemitimages.com/DQmV8f3g7EanSj6Yk1Ck85Qn3NFTbpev4B4Afivenjs69rE/cody-davis-253928.jpg)

How weird are your thoughts? Are your memories of real events, or have you conveniently invented them to be much rosier then they should be? For how much of what you think about your self, have you actually checked that it's true? How much of all that you are just a *construction*? Take a read through this lenghy post by @erh.germany and you just might come to realize something about yourself that you never knew before. How's that for some light sunday afternoon reading?

___ A few words about the nomination process ___ For the sake of transparency we feel we need to clarify how our nomination process works; each issue is compiled by certain members of the SteemSTEM community. This week's editorial team was comprised of @justtryme90 and @lemouth. The editorial team chooses their favorite posts for the week and each issue is the result of their joined effort. In order to keep the process fair, posts written by the editorial team are excluded from the nomination process. Don't be discouraged if you didn't make it on this issue. The competition is harsh and there is always a next time :) In the meantime, you may wish to check [**these guidelines**](https://steemit.com/steemstem/@steemstem/helpful-guidelines-for-crafting-steemstem-content) for extra tips on how your writing can be more effective. ___ Authors That Received a Curie Upvote by the SteemSTEM Team ___ In the same spirit of being transparent about our actions that are now supported by **@curie**, we will release every week a list of authors who have caught the attention of the **@steemstem** curation team. If you want to discuss this with us, please do not hesitate to join the [**steemSTEM channel**](https://steemit.chat/channel/steemSTEM) on the Steemit chat or to follow [our curation trail on Streemian](https://streemian.com/profile/curationtrail/trailing/564). If you are not on Streemian, we have a plan B through a homemade voting bot. You can contact us on the chat in order to be added to its trail. From January 8 to January 14, we rewarded **140** different authors who have written a total of **221** different articles. The authors who received both a @steemstem and a @curie vote that week are: @aboutcoolscience, @adetola, @adi-mac, @afifa, @ajpacheco1610, @alexander.alexis, @alexipapa, @alexs1320, @alpharay, @altherion, @amavi, @amity123, @arrjey, @aximot, @bewise, @biomanu, @blessing97, @blue-steens, @booster916, @carloserp-2000, @chidiebereegbo, @chotho, @churchboy, @cjrc97, @codeworkr, @crazy-daisy, @cristi, @csusbgeochem1, @cuarzo05, @cwen, @dber, @dedicatedguy, @doctorcro, @donfelix, @drkomoo, @dysfunctional, @ecostory, @edumurphy, @eliaschess333, @ememovic, @emilclaudell, @enzor, @erh.germany, @esteemlife, @etcmike, @exercisinghealth, @fancybrothers, @filotasriza3, @fredrikaa, @geekpowered, @godswill, @greenrun, @hadji, @haphazard-hstead, @harshameghadri, @himal, @holothewise, @illuminatus, @inglimod, @irime, @jacobts, @jakipatryk, @jepper, @josalarcon2, @josealbertomg71, @joseg, @juanjdiaz89, @katerinaramm, @kay-khosa, @kaydee, @kedi, @keephy, @kenadis, @kerriknox, @kharrazi, @laylahsophia, @leczy, @lesshorrible, @louic, @loveisintheair, @markos86, @marverick984, @masterwu, @mathowl, @maticpecovnik, @maurelvys, @mcw, @mlilom, @mountain.phil28, @mountainwashere, @mrs.nobody, @muphy, @myego13, @mystifact, @nedspeaks, @nicomax, @noble-noah, @nonationnoborder, @olayiwola, @oluwabori, @oscarcc89, @osmerj, @pario, @pearlumie, @preciousdave, @proteus-h, @punjolife, @rebelheart, @replichara, @rickie, @rionpistorius, @rocking-dave, @rossanavictora, @rscalabrini, @samminator, @saunter, @sc-steemit, @sciencegeek, @sco, @shairanada, @shehzad, @shodiya, @simplifylife, @siniy, @st3llar, @steepup, @stelmar, @tbp-hou, @techlife, @tensor, @terrylovejoy, @tfcoates, @thalmaray, @thatsweeneyguy, @thedrewtrott, @thegiamarcos, @timspeer, @tking77798, @toomuchcoffee, @tormiwah, @tsoldovieri, @ufv, @valchiz, @valth, @wilians, @zest, @zkalemiss All curation rewards earned will be used to fund @steemstem project functioning and activities. ### See you all next **Thursday**! Due to the increasing number of great posts, we will advertise more posts and do it twice a week once on Thursday (the 6 best choices from Monday to Wednesday) and once on Monday (the 8th best choices from Thursday to Sunday)! https://steemitimages.com/0x0/https://i.imgur.com/WhYkkh9.gif