Weekly round up and open thread, 18th November 2013

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We can’t always cover every story that catches our eye, so this post is to share some of the links we’ve read and found interesting this week. We don’t endorse, or agree with, everything here, we just thought they were worth sharing. Please also be aware that external links are not necessarily safe spaces and the stories we mention may be triggering.

If you have any links or opinions you would like to share, please do so in the comments below.

To end this post, and start the week in style, enjoy Liszt’s torrid Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2, as performed by Evelyn Chen.

[The image is a photograph of a carnivorous Sarracenia plant. The plant’s leaves have evolved into a funnel in order to trap insects, digesting their prey with proteases and other enzymes. The insects are attracted by a nectar-like secretion on the lip of pitchers, as well as a combination of color and scent. Slippery footing at the pitchers’ rim, aided in at least one species by a narcotic drug lacing the nectar, causes insects to fall inside, where they die and are digested by the plant as a nutrient source. The photograph was taken by Kristen and is used under a Creative Commons Licence]