Welcome to the 89^th issue of SteemSTEM Distilled, a curation effort by the members of the @steemstem team.

SteemSTEM aims to make Steem a better place for STEM, a task which we believe crucial for the long-term development of the blockchain. Our goals consist in invigorating and inspiring the minds of a community of STEM aficionados on Steem, targeting on the long-term the upgrade of SteemSTEM as a real platform for science communication. In the meantime, this goes through the support of quality, interesting and cutting-edge STEM content and the active development of our app, [**steemstem.io**](https://www.steemstem.io). ### By the way, do not hesitate to set @steemstem as a beneficiary to your post and to use the steemstem.io app. For more details, a recent update on the SteemSTEM project is available [**on the SteemSTEM blog**](https://steemit.com/@steemstem). If you want to discuss with us, please do not hesitate to join the [**steemSTEM discord server**](https://discord.gg/9c7pKVD). ![](https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-mjifaKa9hEw/Wcfnw9LxF-I/AAAAAAAAMtI/jXT86uHth0kPt_O4Q2ilwkfLnknf1bHNQCLcBGAs/s1600/STEM_Distillation.jpg) ___ In order to support the best STEM content on Steem, our team scours the blockchain and read more than several hundreds of STEM-related posts per week. We hence support about **100 of these posts**, and present in this distilled our **top 6 handpicked choices** for the last week. ___ ## Monday - Wednesday ___

### [Reviving a vintage Transmission Electron Microscope - The Philips EM 420 Part 3, Water Lines and Vacuum Gauges.](https://steemit.com/science/@roguescientist84/reviving-a-vintage-transmission-electron-microscope-the-philips-em-420-part-3-water-lines-and-vacuum-gauges)

This week we begin with the next installment of @roguescientist84 's series about bringing an old trasmission electron microscope back to life. The post is peppered with tidbits of knowledge about setting up and running a lab grade electron microscope including but not limited to: preventing condensation on the lense, what the internal workings of a vaccum gauge look like, and much more. This isn't something you get to see every day so take a moment and check it out!

### [Mad Cow Disease: What Causes It?](https://steemit.com/science/@agmoore/mad-cow-disease-what-causes-it)

When you hear the name Mad Cow disease... what image comes to mind? Is it a really pissed off cow? If it is then you should really read this great post put together by @agmoore. Here we get taken on a trip through the various reasons that actually cause a brain to begin to resemble swiss cheese (lots of holes!) Prion's are no joke and neither is how good this post is. Check it out!

___ ## Thursday - Sunday ___

### [2018 in science: from gene-edited babies to cube shaped poo (+ predictions for 2019)](https://steemit.com/science/@zen-art/2018-in-science-from-gene-edited-babies-to-cube-shaped-poo-predictions-for-2019)

Next we have @zen-art and her 2018 recap! What can we say about this post other than wow! A jam packed information bonanza about some of the years most interesting stories! From an icy lake on mars to editing the genes of human babies 2018 was a fast paced year full of many scientific developments (some good, some bad depending on your personal perspective!) Check out this post, who knows what you might have missed!!

### [Nuclear Power in Hong Kong](https://www.steemstem.io/#!/@kenchung/nuclear-power-in-hong-kong)

Lets now take a trip to Hong Kong and dive into a nice discussion about Guangdong Daya Bay Nuclear Power Station. Complete with some of the basics of the production of how nuclear energy is produced @kenchung goes into both the benefits and drawbacks of this sort of energy complete with some thoughts and opinions on the subject. This may be just the inspiration you need to think about this powersource in your own area.

___

### [A crucial time for the Ebola response effort in The Congo](https://steemit.com/steemstem/@nonzerosum/a-crucial-time-for-the-ebola-response-effort-in-the-congo)

Next we stop by a post by @nonzerosum where he discusses the response effort in the Congo in dealing with the hemmorhagic fever 'Ebola.' This post dives into the numbers keeping us informed on the toll that this disease is playing there (356 confirmed deaths to date in the most recent outbreak!) He goes on to discuss the difficulties faced by the meager healthcare system there, and the effects of distrust of the countries government on how this disease is able to spread. A highly reccomended read!

___ A few words about the nomination process ___ This week's distilled highlights were selected by @justtryme90. He continues to lacks the editorial sophistication of @ruth-girl but will always try his best when the call to fill in is sounded. Posts written by the SteemSTEM team are excluded from the nomination process. Please do not be discouraged if you did not make it on this issue. We are picking up in total 6 posts a week out of more than 100. The chances are thus low ;) 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 could be more effective. ___ Authors upvoted by the SteemSTEM team ___ In the spirit of being transparent about our actions that are now supported by **@utopian-io**, **@curie**, our **delegators**, our **trailers** and our **manual curator supporters**, we release every week the list of authors who have caught the attention of the **@steemstem** curation team. From December 30 to January 6, we rewarded **77** different authors who have written a total of **116** different articles. The **72** authors who received votes from @steemstem, potentially with either @utopian-io, @curie or both, are: @abcallen, @aellly, @agmoore, @aleestra, @alexaivytorres, @amart29, @anaestrada12, @ancolie, @answerswithjoe, @astromaniac, @bettervision, @chappertron, @cheva, @crypto-bird, @cryptoticker-de, @davidrhodes124, @delta1512, @diamondmind, @djredimi2, @ericet, @etcmike, @fancybrothers, @felixrodriguez, @giulyfarci52, @honoru, @iptrucs, @irelandscape, @josedelacruz, @juecoree, @julian2013, @kenchung, @khairulzaman, @kissfirer, @lauch3d, @lauchmelder, @liquidtravel, @lupafilotaxia, @magicmonk, @markgritter, @mike961, @miroslavrc, @pagliozzo, @phage93, @rbalzan79, @rerere, @roelandp, @roguescientist84, @ryanshan25, @samminator, @sasaadrian, @scienceblocks, @scisteem, @sco, @softmetal, @stayoutoftherz, @steevc, @svemirac, @tomastonyperez, @trufflepig, @valth, @yusvelasquez, @zen-art ___

_{[Credits: @hightouch]}

All curation rewards earned will be used to fund @steemstem project functioning and activities.

See you all next MonTuesday!