Needy seals and zero-g bubbles

This was an odd week. I don't remember the last time a major holiday like the Fourth of July fell on a Wednesday. Of course, as a freelancer I was working pretty much the entire week, but most of my editors (not to mention my readers) were in vacation mode.

But there were still four new articles this week. Here are the links:

Citizen Scientists, Funding Needed for Hawaiian Monk Seal Research Project

Greening the fleet: Republicans criticize $26 a gallon biofuel being tested by the Navy

Animal-borne diseases cause 2.7 million human deaths per year

European Space Agency and Nestle study bubbles in zero gravity

This coming week should put things back to normal. I'll have my usual posts for Scientific American and Mother Nature Network, plus I should have at least two features (maybe three) pop up online. Make sure to follow me on Twitter for the links as they go live!