Science - Saturday, May 30, 2026

Despite widespread support in polls, the number of people who actually go through with the practice remains very small.

The second full moon of May will look smaller and dimmer than usual.

New DNA evidence shows that Europe’s hunter-gatherers and early farmers interacted far more closely than previously thought, with women likely playing a crucial role in spreading farming across northwestern Europe. Centuries later, the arrival of Bell Beaker migrants triggered another sweeping population transformation that extended all the way to Britain.

By stacking custom-designed silver nanoparticles like nanoscale LEGO bricks, scientists stabilized a mysterious crystal phase that had never been observed before. The material not only solves a longstanding puzzle in materials science but also exhibits promising quantum properties at room temperature.

Scientists discovered that sleep deprivation damages a key brain circuit responsible for social memory, making it harder to recognize familiar individuals. In laboratory studies, caffeine restored communication between neurons in this pathway and reversed the memory deficits caused by lost sleep. The effect was remarkably targeted, helping the impaired circuit recover without overstimulating normal brain function.