See a helicopter destined for Mars and a spectacular flowery frame for the Milky Way — May’s best science images
Spot the differences. To celebrate its 36th birthday, the Hubble Space Telescope revisited a region of the Trifid Nebula, a ‘stellar
Science with military applications is cited more than civilian-only research
Drones are one example of a technology that emerged out of dual-use research.Credit: Costfoto/NurPhoto via Getty Dual-use research that leads
why the ‘disease’ label doesn’t always fit
People with the same body mass index can have radically different health statuses. Credit: Hiraman/Getty Nearly one billion people worldwide
Science sleuths uncover more than 100 suspicious images in Thermo Fisher antibody catalogue
Y-shaped biomolecules called antibodies are scientific workhorse tools that researchers use to bind to and track specific proteins.Credit: Nemes Laszlo/Science
is Mythos the start of the restricted-AI era?
In April, the artificial-intelligence firm Anthropic announced it had made an AI model too dangerous to be released to the
Stress impairs your brain’s ability to link memories — dampening insight
Stress has widespread effects on the brain.Credit: K H Fung/Science Photo Library Acute stress makes it difficult to link memories
Becoming a mother leaves long-lasting molecular memories
Nature, Published online: 20 May 2026; doi:10.1038/d41586-026-01327-9 In mice, motherhood induces transcriptional changes in the brain that endure beyond short-term
US biology lab locked down for more than a week amid smuggling inquiry
A lab at the University of Indiana Bloomington is under scrutiny from the US Department of Agriculture.Credit: Michael Hickey/Getty Biologists
Immune cells in the blood drive cognitive ageing — blocking them improves memory
Age-related memory decline could be caused by ageing immune cells.Credit: JasonDoiy/Getty A type of immune cell circulating in the blood
Hantavirus outbreak exposes uncertainty about how disease spreads
Passengers disembarked from the MV Hondius at the Canary Islands wearing personal protective equipment.Credit: Chris McGrath/Getty Close to 150 passengers