Top science news headlines for the week 21

Monday, May 18
Analytical Chemistry
1305

Debunking a core chemistry concept taught in classrooms everywhere

Education
128

AI-generated fake citations are flooding scientific literature across publications, scientists warn

Earth Sciences
1716

White hydrogen discovered in billion-year-old Canadian Shield rock points to potential new energy source

Earth Sciences
383

Sea level rise is swallowing US Mid-Atlantic farmland faster than expected, study finds

Earth Sciences
357

Sea levels rising dramatically in some areas due to land subsidence

Cell & Microbiology
29

A smelly dog breath breakthrough: Plant-based spray tackles odor and harmful oral microbes

Ecology
138

Microbes for health: New way to feel 'at one' with nature

Tuesday, May 19
Astronomy
190

Consistency check casts doubt on evolving dark energy

Evolution
1921

Why meat-eating dinosaurs like T. rex evolved tiny arms

Astronomy
61

AtLAST, a telescope that could reveal the missing half of the universe

Environment
27

Hurricane forecasts have improved dramatically, saving lives, but federal cuts stretch NOAA to the breaking point

Cell & Microbiology
9

Decoding the balance between life-and-death proteins

Other
14

We asked US researchers how the Trump administration's science policies have affected them

Astronomy
25

Indigenous Australians were the world's first astronomers. But their knowledge is now at risk

Wednesday, May 20
Evolution
365

New insights into how the human hand evolved from our ape-like ancestors

Earth Sciences
526

Scientists improve knowledge on sea level rise—and confirm it has been accelerating since 1960

Evolution
223

Discovery of new fossils in Northwest Canada changes view of early animal evolution

Archaeology
44

Portugal burial reveals first known bone dental bridge in national archaeological record

Astronomy
71

An explanation for the massive black holes the JWST found in the early universe

Archaeology
46

Friend or foul? Exploring the ancient bond between pigeons and people

Quantum Physics
49

Quantum sensors use atoms, electrons and light as ultra‑steady rulers

Thursday, May 21
Quantum Physics
891

Quantum supremacy just ran into an unexpected rival: An ordinary laptop armed with new math

Paleontology & Fossils
526

Ancient seas get a new T. rex as massive mosasaur emerges from Texas fossils

Quantum Physics
76

Molecule-in-a-crystal system could boost quantum computing via chemically engineered qubits

Evolution
167

Overpopulation can impair fertility. A new study explains why

General Physics
159

Crystals of space and time: A structural phenomenon that may collapse into tiny black holes

Education
45

Is listening to music while studying a helpful habit or hidden distraction?

Planetary Sciences
37

NASA's AWE instrument completes mission to study Earth's effect on space weather

Friday, May 22
Planetary Sciences
460

Earth's outer core beneath Pacific reversed direction in 2010, satellite data reveal

Plants & Animals
3339

Lost elephant calf reunites with family after researchers track herd across Samburu reserve

Mathematics
324

AI makes a major breakthrough in a math problem that had stumped experts for decades

Superconductivity
156

'Designer' superconducting diamond: Researchers uncover path to multi-modality quantum chips

Social Sciences
130

Why we live alone—and what it means for the climate and our sense of community

Polymers
41

Student talent drives simpler method for programming artificial muscles in soft robots

Condensed Matter
68

Nickelate reveals nodeless gap, providing key clue to high-temperature superconductivity

Saturday, May 23
Environment
23

After the flames, wildfires pollute drinking water for years

Plants & Animals
219

Honeybees reveal Weber's law in flight when choosing paths

Biotechnology
27

De‑extinction company says it's made an artificial egg—if true, it could help save living species

Environment
52

Indonesia says its giant sea wall will stop flooding. Is this climate adaptation or a costly folly?

Biochemistry
101

'Permanently wet' coating method could transform wastewater treatment by helping bacteria survive better

Astronomy
152

Extreme 8.5-minute orbit reveals white dwarf being torn apart by its binary companion

Optics & Photonics
79

Quantum metasurface boosts terahertz detection sensitivity by exploiting in-plane photoelectric effect

Sunday, May 24
Mathematics
901

Mathematicians solve decades-old mystery about the hidden order in high-dimensional randomness

Bio & Medicine
146

Graphene quantum dots show promise in targeting Parkinson's-related protein clumping

Earth Sciences
43

Expedition to Hess Rise in the Northwest Pacific begins

Plants & Animals
1261

This tiny blue octopus from the Galápagos could curl up in your hand and shows how much deep ocean remains unexplored

Environment
37

The impact of microplastics on ocean carbon uptake

Social Sciences
127

Not just a fun hobby: Board games can help build connections and reduce stress

Archaeology
140

'Patchwork families' existed more than 5,000 years ago, Neolithic DNA reveals