Humanities and Social Sciences

Stress impairs your brain’s ability to link memories — dampening insight 0
- SCIENCE
- May 23, 2026
Stress has widespread effects on the brain.Credit: K H Fung/Science Photo Library Acute stress makes it difficult to link memories of past events with fresh information, a study1 suggests. The results help to explain why people struggle to show insight under pressure. The study, published today in Science Advances, combined brain imaging and psychological testing
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Becoming a mother leaves long-lasting molecular memories 0
- SCIENCE
- May 20, 2026
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 hormonal shifts. Postpartum stress disrupts these patterns.
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US biology lab locked down for more than a week amid smuggling inquiry 0
- SCIENCE
- May 17, 2026
A lab at the University of Indiana Bloomington is under scrutiny from the US Department of Agriculture.Credit: Michael Hickey/Getty Biologists at Indiana University (IU) Bloomington have been locked out of their laboratories for more than a week, after the university suddenly changed locks on its biology building on 7 May. Although university officials restored access
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Immune cells in the blood drive cognitive ageing — blocking them improves memory 0
- SCIENCE
- May 14, 2026
Age-related memory decline could be caused by ageing immune cells.Credit: JasonDoiy/Getty A type of immune cell circulating in the blood contributes to cognitive ageing, and blocking its effects can reverse the changes, suggests a mouse study published in Immunity on 14 May1. T cells have many jobs, chiefly destroying pathogens. But as people age, a
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Hantavirus outbreak exposes uncertainty about how disease spreads 0
- SCIENCE
- May 11, 2026
Passengers disembarked from the MV Hondius at the Canary Islands wearing personal protective equipment.Credit: Chris McGrath/Getty Close to 150 passengers and crew members on the cruise ship MV Hondius struck by an outbreak of a deadly hantavirus have disembarked and are returning to their home countries, where they will quarantine. The way that will happen,
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How fertilizer shortages caused by the energy crisis threaten food security 0
- SCIENCE
- May 5, 2026
Since March, war in the Middle East has disrupted global fertilizer markets. Urea prices jumped by nearly 46% in a month, as geopolitical and energy shocks hit nitrogen supply chains1. The disruptions caused by blocked maritime bottlenecks, including the Strait of Hormuz, limiting tanker movements and flows of oil and liquefied natural gas, underscore the
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