Brainrot videos are specifically designed to confuse us. They can also be a financial bonanza for their creators.

It’s a regrettable reality that there is never enough time to cover all the interesting scientific stories we come across. So every month, we highlight a handful of the best stories that nearly slipped through the cracks. May's list includes the discovery of a possible prehistoric mining site in the Pyrenees; a new species of tiny blue octopus; why cats seem to prefer silver vine to catnip; and why political polarization might behave like a phase transition, among other noteworthy stories.

Prehistoric mining in the Pyrenees

Credit: IPHES-CERCA

High in the eastern Pyrenees is a prehistoric cave, excavated between 2021 and 2023. Based on analysis of artifacts uncovered at the site, a team of Spanish archaeologists believes this may have served as an ancient copper smelting spot, with far more frequent occupation by humans than previously thought. The researchers described these preliminary findings in a paper published in the journal Frontiers in Environmental Archaeology.

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© Maria D. Guillén / IPHES-CERCA

What’s launching this week Early this morning, Monday, June 1, the state owned China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC) successfully completed the maiden flight of the reusable Long March 12B — a two-stage, 236-foot (72-meter) rocket powered by nine liquid oxygen and kerosene engines with a 44,000-pound (20,000 kilogram) payload capacity. The mission launchedContinue reading "SpaceX, China set for busy launch week"

The post SpaceX, China set for busy launch week appeared first on Astronomy Magazine.

Scientists have identified supermagnetic macrophages in the livers of homing pigeons (Columba livia domestica) that appear essential for navigation when the Sun is not visible, pointing to an entirely new mechanism for animal magnetoreception.

The post Pigeons May Sense Earth’s Magnetic Field Using Superparamagnetic Immune Cells in Their Livers appeared first on Sci.News: Breaking Science News.

Neuroscientists are discovering that spending time with others may be a basic biological necessity, like need for food or water

People under stress may find it harder to orient themselves in space, and researchers in Bochum have identified a possible reason why. The stress hormone cortisol appears to interfere with the brain system that helps people navigate. It weakens the activity of grid cells, which are important for spatial orientation. Researchers at Ruhr University Bochum [...]

Two new tool compounds may help scientists study TAOK proteins linked to Alzheimer’s disease and other neurological disorders. Alzheimer’s disease is the leading cause of dementia and affects more than seven million people in the United States. Some treatments can slow the disease, but most address symptoms rather than the root biology, and none can [...]

On May 22, 2026, the Pentagon released a second batch of previously classified photos and videos showing what appear to be unexplained flying objects. These file dumps were the culmination of a process that was set in motion back in July 2023, when a group of government whistleblowers testified before Congress that the U.S. government was secretly inContinue reading "Could aliens ever visit Earth?"

The post Could aliens ever visit Earth? appeared first on Astronomy Magazine.

New guidance from the Energy Department would prevent people from receiving rebates after making such swaps.

© Bing Guan for The New York Times

Physicist Richard Feynman turned a lunch dilemma into a math problem. Researchers finally cracked his notes and found people approximate his solution on their own.

Scientists may have found a completely new way to treat depression by targeting inflammation instead of brain chemistry. A small clinical trial led by researchers at the University of Bristol suggests that targeting the immune system could help people with depression who do not improve with standard antidepressant medications. The findings, published May 20 in [...]

An analysis of six years of procurement records suggests that the People’s Liberation Army has openly tried to acquire restricted U.S. technology.

Some analysts said the main international oil price, which was up 6 percent on Monday, could climb much higher in the coming weeks if the Strait of Hormuz doesn’t reopen.

© Damian Dovarganes/Associated Press

NASA's X-59 jet is on the verge of finally breaking the sound barrier as the agency looks forward to the aircraft's first supersonic flight this month.

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The AI boom is ushering in a new era for energy storage. As data center buildout accelerates, batteries are evolving from short-duration backup tools into larger, more flexible systems that can help bring facilities online faster and manage complex power needs. In the US in particular, a growing pipeline of projects is emerging, with batteries increasingly paired with on-site generation or used to smooth demand and unlock faster connections to the grid. So how are data centers changing the energy storage market, and what role could these systems play in the power grid of the future? On today’s show, Tom Rowlands-Rees is joined by, Caitilín McManus, a technology and innovation associate at BloombergNEF, to discuss her recently released note “Data Centers’ Energy Storage Ramp Up: Project List Grows.”

In a small randomized trial in the United Kingdom, adults who added a serving of 100% fruit juice or a smoothie to a healthier diet reported lower depression scores after four weeks.

The post Daily Glass of Fruit Juice May Lift Your Mood: Study appeared first on Sci.News: Breaking Science News.

Researchers suggest that old psychoanalytic ideas and modern brain science may be describing the same mental processes from different angles. More than a century after Sigmund Freud developed his influential theories of the mind, some researchers believe modern neuroscience may be arriving at surprisingly similar conclusions. A new paper published in the neurocognitive journal Entropy [...]

Nature Geoscience, Published online: 01 June 2026; doi:10.1038/s41561-026-01962-x

Two river systems that drained into the partially desiccated Late Miocene Mediterranean later coalesced into the modern Euphrates River as regional uplift redirected drainage to the Persian Gulf, according to geomorphic mapping and sediment modelling.

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