Nature, Published online: 25 May 2026; doi:10.1038/d41586-026-01619-0Neuroscience needs to stop treating the brain as if it is a computer.
Nature, Published online: 25 May 2026; doi:10.1038/d41586-026-01621-6Billie Goolsby’s experience with hearing loss helped her to develop a robotic tadpole for deciphering the secret lives of amphibians.
Nature, Published online: 22 May 2026; doi:10.1038/d41586-026-01644-zImaging suggests why the ability to make inferences declines after an episode of acute stress, such as a job interview.
Nature, Published online: 22 May 2026; doi:10.1038/d41586-026-01651-0The late Hungarian mathematician Paul Erdős thought he had the last word on a geometry problem. Now an OpenAI chatbot has proved him wrong.
Nature, Published online: 21 May 2026; doi:10.1038/d41586-026-01656-9A robotic device helps children with spinal muscular atrophy build up strength in their knees. Plus, a tough peer-review process could lead to a more-cited paper and chemists’ mission to replace ‘forever chemicals’.
Nature, Published online: 22 May 2026; doi:10.1038/d41586-026-01392-0Cell biologist and crime novelist Frances Brodsky says writing fiction has taught her perseverance and improved her manuscripts.
Nature, Published online: 22 May 2026; doi:10.1038/d41586-026-01660-zNature staff discuss ongoing efforts to curb the Bundibugyo virus outbreak.
Nature, Published online: 22 May 2026; doi:10.1038/d41586-026-01087-6It’s just a game — isn’t it?
Nature, Published online: 22 May 2026; doi:10.1038/d41586-026-01655-wAndrew Robinson reviews five of the best science picks.
Nature, Published online: 21 May 2026; doi:10.1038/d41586-026-01608-3James Webb Space Telescope reveals weather patterns from how planet WASP-94 A b filters the light of its parent star.
Nature, Published online: 21 May 2026; doi:10.1038/d41586-026-01593-7Genetic sleuthing uncovers a rare case of cancer caused by a virus administered as part of a child’s treatment for a genetic disorder.
Nature, Published online: 21 May 2026; doi:10.1038/d41586-026-01467-yFélix Schoeller’s team built a realistic artificial-intelligence chatbot to train facilitators needed for research into psychoactive drugs — and, ultimately, to improve public health.
Nature, Published online: 21 May 2026; doi:10.1038/d41586-026-01646-xThe size of the outbreak in its initial days is worrying researchers. The next few weeks will determine how large it grows, they say.
Nature, Published online: 21 May 2026; doi:10.1038/d41586-026-01645-yPublic-health researcher James Baguma has studied the interactions between bats, which can carry the virus, and people in the region near the latest epidemic.
Nature, Published online: 21 May 2026; doi:10.1038/s41586-026-10656-8De novo design of miniproteins targeting GPCRs
Nature, Published online: 21 May 2026; doi:10.1038/d41586-026-00198-4Animal companions can be a lot of work, and are difficult to fit into a busy professional’s life, but they can also enhance well-being.
Nature, Published online: 21 May 2026; doi:10.1038/d41586-026-01591-9The black hole at the Milky Way’s centre catapulted a Sun-like star to 'hypervelocity' speed.
Nature, Published online: 20 May 2026; doi:10.1038/d41586-026-01615-4An AI-led analysis of publicly available peer-review reports links requests for major revisions with papers that end up having high impact.
Nature, Published online: 20 May 2026; doi:10.1038/d41586-026-00429-8As the toxic legacy of ‘forever chemicals’ grows, researchers are racing to develop safer alternatives.
Nature, Published online: 20 May 2026; doi:10.1038/d41586-026-01327-9In mice, motherhood induces transcriptional changes in the brain that endure beyond short-term hormonal shifts. Postpartum stress disrupts these patterns.
Nature, Published online: 20 May 2026; doi:10.1038/d41586-026-00928-8When faced with unfamiliar problems, humans and other animals must plan and execute action sequences that they might not have used before. In macaque monkeys, this ability is supported by a population of neurons in the brain’s fron…
Nature, Published online: 20 May 2026; doi:10.1038/s41586-026-10527-2A reconstruction method based on Gaussian-apodized single-sideband electron ptychography removes artefacts to enable the high-fidelity identification of guest species in porous materials.
Nature, Published online: 20 May 2026; doi:10.1038/s41586-026-10512-9Combined single-cell transcriptomic and chromatin accessibility sequencing analysis of mouse primary visual cortex across postnatal development reveals that the glucocorticoid receptor drives astrocyte maturation to limit neuronal …
Nature, Published online: 20 May 2026; doi:10.1038/s41586-026-10571-yThe buffer pool designed to compensate for unintended carbon losses from the largest forest climate mitigation programme in the United States is too small when considering the impact of future climate change scenarios.
Nature, Published online: 20 May 2026; doi:10.1038/s41586-026-10564-xl-2-Hydroxyglutarate is identified as a legitimate physiological signalling metabolite, and control of its levels is essential for postnatal growth and survival and correct renal development and function.
Nature, Published online: 20 May 2026; doi:10.1038/s41586-026-10566-9The Small Auxin Up RNA (SAUR) protein ZmSAUR72 in maize (Zea mays) promotes silk growth via regulation of H+-ATPase activity, and is a key determinant of the anthesis-silking interval and thus resilience to drought.
Nature, Published online: 20 May 2026; doi:10.1038/s41586-026-10533-4Integrated palaeontological, sedimentological and geochemical analyses of ancient rocks from Australia show that early eukaryotes were largely restricted to oxygenated benthic habitats, probably possessed mitochondria by 1.75 billi…
Nature, Published online: 20 May 2026; doi:10.1038/s41586-026-10479-7Analysis of five types of warm-season storms in Texas using three-dimensional radar reflectivity data shows that urbanization can influence storm frequency, intensity, or vertical distribution, depending on the storm type.
Nature, Published online: 20 May 2026; doi:10.1038/s41586-026-10554-zQuasisymmetry could arise from spontaneous symmetry breaking in a system of strongly interacting building blocks with programmed curvatures, and this principle, coupled with a design approach, can generate a rich array of quasisymm…
Nature, Published online: 20 May 2026; doi:10.1038/s41586-026-10502-xResearchers enable hidden-object imaging on consumer LiDAR by fusing multiple frames with a motion-based model, achieving three-dimensional reconstruction, tracking and localization using low-cost, off-the-shelf smartphone sensors.
Nature, Published online: 20 May 2026; doi:10.1038/s41586-026-10570-zUsing high-resolution satellite imagery combined with a deep-learning-based framework to build a national energy inventory enables a data-driven assessment of solar–wind complementarity strategies to reduce power variability and en…
Nature, Published online: 20 May 2026; doi:10.1038/s41586-026-10535-2An analysis of diet-induced obesity using MouseMapper—a suite of foundation-model-based deep-learning algorithms—identifies structural alterations of the infraorbital branch of the trigeminal ganglia.
Nature, Published online: 20 May 2026; doi:10.1038/s41586-026-10297-xA drawing-like task designed to study compositional generalization identifies a specific neural population in the ventral premotor cortex in primates that encodes action symbols.
Nature, Published online: 20 May 2026; doi:10.1038/s41586-026-10528-1Basic properties of symmetric random matrices can explain the emergence of macroscopic patterns in neural networks, suggesting that initialization conditions of connected neural populations may confer computational advantages acros…
Nature, Published online: 20 May 2026; doi:10.1038/s41586-026-10520-9The populations of CRHR2-expressing neurons in the lateral septum of mice involved in threat-related behaviour in response to environmental challenges are defined.
Nature, Published online: 20 May 2026; doi:10.1038/s41586-026-10509-4Brain-wide transcriptomic profiling in mice reveals that reproductive experience remodels the maternal brain by altering dopamine dynamics in the dorsal hippocampal formation, causing dopamine-dependent histone post-translational m…
Nature, Published online: 20 May 2026; doi:10.1038/s41586-026-10485-9Bright squeezed vacuum light boosts nonlinear atomic tunnelling ionization more than 20-fold compared with coherent light, enabling quantum control of strong-field processes without increasing classical intensity.
Nature, Published online: 20 May 2026; doi:10.1038/s41586-026-10532-5A genome-wide association study combining data from the Estonian Biobank and the UK Biobank identifies many common and low-frequency locus–metabolic trait associations, enabling the identification of putative causal links with dise…
Nature, Published online: 20 May 2026; doi:10.1038/s41586-026-10464-0Researchers designed two-component proteins forming quasisymmetric cages via geometric frustration, enabling tunable virus-like assemblies for cargo delivery, cellular uptake and studying intracellular diffusion and protein localiz…
Nature, Published online: 20 May 2026; doi:10.1038/s41586-026-10572-xA fungal long non-coding RNA from Magnaporthe oryzae translocates into rice cells to sequester a host microRNA that normally represses PKR1, a negative immunity regulator, thereby facilitating infection and revealing a widespread R…
Nature, Published online: 20 May 2026; doi:10.1038/s41586-026-10565-wBy using singularity physics to enable cubic-root scaling of frequency and phase modulations induced by the Coriolis effect to enhance the performance of chip-scale Coriolis vibratory gyroscopes, substantial improvements in signal-…
Nature, Published online: 20 May 2026; doi:10.1038/d41586-026-00428-9China now produces more than three times the United States’ chemistry output in the Nature Index, underscoring its rapidly growing influence in the field.
Nature, Published online: 20 May 2026; doi:10.1038/d41586-026-01627-0Systems generate hypotheses and ways to test them — plus, how mobile phones might one day be able to see around corners.
Nature, Published online: 20 May 2026; doi:10.1038/d41586-026-01643-0From glowing red face masks to fibre optic needles, we explore the gap between commercial devices and the field of ‘photobiomodulation’.
Nature, Published online: 20 May 2026; doi:10.1038/d41586-026-00431-0A breakdown of leading countries and institutions highlights China’s dominance in the field.
Nature, Published online: 20 May 2026; doi:10.1038/s41586-026-10659-5Author Correction: Inactivating SnRK1β1A promotes broad-spectrum disease resistance in rice
Nature, Published online: 20 May 2026; doi:10.1038/s41586-026-10642-0Spinal neuromotor rehabilitation using a portable isokinetic training robot
Nature, Published online: 18 May 2026; doi:10.1038/d41586-026-01613-6Photosynthetic machinery from spinach can help to soothe eye inflammation in mice. Plus, an Ebola outbreak has been declared a global health emergency and the science skills you might not know you have.
Nature, Published online: 19 May 2026; doi:10.1038/d41586-026-01640-3The ‘steroid Olympics’ could highlight cracks in the anti-doping system. Plus, AI brain implants are headed for real-world use in China and the progress on treatments for the virus at the centre of the Ebola outbreak.
Nature, Published online: 20 May 2026; doi:10.1038/d41586-026-01554-0Neurons fire much more erratically than researchers thought. What does that mean for how the brain works?
Nature, Published online: 18 May 2026; doi:10.1038/d41586-026-01592-8A receptacle on the ‘Plain of Jars’ was used as a repository for human bones for generations.
Nature, Published online: 19 May 2026; doi:10.1038/d41586-026-01595-5The preprint server is the latest to impose stiff penalties on authors who contribute to AI ‘slop’ — but not everyone is convinced it’s the right approach.
Nature, Published online: 19 May 2026; doi:10.1038/d41586-026-01551-3With the arrival of ‘AI scientists’, it’s as well to remember that human wisdom, empathy and sheer messiness are as much part of progress as are process and efficiency.
Nature, Published online: 19 May 2026; doi:10.1038/d41586-026-01596-4Systems can generate hypotheses, interpret data and suggest ways to develop medicines.
Nature, Published online: 19 May 2026; doi:10.1038/d41586-026-01594-6Satellite data on more than 20,000 rivers reveals small but widespread decreases in dissolved oxygen.
Nature, Published online: 19 May 2026; doi:10.1038/d41586-026-01553-1Thanks to some surprising advances, mathematicians are starting to realize that artificial intelligence could radically alter their profession.
Nature, Published online: 19 May 2026; doi:10.1038/d41586-026-01329-7DNA rearrangements in immune-system B cells generate diverse antibody-encoding genes and help to avoid producing antibodies that target the body’s own tissues.
Nature, Published online: 19 May 2026; doi:10.1038/d41586-026-01557-xArtificial intelligence is rapidly accelerating scientific output, but risks narrowing inquiry, weakening judgement and undermining how scientists are trained.
Nature, Published online: 19 May 2026; doi:10.1038/d41586-026-01535-3Colossal Biosciences says its artificial egg has de-extinction and conservation potential.
Nature, Published online: 19 May 2026; doi:10.1038/d41586-026-01604-7Airborne DNA can yield insights with the right techniques
Nature, Published online: 19 May 2026; doi:10.1038/d41586-026-01335-9A beautiful and ingenious machine hit the headlines 150 years ago, and a book explores bird migration in this week’s pick from the Nature archive.
Nature, Published online: 19 May 2026; doi:10.1038/d41586-026-01606-5France’s research-primate project goes against its own ethics panel
Nature, Published online: 19 May 2026; doi:10.1038/d41586-026-01603-8Support academic institutions under attack
Nature, Published online: 19 May 2026; doi:10.1038/d41586-026-01605-6AI might jeopardize the uncertainty required in science
Nature, Published online: 19 May 2026; doi:10.1038/s41586-026-10644-yAccelerating scientific discovery with Co-Scientist
Nature, Published online: 19 May 2026; doi:10.1038/s41586-026-10658-6An AI system to help scientists write expert-level empirical software
Nature, Published online: 19 May 2026; doi:10.1038/s41586-026-10652-yA multi-agent system for automating scientific discovery
Nature, Published online: 18 May 2026; doi:10.1038/d41586-026-01607-4Clinical trials for treatments against Ebola Bundibugyo virus are ‘in a strong position’ to be launched quickly in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uganda.
Nature, Published online: 19 May 2026; doi:10.1038/d41586-026-01468-xChinese start-up firms are supercharging their efforts to develop algorithms for brain–computer interfaces that help people to walk and talk.
Nature, Published online: 18 May 2026; doi:10.1038/d41586-026-01574-wAn event that champions performance-boosting substances poses risks to athletes’ health — and integrity. Anti-doping science must keep up.
Nature, Published online: 18 May 2026; doi:10.1038/d41586-026-01555-zMany avian species are threatened, but conservation efforts and birds’ high intelligence offer hope.
Nature, Published online: 18 May 2026; doi:10.1038/d41586-026-01552-2The Enhanced Games, which permits the use of performance-enhancing drugs, exposes flaws in the sporting world.
Nature, Published online: 18 May 2026; doi:10.1038/d41586-026-01597-3The outbreak is only the third caused by the rare Bundibugyo virus, for which there are no approved vaccines or therapeutics.
Nature, Published online: 18 May 2026; doi:10.1038/d41586-026-00525-9If the thought of ‘working’ a room packed with strangers fills you with dread, academic careers coach Caroline Dunne has some advice.
Nature, Published online: 18 May 2026; doi:10.1038/d41586-026-01563-zThe backlash against artificial intelligence is growing. Nature wants to know what its readers think about the impact on science.
Nature, Published online: 14 May 2026; doi:10.1038/d41586-026-01578-6Between six and eight hours of sleep each day seems to be a ‘sweet spot’ for preventing disease. Plus, unexpected interbreeding between Denisovans and Homo erectus, and how the look of antibiotics could be driving antimicrobial res…
Nature, Published online: 15 May 2026; doi:10.1038/d41586-026-01601-wThe strength of an upcoming El Niño weather pattern is still up in the air — for now. Plus, almost half of lab-mouse strains aren’t what scientists think they are and the hunt for new antibiotics in a graveyard.
Nature, Published online: 18 May 2026; doi:10.1038/d41586-026-01556-yAn analysis of what makes young people more likely to commit crimes tears down the influential assumption that character is the main factor.
Nature, Published online: 18 May 2026; doi:10.1038/s41586-026-10619-zPublisher Correction: GLP-1R–GIPR–PPARα/γ/δ quintuple agonism corrects obesity and diabetes in mice
Nature, Published online: 18 May 2026; doi:10.1038/s41586-026-10649-7Publisher Correction: Microbiota-induced T cell plasticity enables immune-mediated tumour control
Nature, Published online: 15 May 2026; doi:10.1038/d41586-026-01590-wThe Trump administration has spent months investigating the lab after a Chinese postdoc was charged with smuggling biological material into the country.
Nature, Published online: 15 May 2026; doi:10.1038/d41586-026-01559-9Could spinach extracts be the next treatment for dry-eye disease?
Nature, Published online: 15 May 2026; doi:10.1038/d41586-026-01558-wEight of the top ten officials at the US National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases have now been pushed out since President Donald Trump took office.
Nature, Published online: 15 May 2026; doi:10.1038/d41586-026-01503-xThe personalized treatment encourages the immune system to attack the tumours called glioblastomas.
Nature, Published online: 15 May 2026; doi:10.1038/d41586-026-01575-9Nature staff discuss some of the week's top science news.