Beatrix Potter (1866–1943) is globally celebrated as the creator of The Tale of Peter Rabbit. Yet behind her delicate watercolor illustrations lies a rigorous scientific observer who dissected deceased pet animals and produced hundreds of precise mycological studies. This paper applies Load Minimization Theory (LMT) to analyze how Potter strategically reduced Unnecessary Load (U) and Friction (F)…

This paper evaluates the proposal that Ada Lovelace may be called the Mother of A and Mary Shelley the Godmother of AI. The claim is not defended as an institutional priority thesis: artificial intelligence as a named technical field belongs to the twentieth century. Rather, the paper argues that Lovelace and Shelley supply two indispensable pre-disciplinary structures for understanding artificia…

Scientific Reports, Published online: 19 May 2026; doi:10.1038/s41598-026-53666-2 The effect of vaping and smoking on colonic anastomosis healing in an experimental animal model

Scientific Reports, Published online: 19 May 2026; doi:10.1038/s41598-026-50021-3 Effects of guaiane sesquiterpenoids from the invasive species Ambrosia trifida on inflammatory bowel disease by targeting JAK2/STAT3 signaling

Scientific Reports, Published online: 19 May 2026; doi:10.1038/s41598-026-51418-w A novel lexicon dictionary and CNN-LSTM employed hybrid approach for sentiment detection of COVID-19 vaccines

Scientific Reports, Published online: 19 May 2026; doi:10.1038/s41598-026-50107-y A unified RVE-based mesoscale framework for predicting mechanical performance of conventional cement concrete and recycled aggregate slag-dolomite geopolymer concrete

A new study suggests that difficult childbirth is not exclusive to humans. For decades, human childbirth has been treated as one of evolution’s great compromises. Our species walks upright, yet also gives birth to babies with unusually large brains, creating a famously tight squeeze during delivery. This idea has shaped everything from anthropology textbooks to [...]

Nature Human Behaviour, Published online: 15 May 2026; doi:10.1038/s41562-026-02484-7 The leaky pipeline is not only about hiring and promotion but also what happens in networking spaces where harassment goes unchecked. When careers depend on conferences and collaborations, institutions and research communities must stop leaving people to manage the risk alone, argues Shahar Hechtlinger.

Nature Human Behaviour, Published online: 18 May 2026; doi:10.1038/s41562-026-02475-8 Polygenic risk scores are not genetic predispositions

Nature Human Behaviour, Published online: 15 May 2026; doi:10.1038/s41562-026-02461-0 Vaping regulation is a global challenge. We discuss evidence on health risks, smoking impacts and policy goals, and advocate for pragmatic, proportionate regulation that reduces smoking harms while minimizing youth uptake and unintended consequences.

Nature Human Behaviour, Published online: 18 May 2026; doi:10.1038/s41562-026-02473-w Miyamoto et al. show that human metacognition depends on multiple signals in the anterior lateral prefrontal cortex, whereas in macaques it relies on distributed processing in multiple prefrontal areas.

Nature Human Behaviour, Published online: 15 May 2026; doi:10.1038/s41562-026-02455-y Climate change and social health are deeply interconnected: climate impacts erode social conditions, while social disconnection weakens collective climate action. Strengthening social health is essential for resilience and effective policy.

Nature Human Behaviour, Published online: 18 May 2026; doi:10.1038/s41562-026-02472-x In this Article, Iggena et al. show that memories of real-world navigational episodes do not simply fade but are continuously reshaped over decades through shifting contributions of episode-related spatial representations and episode-independent spatial schemas.

Nature Human Behaviour, Published online: 18 May 2026; doi:10.1038/s41562-026-02479-4 Socioeconomic inequalities shape who accesses early childcare, even in countries that claim universal provision. This entrenched inequality limits child development, women’s employment and gender equality — but governments have clear tools to close the gap.

Nature Human Behaviour, Published online: 15 May 2026; doi:10.1038/s41562-026-02470-z Ever since electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes) were first marketed in 2004, they have been promoted as ‘tobacco harm reduction’ on the basis of the assumption that they are a less toxic way for smokers to consume nicotine. As detailed below, current evidence does not support this. E-cigarettes as actually used …

UCLA Health researchers have identified a potential drug target for treating Fragile X syndrome, the most common genetic cause of intellectual disability and autism that affects roughly 1 in 2,000 boys.

When my mother was diagnosed with Lewy Body Dementia, it was the most difficult time of my life. Not only was I dealing with her care, but I was anticipating her slow, inevitable decline and death. I was living in a kind of betwixt and between, trying to balance caring for her, my young children, and my patients, while feeling palpable grief for what I was about to lose. This is what’s known as …

A study led by researchers at the University of Arizona College of Medicine – Tucson showed that giving the antibiotic azithromycin did not help preschool children seen in the hospital emergency room with bouts of severe wheezing.

Researchers developed ΨDNA, a DNA-based CRISPR guide that allows Cas12 enzymes to target RNA with high specificity while retaining compatibility with DNA-editing workflows. The platform detected HCV RNA in clinical samples and enabled programmable RNA knockdown, multiplex targeting, and RNA modification in human cells.

I found this old clock, and it seems there are some clues hidden in it, but I can't really tell what they mean. Can you figure it out?