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Science news this week: PCOS has a new name, Neanderthals were the world's oldest dentists, and the first nuclear bomb explosion spawned an 'alien' crystal
May 16, 2026: Our weekly roundup of the latest science in the news, as well as a few fascinating articles to keep you entertained over the weekend.
This week's science news featured some big headlines for health, including the landmark decision to officially rename polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) to polyendocrine metabolic ovarian syndrome (PMOS).
The name change — the culmination of a 14-year process that took input from over 14,000 patients and health professionals — was made to better reflect the nature of the disease from one that implied (incorrectly) that people with the disease have a higher number of pathological noncancerous ovarian cysts than those without the condition. Instead, those with PMOS have a large number of "arrested follicles," or ovarian eggs that have failed to fully mature.
Neanderthals were the world's oldest dentists
'Exceptional' drilled tooth reveals Neanderthals practiced dentistry in Siberia 60,000 years ago
Neanderthals hold the record of being the world's oldest dentists by about 45,000 years.
Neanderthals may have been the world's oldest dentists, according to a new study of a 60,000-year-old Neanderthal lower molar with a deep hole in its surface bored out by a small stone drill.
The procedure shows that our closest human relatives had the smarts to recognize that a painful tooth cavity could be treated and that they had the precise motor skills to successfully drill out the rotten enamel. The evidence is also 45,000 years older than the first recorded instance of Homo sapiens performing intentional dentistry.
Discover more archaeology news
Life's Little Mysteries
Can people catch infections from plants?
Can plants infect us with disease? Disturbingly, the answer is yes.
Plants infecting humans is a trope of science fiction, but can it actually happen in real life? Live Science investigated and found a rather disturbing answer.
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First nuclear bomb test spawns "alien" crystal
'Extreme' crystal that formed in 1945 nuclear bomb test is unlike anything scientists have seen
Formed by the first nuclear blast, this rare crystal has yielded a fresh discovery more than 80 years later.
The world's first nuclear bomb test reduced the surrounding desert sand to pale-green-and-red glass. Now, more than 80 years later, an analysis of the red parts of this substance — dubbed "trinitite," after the Trinity test site — has revealed that it contains crystals found nowhere else on Earth.
Red trinitite is composed of a unique clathrate, a type of crystalline structure in which one element (in this case, silicon) encloses others (copper and calcium). The discovery marks the first time clathrate crystals have been found as a byproduct of a nuclear blast and will help expand scientists' understanding of how matter organizes itself under extreme conditions.
Discover more physics and space news
—SpaceX prepares to launch next-generation Starship, the tallest and most powerful rocket ever built
Also in science news this week
—'Insect apocalypse' is already fueling malnutrition in some regions, first-of-its-kind study reveals
—The Milky Way ate a galaxy called Loki, and scientists think they found its bones
—'A combination of amazement and horror': Hitchhiker fish hide in manta ray buttholes
Beyond the headlines
Pollution may fuel depression, anxiety and other mental health problems, emerging research suggests
Pollution can have profound effects on our mental wellbeing that scientists our only just disentangling.
Numerous studies have found that pollution harms our lungs and hearts, but emerging research is revealing that it inflicts our minds, too.
Studies conducted in Asia, the United States and Europe link long-term exposure to air pollution with higher risks of depression, anxiety, schizophrenia, bipolar disorder and suicide. Live Science dug into the research on this global threat to human well-being.
Something for the weekend
If you're looking for things to keep you busy over the weekend, here are some of the best interviews, opinions, news analyses and quizzes published this week.
—More polar bears are approaching human sites as the climate warms, and it's not just the skinny ones [Opinion]
—AI self-replication hacks 'no longer purely theoretical,' study finds — but experts say it's too soon to panic [News analysis]
—Live Science crossword puzzle #43: Founder and first ruler of the Mongol Empire — 8 across [Crossword]
Science news in pictures
'There are 4 people in those pixels': Earth-based telescope snapped Artemis II crew orbiting the moon
This blurry dot is a record-breaking one.
It may not look like much, but crammed into the handful of pixels in this image are four human beings circling the moon more than 200,000 miles (320,000 kilometers) away.
The blurry image is of the Artemis II astronauts as they swung around the moon inside their Orion capsule. Captured by a radio telescope here on Earth, it's a compelling candidate for the longest-distance image of humans ever taken.
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