Tuesday, May 5, 2026

Ireland became the 66th country to sign the Artemis Accords at a ceremony at NASA Headquarters on Monday, committing to the peaceful exploration of space alongside the United States and other nations.^[1]

The 2026 Pulitzer Prizes were announced Monday, with Daniel Kraus winning fiction for 'Angel Down,' historian Jill Lepore winning history for 'We the People,' and The Washington Post staff winning public service for coverage of the Trump administration's efforts to transform the federal government.^[2]

MIT researchers have mapped the three-dimensional atomic structure of relaxor ferroelectrics—materials that power medical ultrasounds and sonar systems—for the first time, using a technique called multi-slice electron ptychography to uncover hidden patterns in how electric charges are arranged at the nanoscale.^[3]

Astronomers at the University of Warwick used a new AI pipeline called RAVEN to validate 118 exoplanets—including 31 newly detected worlds—and identify over 2,000 high-quality planet candidates by analyzing data from NASA's TESS mission covering 2.2 million stars.^[4]

Researchers at Kindai University found that arginine—an inexpensive, widely available amino acid—can reduce the buildup of toxic amyloid proteins in the brain and decrease brain inflammation in animal models of Alzheimer's disease, pointing to a potential low-cost treatment strategy.^[5]

OPEC+ announced that seven major producers will add 188,000 barrels per day to their total production quota for June, as the group responds to global market conditions.^[6]

Italian tennis player Jannik Sinner became the first man to claim the season's opening four Masters events, winning the Madrid Open to secure his record fifth consecutive Masters title.^[7]

A new rapid tuberculosis test called MiniDock MTB can diagnose the disease from a simple nasal swab rather than requiring patients to produce phlegm samples, potentially making TB detection faster and more accessible in low-resource settings.^[8]

Researchers discovered that infrasound—ultra-low-frequency vibrations below the range of human hearing—can increase stress hormone levels and irritability in people without their awareness, potentially explaining eerie sensations reported in old buildings and basements.^[9]

The 2026 Met Gala takes place tonight at New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art with the theme 'Fashion is Art,' featuring co-chairs Beyoncé, Nicole Kidman, Venus Williams, and Anna Wintour, and debuting the new Condé M. Nast Galleries with an exhibition of about 400 garments and artworks.^[10]