The Friday Five covers five stories in research that you may have missed this week. There are plenty of controversies and troubling ethical issues in science – and we get into many of them in our online magazine – but this news roundup focuses on scientific creativity and progress to give you a therapeutic dose of inspiration headed into the weekend.Here are the promising studies covered in this week's Friday Five:- The problem with bedtime munching- Scientists use AI to predict how stays in hospitals will go- How to armor the shields of our livers against cancer- One big step to save the world: turn one kind of plastic into another- The perfect recipe for tiny brainsAnd an honorable mention this week: Bigger is better when it comes to super neurons in super agers