In this week's Science Saturday, we look at science news ranging from the 2022 Nobel Prize Laureates to the formation of the moon.

2022 Nobel Prizes

We begin with the Nobel Prize winners in the fields of natural sciences.

Swedish geneticist Dr. Svante Paabo was awarded the prize for physiology or medicine. He produced a complete Neanderthal genome, launching the field of ancient DNA studies.

The prize for physics was shared by three men, Alain Aspect, John F. Clauser and Anton Zeillinger, for their work in quantum technology, which has shaken the foundations of how scientists interpret measurements.

The award for chemistry also went to three scientists, Carolyn R. Bertozzi, Morten Medals and K. Barry Sharpless, for the development of click chemistry and bio-orthogonal chemistry.

Saturn's moon Enceladus

A new study has found a missing element of life on Saturn's moon Enceladus.

A team of international researchers claim to have discovered phosphorus in Enceladus' ocean.

Previous studies found the other five basic elements of life: carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, oxygen and sulfur. But due to the absence of phosphorus, scientists once considered Enceladus uninhabitable.

The latest study used a model to simulate the geochemistry of the moon's rocky ocean floor, and the results show phosphorus was dissolved from rocks soon after water existed there.

Mystery of memory

Memory loss in the elderly was long believed to be irreversible, but a new study has found a way to improve long-term memories, using electrical currents.

Scientists at Boston University say after four days of non-invasive electrical stimulation to the scalp, trial participants are better at recalling information for up to a month.

The experiments involved 150 people aged between 65 and 88, and those with the lowest levels of general cognitive function before showed the largest memory improvements.

The team says the benefits of such brain stimulation are still limited to certain types of memory tasks, but they are looking to expand their studies to work with people with conditions like the Alzheimer's.

Formation of the moon

The origin of the moon is a scientific puzzle researchers have been studying for decades without a conclusive answer. But a new study says it might have formed more quickly than previously thought.

A team of NASA scientists used advanced simulations, operating at the highest resolution possible, to study the moon's origins. This extra computational power allowed researchers to see new details other studies couldn't see.

Previous theories say the moon formed over months or even years after the collision between the Earth and a Mars-sized object named Theia, but they fail to explain the similar isotopic signatures of rocks from Earth and the moon.

The new simulations put forth that the moon may have formed within a matter of hours. This faster, single-stage formation theory offers a cleaner explanation to the mystery.