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 new stars of brain cancer research
- Scans inside the body can predict how patients will do after surgery
- Improving cognition in people with Down's Syndrome
- The need for speed if you want to reduce your risk of dementia
- Two women, one man and a baby

An honorable mention for this week's Friday Five: a breakthrough in understanding the Greek goddess of motherhood

Making Sense of Science features interviews with leading medical and scientific experts about the latest developments in health innovation and the big ethical and social questions they raise. The podcast is hosted by science journalist Matt Fuchs