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A New Type of Matter discovered inside Neutron Stars

Confirming the existence of quark cores inside neutron stars has been one of the most important goals of neutron star physics for the last 40 years. Credit: Jyrki Hokkanen, CSC – IT Center for Science

A Finnish research group has found strong evidence for the presence of exotic quark matter inside the cores of the largest neutron stars in existence. The conclusion was reached by combining recent results from theoretical particle and nuclear physics to measurements of gravitational waves from neutron star collisions.

All normal matter surrounding us is composed of atoms, whose dense nuclei, comprising protons and neutrons, are surrounded by negatively charged electrons...

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Twisting 2D materials uncovers their superpowers

three different interlayer twist angles and their subsequent crystalline symmetry
The twist angle between the layers governs the crystal symmetry and can lead to a variety of interesting physical behaviours, such as unconventional superconductivity, tunnelling conductance, nonlinear optics and structural super-lubricity.

Researchers can now grow twistronic material at sizes large enough to be useful. While an exciting potential area of nanotechnology, twistronics until now has mostly been explored on samples smaller than human hairs. Now researchers can produce samples on the centimetre scale.

2D materials, which consist of a single layer of atoms, have attracted a lot of attention since the isolation of graphene in 2004...

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Asteroid Ryugu likely link in Planetary Formation

Close-up of Asteroid Ryugu. Credit: JAXA, University of Tokyo, Kochi University, Rikkyo University, Nagoya University, Chiba Institute of Technology, Meiji University, University of Aizu, AIST, Kobe University, Auburn University

The solar system formed approximately 4.5 billion years ago. Numerous fragments that bear witness to this early era orbit the sun as asteroids. Around three-quarters of these are carbon-rich C-type asteroids, such as 162173 Ryugu, which was the target of the Japanese Hayabusa2 mission in 2018 and 2019. The spacecraft is currently on its return flight to Earth...

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How Stem Cells Repair Damage from Heart Attacks

regenerative medicine researcher pipetting stem cells
Cardiopoietic stem cell therapy restores infarction-altered cardiac proteome
D. Kent ArrellChristian S. RosenowSatsuki YamadaAtta Behfar &  Andre Terzic 
npj Regenerative Medicine volume 5, Article number: 5 (2020) 

Mayo Clinic researchers have uncovered stem cell-activated mechanisms of healing after a heart attack. Stem cells restored cardiac muscle back to its condition before the heart attack, in turn providing a blueprint of how stem cells may work.

The study, published in NPJ Regenerative Medicine, finds that human cardiopoietic cells zero in on damaged proteins to reverse complex changes caused by a heart attack. Cardiopoietic cells are derived from adult stem cell sources of bone marrow.

“The extent of change caused by a heart attack is too great for the heart to...

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