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    Quantum tunneling mystery solved after 100 years—and it involves a surprise collision

    July 30, 2025, Categories  Physics

    Spatiotemporal trajectory of an electron tunneling through Coulomb barrier under strong laser field. Credit: POSTECH

    For the first time ever, scientists have watched electrons perform a bizarre quantum feat: tunneling through atomic barriers by not just slipping through, but doubling back and slamming into the nucleus mid-tunnel. This surprising finding, led by POSTECH and Max Planck physicists, redefines our understanding of quantum tunneling—a process that powers everything from the sun to your smartphone.

    Recently, Professor Dong Eon Kim from POSTECH’s Department of Physics and Max Planck Korea-POSTECH Initiative and his research team have succeeded in unraveling for the first time the mystery of the ‘electron tunneling’ process, a core concept in quantum mechanics, and confirm...

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    Ghost particles may secretly decide the fate of collapsing stars

    July 30, 2025, Categories  Physics, Astronomy/Space

    illustration of blue
    Left Panel: When neutrinos scatter with themselves via standard model interactions the collapsing core of the massive star is relatively cold, and the neutrinos are mostly all electron flavor. In this scenario we may get a supernova explosion leaving, usually, a neutron star remnant
    Right Panel: If neutrinos have “secret” interactions with themselves, then electron neutrinos can be converted to all flavors. This leads to rapid heating, the “melting” of nuclei, and the rapid conversion of most protons to neutrons. We might get a black hole instead of a neutron star remnant. It is not yet clear if we get a supernova explosion.
    (cr: George Fuller lab / UC San Diego)

    Neutrinos are cosmic tricksters, paradoxically hardly there but lethal to stars significantly more massive than the sun...

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    Human CLOCK gene enhances brain connectivity and mental flexibility in mice, study finds

    July 28, 2025, Categories  Health/Medical, Biology/Biotechnology

    Human CLOCK gene enhances brain connectivity and mental flexibility in mice, study finds
    Example images of excitatory neurons from the cerebral cortexes of humanized mice showing how the neurons from the humanized mice grew more dendrites. Credit: Dr. Yuxiang Liu

    Clock genes are a set of genes known to contribute to the regulation of the human body’s internal 24-hour cycle, also known as the circadian rhythm. One of these genes is the so-called CLOCK gene, a protein that regulates the activity of other genes, contributing to recurrent patterns of sleep and wakefulness.

    Past findings suggest that this gene is also expressed in the neocortex, a brain region that supports important cognitive abilities, including reasoning, decision-making and the processing of language. However, the gene’s possible contribution to these specific brain functions remains poorly understood.

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    JWST uncovers hidden black holes devouring stars in dusty galaxies

    July 28, 2025, Categories  Astronomy/Space

    The James Webb Space Telescope in front of a tidal disruption event, a black hole shredding a star
    Caption:Astronomers at MIT, Columbia University, and elsewhere have used NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope to peer through the dust of nearby galaxies and into the aftermath of a black hole’s stellar feast. Credits:Credit: NRAO/AUI/NSF/NASA

    Astronomers at MIT, Columbia University, and elsewhere have used NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) to peer through the dust of nearby galaxies and into the aftermath of a black hole’s stellar feast.

    In a study appearing today in Astrophysical Journal Letters, the researchers report that for the first time, JWST has observed several tidal disruption events—instances when a galaxy’s central black hole draws in a nearby star and whips up tidal forces that tear the star to shreds, giving off an enormous burst of energy in the process.

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