Deflecting the massive asteroid 101955 Bennu was the focus of recent research by a national planetary defense team. Bennu will make a very close approach to Earth on Sept. 25, 2135. Credit: Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory

Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) scientists are part of a national planetary defense team that designed a conceptual spacecraft to deflect Earth-bound asteroids and evaluated whether it would be able to nudge a massive asteroid – which has a remote chance to hitting Earth in 2135 – off course.

The 9 meter-tall, 8...

Resting neural stem cells (nuclei shown in blue) accumulate large protein aggregates (pink) in and around storage compartments called lysosomes (green). Credit: Xiaoai Zhao

Young, resting neural stem cells in the brains of mice store large clumps of proteins in specialized cellular trash compartments known as lysosomes, researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine have found. As the cells age, they become less proficient at disposing of these protein aggregates, and their ability to respond readily to “make new neurons” signals wanes. Restoring the ability of the lysosomes to function normally rejuvenates the cells’ ability to activate.

The discovery of the aggregates in young stem cells was unexpected, in part because similar aggregates are associated with the development of ...

This is the target chamber (front) and ultra-high intensity laser (back) used in the micro-scale fusion experiment at Colorado State University. Credit: Advanced Beam Laboratory/Colorado State University

Record-setting efficiency for generation of neutrons. Nuclear fusion, the process that powers our sun, happens when nuclear reactions between light elements produce heavier ones. It’s also happening – at a smaller scale – in a Colorado State University laboratory. Using a compact but powerful laser to heat arrays of ordered nanowires, CSU scientists and collaborators have demonstrated micro-scale nuclear fusion in the lab. They have achieved record-setting efficiency for the generation of neutrons – chargeless sub-atomic particles resulting from the fusion process.

Laser-driven controlled ...

A single circuit board, foreground, that when joined with others forms the experimental array of the quadrupole topological insulator. Credit: L. Brian Stauffer

Researchers have produced a “human scale” demonstration of a new phase of matter called quadrupole topological insulators that was recently predicted using theoretical physics. These are the first experimental findings to validate this theory. The team’s work with QTIs was born out of the decade-old understanding of the properties of a class of materials called topological insulators...