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...

This composite image, derived from data collected by the Jovian Infrared Auroral Mapper (JIRAM) instrument aboard NASA’s Juno mission to Jupiter, shows the central cyclone at the planet’s north pole and the eight cyclones that encircle it. Credit: Image Courtesy of NASA/JPL-Caltech/SwRI/ASI/INAF/JIRAM

NASA’s Juno discovers a brand new Jupiter. In the year and a half NASA’s Juno spacecraft has been orbiting Jupiter, the science team led by Southwest Research Institute’s Dr. Scott Bolton has discovered that the orange and white bands that characterize Jupiter’s outer atmosphere extend thousands of miles into the gas giant’s atmosphere. The findings are part of a four-article collection about Juno science results in the March 8th edition of the journal Nature.

“With Juno only about a thir...