12/10/2021

A 5-sigma standard model anomaly is possible

One of the best chances for proving beyond-the-standard-model physics relies on something called the Cabibbo-Kobayashi-Maskawa (CKM) matrix. The standard model insists that the CKM matrix, which describes the mixing of quarks, ...

Seeking the star stuff that made us

At the 2021 Fall Meeting of the APS Division of Nuclear Physics, two independent research groups will unveil new measurements aiming to explain the birth of half the universe's elements.

Finding sterile neutrinos

Experiments have spotted anomalies hinting at a new type of neutrino, one that would go beyond the standard model of particle physics and perhaps open a portal to the dark sector. But no one has ever directly observed this ...

Examining the origins of proton spin

Where does the proton get its spin? This question has puzzled physicists ever since experiments in the 1980s revealed that a proton's constituent quarks—the most fundamental building blocks of atomic nuclei—account for ...

NASA's Lucy spacecraft poised to launch Oct. 16

NASA's Lucy spacecraft is encapsulated in a protective fairing atop an Atlas V rocket, awaiting its 23-day launch window to open on October 16. All is go for the Southwest Research Institute-led mission to begin, as the spacecraft ...

The protective role of cells in overwintering fungi

Scientists have discovered a new role for cells that are known to nurture the overwintering reproductive structures in a type of fungi, according to a study published today in eLife.

Wildfires affect cave diversity underneath scorched surfaces

The landscape at Lava Beds National Monument in northern California is typically home to sage and junipers, with unique lava caves twisting underneath the surface. But in the summers of 2020 and 2021, wildfires tore through ...

Challenging the big bang puzzle of heavy elements

It has long been theorized that hydrogen, helium, and lithium were the only chemical elements in existence during the Big Bang when the universe formed, and that supernova explosions, stars exploding at the end of their lifetime, ...

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