Physicists find major clue to why matter survived antimatter in the early universe

Strong new evidence from Brookhaven's RHIC suggests a proton's baryon number is carried by a Y-shaped junction of gluons, a key clue to why matter dominated antimatter after the Big Bang. Astronomers also reported magnetar-induced vacuum birefringence, spotted the first extragalactic stellar stream for weighing dark matter, and found a JWST object that may explain the early universe's 'little red dots.' In biology and chemistry, mouse memories proved surprisingly resilient to synapse loss, while new methods promise cleaner rare-earth recycling and cheaper green hydrogen.

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Baryon number may be carried by gluon junction, not valence quarks The STAR Collaboration's analysis of high-energy collisions at Brookhaven's now-shuttered RHIC supports a 1970s idea that a Y-shaped junction of gluons carries baryon number, a clue to why matter survived antimatter after the Big Bang. 1 2

Magnetar observations give strongest evidence that vacuum birefringence bends light Astronomers used NASA's IXPE and NICER plus Australia's Parkes radio telescope to study magnetar 1E 1547.0-5408, supporting the 1936 Heisenberg-Euler prediction that intense magnetic fields alter how light travels through empty space. 3

Black hole star may explain JWST's mysterious little red dots The object MoM-BH-1, seen 660 million years after the Big Bang, radiates about 100 billion times the Sun's energy and could clarify the nature of the ultra-bright compact sources that have puzzled astronomers. 4

First extragalactic stellar stream lets astronomers weigh dark matter in another galaxy A thin, curved band of stars around ultra-diffuse galaxy UGC 9050-Dw1, 115 million light-years away, was used to model the galaxy's gravity and confirm earlier dark-matter estimates with a new tool. 5

Mice keep memories even after half the synapses storing them are destroyed The 'remarkable' finding in dormant mice challenges the idea that a memory persists only while its specific synaptic pattern remains intact, and could reshape how researchers think about recall and memory improvement. 6

Space station experiment accidentally yields new copper-bismuth compound Aboard the China Space Station, researchers studying microgravity alloy solidification unexpectedly produced Cu20Bi9, an intermetallic compound never seen at ambient pressure; they later recreated it in the lab. 7

Chemist's cleaner europium extraction method could upend the rare earths industry Marie Perrin's startup Reecover is scaling a process the European Patent Office calls faster, cleaner and more sustainable, cutting waste and improving recycling of europium and other strategic elements. 8

IIT-Guwahati catalyst splits water into hydrogen at 88 percent electrical efficiency Made from inexpensive nickel salt and an anthracene-based organic molecule, the catalyst offers a fossil-free route to hydrogen and supports India's National Green Hydrogen Mission. 9

Supermassive black hole hurls energy 300,000 light-years into deep space Space.com reports a supermassive black hole blasting a colossal jet of energy far beyond its host galaxy, underscoring how black-hole outflows can influence the surrounding universe. 10