High-field superconducting halo in UTe2 - Science | AAAS

Superconductivity has many important practical applications, including creating powerful magnets used in high-resolution medical scans, transporting electricity efficiently, and building ultra-sensitive measuring devices. Until now, understanding exactly what lay behind this unique phenomenon at high temperatures has eluded scientists over many decades. But pioneering research, led by physicists at the University of Bristol and published this week in the journal Nature Physics, has identified the vital mechanism which explains how electrons in these copper-oxide high-temperature superconductors combine to transmit power with no loss of energy - the 'superconductive' state of infinite electrical conduction.

Coordinated through the SuperC international project launched in 2023, researchers at Aalto University in Finland trained a machine-learning model to search through untested chemical structures. The algorithm flagged two previously unknown compounds: YRu₃B₂ and LuRu₃B₂. Physicists at Rice University in Texas then synthesized the materials in their laboratory, testing the physical samples and confirming their predicted superconducting properties. Superconductors can carry electricity without losing power to resistance. When cooled past a specific temperature threshold, electrons form bonded pairs that pass through the metal lattice without scattering. Standard copper wiring loses power as heat, but superconducting currents flow without energy loss.

Uncovering this hidden structure could eventually allow researchers to design superconducting materials and devices with greater control and precision. As scientists pursue quantum computers, ultra-efficient electronics, and other advanced technologies, a detailed understanding of how electrons behave inside superconductors will become increasingly important.ng-standing puzzle about their behavior and offers a clearer view of superconductivity that could eventually guide the development of improved materials for quantum computers, ultra-efficient electronics, and advanced sensors. Some scientific surprises emerge not from discovering something entirely new, but from taking a closer look at something researchers thought they already understood. For decades, physicists have investigated superconductors—materials capable of carrying electrical current with zero energy loss. Their unusual properties could eventually support technologies ranging from ultra-efficient electronics and quantum computers to advanced medical systems. A Superconductor That Looked Surprisingly SimpleOne of the best-studied examples is niobium diselenide (NbSe2).

The Greenland shark is one of the world’s largest sharks, but it grows slowly, at only a few centimetres over several years, hinting at a long lifespan. But until 2016 biologists could only guess at the life expectancy of these little-understood creatures.

This microfluidic device squeezes mouse skin cells as they pass through, loosening their tightly packed DNA so CRISPR tools can reach and switch on genes to make cell reprogramming more efficient. Credit: Song Li Lab/UCLA Human cells hold about two meters (6.6 feet) of DNA, folded and compacted to fit inside a nucleus. That packing is essential for life, but it creates a problem for scientists. Some of the genes that control a cell's identity are buried so deep in tightly packed DNA that gene-targeting tools such as CRISPR activation, or CRISPRa, struggle to reach them.